The Grace Of Simplicity

2024 Author: David Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 02:26

Residential complex "LEGENDA Dalnevostochny" completes one of the blocks of new buildings between the Neva and the metro station "Prospekt Bolshevikov". In the last decade, this area has been developing very intensively: industrial zones are being reclaimed and converted into residential areas, infrastructure is being saturated - in addition to various shopping centers, the Ice Palace and the base of the SKA club have been built here, they started but did not finish the towers of the Sea Capital business complex, and in Soyuzny Avenue and a section of the Eastern High-Speed Diameter should be laid in the future.

The circle closest to the metro is typical panel houses of the 1990s, then there are colossal complexes of the 2000s, followed by more humane samples, if not in height, then at least with a variety of facades. The quarter where LEGENDA was built according to the project of the bureau "Evgeny Gerasimov and Partners" is just a mixture of the last two phenomena: the residential complex "Rio" with multi-colored loggias echoes the residential complex "Skladskaya, 28", between them there are deaf and simple plates of houses. On the other hand, the quarter has a clear perimeter structure, and LEGENDA in this respect is the last cube, the missing link that forms the corner of the Far Eastern and future Soyuzny Prospekt.

Evgeny Gerasimov says that the architectural solution is based on the Leningrad city planning with its "clarity, orderliness and sound logic, existing under certain economic and aesthetic conditions", as well as a bit of the East as a tribute to local toponymy, which corresponds to the general minimalist concept.

The architects considered several options for the composition - however, in all versions, the volumes supported the street front: with a closed quarter and towers, plates of different heights, all kinds of turns and section configurations. However, we settled on a deliberately laconic solution: seven rectangular towers of the same height are placed along the boundaries of the site, a two-story gallery unites them into a single complex. Three buildings in the corners are oriented to the line of streets, four "intermediate" buildings slightly go into the courtyard. It turned out to be an open quarter, in which there is a lot of space and light: the distances between the buildings are large, due to which the complex has retained its silhouette, since the sections are clearly visible in the “gaps”, and different views are revealed from different points.

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1/6 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Tatiana Kovalenko
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2/6 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Evgeny Gerasimov
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3/6 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Tatiana Kovalenko
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4/6 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Tatiana Kovalenko
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5/6 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Tatiana Kovalenko
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6/6 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Tatiana Kovalenko

In contrast to the strict and laconic composition of the complex, its facades are deliberately asymmetric: windows and loggias follow a given rhythm, but color accents - strokes, dots and interweaving - make the eye linger and look for patterns. The ends of the towers are flat and faced with light porcelain stoneware imitating stone, the wider side is warmer, tactile and plastic: due to the wood-like texture, color contrasts and loggias. Returning to the eastern allusions - the light side of the buildings looks like neat bento boxes, and the dark side looks like bamboo makisu rugs with rows of "rolls" -loggies.

The gallery's air cushion, an element unusual for complexes of this class, with columns, pilasters and transparent glass, vividly reminds of other vivid examples of local architecture: a house on supports on Novosmolenskaya embankment or the house of Ivan Fomin and Evgeny Levinson on Karpovka Embankment.

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1/7 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin
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2/7 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin
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3/7 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin
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4/7 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin
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5/7 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin
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6/7 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin
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7/7 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin

The courtyard is also unusual - Evgeny Gerasimov believes that in this case it was possible to step forward with the landscaping. First, there are many spaces with different scenarios. In the center there is a universal sports ground, in the corners, comfortably fenced off by buildings, there are three grounds for different age groups: they took care not only of kids, but also teenagers, which is not so often seen, as well as adults. Everything is connected by paths, paths and small areas for quiet relaxation. The galleries at the entrance groups deserve special mention: they create a smooth transition from street to house, a place protected from bad weather, where you can calmly wait, meet, play longer. Outdoor chairs invite you to spend more time on the street: grab tea or a book, contemplate or work with a laptop. At first glance, the element is not complicated, but it somehow immediately switches the courtyard to the level of a public space developed by modern standards.

Secondly, the courtyard zones are organized with such aesthetics that it would not be an exaggeration to call it the fifth facade: it is pleasant to look out of the windows. Each site has its own paving pattern, and the "spots" of the improvement are combined into a thoughtfully spontaneous composition, like in a garden of stones, which balances the geometric austerity of architecture. Since the underground parking is located along the perimeter of the building, more "oases", trees and bushes will be planted in the yard, the developer promises.

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1/6 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin
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2/6 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin
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3/6 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin
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4/6 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin
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5/6 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin
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6/6 Residential complex "LEGENDA of the Far East" Evgeny Gerasimov and partners © Photographer Andrey Belimov-Gushchin

The layouts in the complex belong to the "smart" category: they were developed taking into account the different lifestyles of future residents - from a single young man to a family with two children and older parents, so that in small apartments every square meter is useful, and in larger apartments it appears "Luxury of emptiness." Bedrooms with walk-in closets, a nursery with a bathroom, laundries and storage rooms, bathrooms with windows have been "migrated" from housing a class higher to the project. A single catalog includes 250 basic planning solutions, which are protected by copyright.

Evgeny Gerasimov notes: the whole complex is permeated by "through" details. For example, natural materials begin on the facades, and are continued in the concept of improvement, the gallery is both outside the complex and in the courtyard, "Japanese" and "Leningrad" also coexist at all levels.

LEGENDA Dalnevostochny is the fifth developer's project jointly with Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners and the second implementation. Another residential complex from the same conventional category "smart", "LEGENDA on Komendantskiy", is being built on the other side of the city and demonstrates a completely different approach born of the context: "the desire to stand out, bright squares …". And on the Peterhof highway, the "LEGENDA Heroes Residential Complex" is being erected, which combines the techniques found in the two previous works, and allows us to assert: mass housing can be made different, comfortable and beautiful.