Moscow "Garden Quarters" in Khamovniki is one of the iconic residential complexes of the capital. “Long-term, difficult and multi-layered” - this is how it is described on the website of a project dedicated to contemporary Russian architecture and is included in the list of 27 best objects of our time.
The story began in 2006, when Sergey Skuratov developed a unified design code for the future residential complex on the site of the Kauchuk plant, which was followed by the architects of seven leading bureaus. The main impetus for the whole concept was given by brick - not only as a favorite material of Sergei Skuratov, but also as a way to maintain a connection with the history of the place: in the 17th century they were engaged in firing here, and the factory building of Roman Klein was also preserved on the site - it was taken as a starting point.
The construction began in 2010, gradually conceived by Sergei Skuratov is being implemented. There are five blocks in the complex, which are built around a public space with a pond. Recently, three buildings from the third quarter were commissioned - the same one where the Roman Klein building is located. As in the previous stages, the decisive role in the project was played by the facade, namely, glass-fiber-reinforced concrete panels with integrated clinker tiles, manufactured by OrtOst-Fasad.
According to the design code, the brick should occupy at least 70% of the non-glazed surface of the facades. If we talk about high-rise buildings, the condition is difficult to fulfill, given the weight of traditional bricks. At the beginning of the journey, we had to abandon the clinker made in Germany: the samples turned out to be too massive, transportation was expensive, installation was hardly possible.
The optimal solution was offered by OrtOst-Fasad, the leader in the production of glass fiber reinforced concrete (hereinafter referred to as SFB) in Russia. For Garden Quarters, its specialists have developed a special composite material: Hagemeister clinker tiles with a thickness of 2.5 cm are integrated into the base made of light SFB on a metal frame. The technology is approximately the following: when designing, the facade is divided into segments, for each a form is made into which the brick is laid, and glass fiber concrete is sprayed on top. After drying, the part is taken out of the mold and dried.
The panels turned out to be light, very strong, durable and, what is important, beautiful - after high-temperature firing, the clinker surface becomes "man-made", with a touch of antiquity, rich shades. All these qualities made it possible to freely and quickly translate into reality the ideas of the architects, since the installation of hinged panels did not require special lifting equipment, the material turned out to be universal, even coped with complex geometry and, as a result, "worked" on all buildings.
The plasticity of the material is most clearly demonstrated by the case 3.2, designed by the SPEECH architectural studio. The facades are composed of a wavy accordion, the "furs" of which are expanding, then narrowing, which creates a feeling of vibration even on the deaf unglazed ends, where it is especially clearly seen how the material faithfully imitates brick: the joints are invisible, the shades are varied and add up to a randomly unique pattern. The hinged facade is attached to the main structures of the facades, the indents from them reach 80 cm. This building is quite high - 13 floors, the OrtOst-Facade slabs cover an area of 5500 m2.
Building 3.7, designed by the architectural bureau of Sergei Skuratov, has a completely different "mood". This building is two times lower, but the glazed surfaces are much smaller: from certain angles, the windows resemble narrow loopholes, the walls seem to be powerful, fortified. A rigid mesh of walls and interfloor ceilings is recessed in smoother and more streamlined volumes of "canopies".
Building 3.9 - the reconstructed building of Roman Klein. One original wall overlooking Usacheva Street has been preserved from the building of the former factory administration, the rest of the facades are new. They also used the panels "OrtOst-Facade" to facilitate the construction of the facade. The found technology made it possible to preserve the peculiarity of the original building, the walls of which were lined with bricks of four shades.
The main feature of GRC is that glass fibers are used for reinforcement, which are not afraid of corrosion. The material is strong, flexible, lightweight, durable, does not harm the environment, surpasses ordinary concrete in many parameters. It can be used to make building elements and decor of any shape and size, imitate various materials, there are no restrictions in color - the material can be pigmented or dyed in bulk.
