This house in the courtyards of the old part of Nizhny Novgorod was built in the mid-nineties and has an atypical structure characteristic of its time. One of its corps-risalits and stood empty, uninhabited, more than a decade and a half. Now the architects were required to turn all of its five tiers, strung on the arcuate ledge of the inner staircase, into a stylish living space - an interesting and non-trivial task, according to Marina and Sergei Tumanin.
On the ground floor, on the same level as the street, there is a garage for one car. In the basement tier there is a sauna, a boiler room, a gym. On the second floor there is a kitchen and a living room, above a bedroom and a nursery, in the attic there are a couple of guest rooms and an office.
So the staircase predictably became the main element of the interior, taking on the role of the communication core as well as the main source of light. Two walls of the block are blank, one of them is adjacent to the neighboring house, the other to the main building. Only two walls have windows, so every natural light source was important. The architects expanded the staircase stained-glass window, arranged a pair of Velux dormer windows above it to better illuminate the "lemon slice" of the vertical staircase. The stair railings have become transparent - glass, bent according to individual curvature patterns, with white Corian handrails.
“The main problem of the staircase that had to be solved was the discrepancy between the geometry of all marches both horizontally and vertically, especially the radius steps,” the architects say. “We had to reduce the incline, pull out all the treads to make it comfortable to climb and descend the reconstructed steps.” However, in the end, the problems were solved: the staircase with its shining white light kosoura became the axis and decoration.
All other elements of the living space, the architects, so as not to argue with the main emphasis, decided to be emphatically complete and laconic, in the strict minimalism of white walls and individual furniture, emphasized by white light. Benjamin Moore paint makes, according to the architect, minimalistic surfaces varied in different lighting conditions. Sergey Tumanin considers the use of Bauwerk parquet as a successful solution - the first example of using this solution in Russia - all levels above the first floor are finished with it; especially the architect praises the finishing of the steps, each corner was manufactured in the factory, which ensured the highest quality.
All four bathrooms are individually designed, just as laconic, but lively in places with colored splashes. Each shell is also Corian.
Among other things, there is an Italian-like terrace for coffee and flowers, overlooking the inner green courtyard.
