The area between the streets of Marshals Biryuzov and Rybalko has always been closely associated with trade. At different times, markets, stalls and tents existed here, and in Soviet times, the site was occupied by a panel trading house, demolished in the early 2000s. In its place in 2003-2004 ABD architects built the building of the Fifth Avenue shopping center - with rounded corners, a red and black interior and an atrium, boldly crossed escalators of which allow you to get from one side of the shopping gallery to the opposite.
Over the years of operation, both the interior, and, in particular, the facade, mostly covered with colorful advertising banners, lost its freshness and required updating - I must say, this is a normal phenomenon, marketers advise to update shopping centers almost every five years. The customer turned to Blank Architects with a request not only to change the appearance of the building, but also to propose a rebranding idea: come up with a new name, logo and completely change the image. This is how the Fifth Avenue shopping center turned into Novamall.
The surroundings of the shopping center are, as they say, colorful, but quite pleasant. A park, a public garden, a couple of residential towers, five-story buildings … The main pedestrian route runs along Marshal Biryuzov Street to the Oktyabrskoe Pole metro station. However, the demands of the residents of the district are growing - it has long been in need of new forms of public spaces, so, while reconstructing the shopping center, Blank Architects decided to turn it into something more: the main idea of the project was multifunctionality, a variety of services, focus on various user groups, thanks to which from “just »the shopping center should turn into a kind of community center.
The authors decided to keep the concrete frame of the existing building. “We tried to emphasize the advantages of the building and hide the disadvantages, creating a pleasant image for a person, free from obtrusive advertising and as open as possible. - says partner of Blank Architects Lukasz Kaczmarczyk. "The original compact shape with rounded corners works well in the street setting, softening the perception of volume both when walking and out of the car window." It was decided to keep the atrium with the web of escalators cutting through all three floors.
On the ground floor, it was decided to retain most of the existing stores, including a large supermarket, a children's cafe and a public area in the atrium. But many additional services appeared in the project: atelier, dry cleaning, bank and even a post office. A coffee shop with an autonomous entrance will operate on the street side - in the morning it should open earlier than the entire shopping complex, allowing pedestrians walking to the metro to have breakfast before work or buy coffee to go.
On the second floor, a lot of attention is paid to the children's area, which includes specialty shops, themed playgrounds and a development center.
One of the main innovations is the grocery market on the third, top floor, a topical modern idea. According to the plan, it will be possible not only to buy food there, but also to ask it to be cooked and then eaten on the spot - so the market located next to the cinema also replaces the standard food court, but with an emphasis on individuality, fresh and healthy food.
From the outside, almost the entire third floor is glazed, which allows it to be filled with natural light, creating the feeling of a traditional open-air market square. The same association is carried over to the façade, where the silhouette of pitched roofs and awnings over the shopping arcade is reproduced from the curtain panels on the third floor level.
“We wanted to depict the silhouette of the market square right on the facade,” says Lukasz Kaczmarczyk, “so that the building arouses interest and immediately gives a hint of the presence of a market.”The panels pass through the glazing plane, forming a zigzag canopy of imaginary pitched roofs, not only outside, but also inside. In the first versions of the project, an open terrace was planned under a canopy, which could be used for a cafeteria in warm weather. Ultimately, however, it was decided to leave the canopy decorative.
The main part of the facade is planned to be faced with a white PVL-mesh with a corrugated surface, a material that is spectacular and modern, changeably responsive to the weather; in Russia it is still rarely used. The mesh is designed to protect the interior from the sun's rays, but not from daylight; it should be airy and ephemeral, and at the same time, envelop the building for the sake of the integrity of the image. The authors consider the grid to be a good background and create a multi-layered pattern of the walls, playing with transparent and blind planes.
The restrained image is diluted with natural wood, which is planned to be used in the finishing of the first floor. Wooden elements frame shop windows and entrances to the shopping center, from where they blend into the interior.
The main characters of the project are people, future visitors, - say the architects. The emphasis is on comfort, functionality and affordability. There is a room for a mother and a child with the opportunity to cook and relax, places for communication, waiting areas equipped with the latest press, playgrounds, safe and at the same time interesting for different age groups.
The interior is dominated by light shades and natural materials: stone and wood, enlivened by greenery and bright furniture. The atrium, which was red and black, turns white, reflecting and multiplying the light from the skylight. Black escalators will also turn white. The children's play areas are designed to be themed around Angry birds, using sustainable and recyclable materials designed for frequent changes with character updates.
An important part of the project is lighting design. His Blank Architects were designed in collaboration with a Copenhagen company. In addition to working with natural light, artificial lighting has been thought out with local soft illumination of recreation areas and cafe tables, but bright lighting design of shop windows. Visitors shouldn't get tired of the haunting glare so common in shopping malls.
It was also required to revitalize the space around the shopping center - first of all, to accentuate the entrances. "Novamall" is located above the level of the sidewalk and the roadway due to a noticeable difference in the relief - about 2 m, and the relief in the project is actively beaten. The entrances are highlighted with solid glazing and are accessed by wide staircases and ramps. In front of the main facade there are two levels of traffic: the first - along the road, the second, more comfortable - closer to the shopping center under a wide canopy that protects from the rain. The first floor of the complex should be active and open to the street by the entrances of some of the shops; in summer, café tables can be accommodated under a canopy.
On the slope leading down to the road, there will be flowerbeds, a lawn, outdoor furniture and lanterns will form small recreation areas on the way towards the metro.
The confusion of functions and great attention to the formation of public spaces both inside and outside the building is a positive trend in recent years, which is gradually moving beyond the Moscow center and approaching the outskirts. If in the early 2000s the shopping center was closed in itself, today it makes an unusual attempt for itself to open up to the city, enriching the environment and returning, as in this example, to the tradition almost lost in the metropolis to make purchases in the market, chatting with the seller.
Last summer, Blank architects made more than one project for the modernization of Moscow shopping centers, in addition to the described one - three more: two Golden Babylons, in Otradnoye and Yasenevo, and the Hudson on Kashirskoye Highway - will be updated according to their designs. Perhaps all of them will become the conductors of new trends in the development of the typology of the city's shopping centers - all the same, after all, its social life is still concentrated in them.
