Architectural Laboratory

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

Growth point

In the composition of the St. Petersburg bureau "A. Len" there is not the most usual subdivision: an architectural laboratory. It was formed in 2009 as a response to the economic crisis, which significantly reduced the pace of construction and the number of orders. The head of the bureau, Sergey Oreshkin, took advantage of the lull to comprehend the experience accumulated over the previous decades, explore new approaches to design and load a large staff with which he did not want to part. Since only housing continued to be built stably, they focused on its problems. This is how the program “Ideal apartments“A. Len”appeared - a systematized base of layouts, which the bureau now uses as a basis for the design of housing and has been introducing into all its buildings since 2012.

“Ideal apartments” are also found in iconic projects such as the Golden City residential complex on the alluvium of Vasilyevsky Island, and in the regions, for example, in the Bunin residential complex in Voronezh, where layouts are easily adjusted to the complex stepped architecture. The program adapts to different classes of housing: standard, comfort and business, as well as to mixed typologies - a good example here is the Prospekt Mira compound in Yekaterinburg.

In Soviet times, design research institutes were engaged in similar developments, in the newest - large development holdings. But architectural bureaus, it is worth noting, rarely undertake such large-scale tasks.

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1/8 RC "Bunin" © Architectural Bureau "A. Len" and KCAP
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2/8 RC Golden City © KCAP + Orange Architects and A. Len architectural bureau
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3/8 RC "Skandi Klubb" © Architectural bureau "A. Len" and Semren & Mansson
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4/8 Residential complex "House on Lvovskaya" © Architectural bureau "A. Len"
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5/8 House "Principle" on Dvinskaya Street © Architectural bureau "A. Len"
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6/8 House "Lazurit" © Architectural bureau "A. Len"
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7/8 YIT House on Chapaeva Street © A. Len Architectural Bureau
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8/8 RC "Light world" I am a Romantic … "© Architectural bureau" A. Len"

The program is based on a study of typologies of Soviet, modern Russian and foreign housing, as well as the bureau's experience of working with the marketing and sales departments of modern developers, and error analysis.

Sergei Oreshkin notes that the root of many problems of modern apartmentography lies in the absence of deep scientific research, for which architectural companies do not have the resources, and the state shows little interest in the problem.

Using the example of such a simple indicator as the width of the building, which affects the depth of the apartment from the window and its area, it is possible to quite accurately trace how planning solutions have evolved, regardless of the building class.

During the period of economic growth, when decisions were made too quickly, the width of residential buildings could reach 27 m, while sunlight penetrates at best by 6-6.5. In addition to long or L-shaped dark rooms in such houses there are huge hallways, storage rooms and bathrooms, for which the buyer pays exactly the same price as for a square meter of a lighted kitchen.

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1/4 STANDARD class, studio, S = 15.67 sq. m, S = 26.29 sq. m © "Ideal apartments", architectural bureau "A. Len"
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2/4 Class "STANDARD", 1K, S = 31.16 sq. m © "Ideal apartments", architectural bureau "A. Len"
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3/4 Class "STANDARD", 2K, S = 51.93 sq. m © "Ideal apartments", architectural bureau "A. Len"
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4/4 Class "STANDARD", 3K, S = 66.31 sq. m © "Ideal apartments", architectural bureau "A. Len"

As for urban planning techniques, the distribution of the so-called residential groups of perimeter buildings, which were based on the idea of a closed isolated courtyard, reminiscent of a traditional St. Petersburg courtyard-well, but on a completely different scale, had a strong influence on the layouts of apartments. In such houses there were too many apartments in the inner corners, where it was almost impossible to isolate neighboring apartments from each other, and the problems with echo and audibility turned out to be very significant.

In corner apartments, the length of the inner wall is longer than the outer one, one window disappears, and accordingly there is much less light. Healthy alternative: narrow section, room proportions close to the square, efficiency of each meter.

The core of the apartment program in the Prospekt Mira compound is two-three-room apartments, and they are quite in demand among the audience. One-room apartments are selling worse, but the reason here is rather their relatively high cost. Apartments of an unusual format - with a second light, for example, almost all have been sold, and it was they who attracted the most attention to the project as part of the general advertising campaign. There were a lot of requests for them. The most in demand among customers, according to our observations, are the most functional layouts - with master bedrooms, two or more bathrooms, a kitchen-living room, storage space.

The apartments offered by A. Len are diverse and balanced enough to meet the needs of the audience. Large-format apartments have unique advantages: the same second light, panoramic windows, master bedrooms. Unique solutions have allowed us to differentiate ourselves from competitors and give more opportunities to our clients.

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1/4 Duplex apartment, 4K, S = 81.80 sq. m © "Ideal apartments", architectural bureau "A. Len"
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2/4 Duplex apartment with fireplace, 5E, S = 166.98 sq. m © "Ideal apartments", architectural bureau "A. Len"
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3/4 Apartment with a terrace, 4E, S = 143.86 sq. m © "Ideal apartments", architectural bureau "A. Len"
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4/4 Apartment-office, 1K, S = 60.53 sq. m © "Ideal apartments", architectural bureau "A. Len"

How the program works

More than 5,000 successful layouts have already been added to the database, which are systematized into four sections: business, comfort, economy and special types of apartments, which are still little represented on the market. The latter include, for example, two-level apartments, duplexes, corner, end, office apartments. Business is distinguished by a wider grid of axes, area and a variety of functional areas.

The base can be used as a constructor: the architects have developed room modules for each class of apartments with an optimal area and furniture arrangement. With their help, you can transform both individual apartments and entire floors.

Alexander Andrianov, First Vice President of Glorax Development

In the residential complex Golden City, which Glorax Development is building on the first coastline of the Gulf of Finland, several interesting planning solutions are being implemented at once. On the upper floors, there are apartments with private terraces for relaxation, in addition, there are duplex apartments, all of which offer excellent views of the water. Houses have solutions with a window in the bathroom or hallway, this expands the range of design ideas when arranging housing, buyers appreciate such real estate in business-class residential complexes. Another feature of our ideal apartments in Golden City are panoramic windows that fill the rooms with natural light and allow you to zone the space, creating separate spaces for relaxation, work, play and others.

Each layout has its own card, which is understandable for both the developer and the buyer. It displays the number of rooms, the type of suitable household, the area of living rooms, the total area of the apartment. Also, the bureau has developed estimated coefficients that show how effectively the area of the apartment is used.

Coefficient K1 shows the ratio of the sum of the areas of living rooms, kitchen and living room to the total area of the apartment. He accurately points out errors in the design methodology with a significant increase in the area of corridors and other auxiliary premises. The optimal coefficient can be considered 0.6-0.75.

Coefficient K2 is the ratio of the total area of the apartment to the area of the outer facade wall, which reflects the natural illumination of the apartment. The optimal coefficient can be considered as 2.1-2.35.

Sergey Oreshkin, A. Len Architectural Bureau

Now the architects of the bureau do not start work with a sketch or a master plan, but immediately take the program, having previously agreed with the customer a package of different tasks, one of which is apartmentography.

The program helped to significantly optimize the relationship between the architect and the developer: the customer, as a rule, immediately accepts the proposed layouts, which allows you to calmly work on the facades. The agonizing procedure, consisting of endless coordination with the sales department, where they do not always know about ergonomics, has turned into a pleasant routine. When someone puts pressure on an architect, the result is bad. Now the developer and I speak the same language, he understands what we are doing, it is beneficial that there are no problem apartments at all. Ideology helps to sell.

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1/4 Class "COMFORT", studio, S = 21.41 sq. m, S = 29.82 sq. m © "Ideal apartments", architectural bureau "A. Len"

Integration and development

In the A. Len Architectural Laboratory there are other areas: Brickwork, dedicated to the restoration of methods of working with bricks, a color laboratory, architectural marketing and infographics. “Ideal apartments” have so far been combined only with the Architectural Tool Kit, since the typologies of apartments can be significantly expanded using various facade systems, and each solution - a window to the floor or a French balcony in the living room - is associated with engineering and design problems. In 2018, the program received a patent, but it is constantly being improved and in the future it may be automated.