The multifunctional complex GRANI is one of the successful examples of modern reconstruction and development in the historical part of St. Petersburg, the success of which was ensured by non-standard architectural solutions proposed by the Institute of Territorial Development, as well as high-quality materials, including Velux dormer windows, with the help of which the premises of the building in a densely built-up the area received not only a sufficient amount of natural light, but also beautiful views.
MFC GRANI is located on the Petrogradskaya side, in a block bounded by Bolshaya Zelenina and Korpusnaya streets. In this part of the city, the architectural environment is diverse and often discrete in a non-Petersburg style: apartment buildings of the 19th century interspersed with buildings of red brick factories, constructivist factories and typical buildings of the middle of the last century. There is also a lot of modern architecture here, which fills the gaps: in the neighborhoods adjacent to the area under consideration, the residential complex "Mendelssohn" was built according to the project of the Intercolumnium bureau, next to the Levashovsky plant, the LCD Futurist Bureau of Evgeny Gerasimov is being built, the LCD "House of Lumiere" by the workshop "Vitruvius and Sons" has become recognizable …
The Grani complex is another "injection" of modern buildings into the fabric of the Petrogradskiy district. It consists of three buildings, two of which, reconstructed, face different streets, and the third, completely new, connects them through the courtyard of the residential quarter. The resulting complex hybrid is the fruit of working on layers of history, norms, and context.
It is obvious that fitting a new building into the courtyard space is not an easy task. In order not to deprive any of the residents of daylight, experts
Institute for Territorial Development took advantage of the capabilities of BIM-design. Using the insolation script in the Grasshopper editor, the architects got a "block" - the mass of the future building, which would not obscure the windows of neighboring houses. Then they cut off the excess, organized the internal space and communications. The result is an "environmentally friendly" building with a variable number of storeys and an interesting silhouette: a good example of the interaction of a machine and a person, when parametric modeling is initially used not for facade design, but as an analysis tool, but the result still has artistic potential.
So, broken lines, a complex roof and, in general, the configuration of the building, which will house the apart-hotel, is the answer to insolation norms. The expressive roof, thanks to which the whole building has acquired a memorable image, is contrasted with laconic facades made in light plaster, "understandable" to neighboring houses. Another plus of the resulting structure is the variety of internal spaces: the hotel has rooms with terraces, glazed balconies, loggias, a particularly wide range of typologies, for the above reasons, arose in the attic floor. To provide these spaces with sufficient natural light, the architects turned to Velux, a leading manufacturer of roof windows.
Experts helped to choose the optimal window type for the given object - classic. This model, with a glued pine frame that comes off along the central axis, is one of the best-selling models in the wide Velux range. Since the handle is located on top, it is convenient to open such a window even if there is furniture under it - a suitable solution for the working area. The handle is combined with an air exchange valve, so you can ventilate the room with the window closed, preserving the silence. Velux also prepared assemblies and detailed specifications, supervised the installation of windows.
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zooming 1/6 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 2/6 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 3/6 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 4/6 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 5/6 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 6/6 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
Two brick buildings on Korpusnaya Street, which now house offices, were built for the Konradi and Engel knitwear factory at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In Soviet times, they were given to the Electronpribor plant and built on.
They wanted to replace the superstructure with a contrasting modern volume, but they had to "clone" the architecture of the historic floors and add a two-level attic, because, according to the chief architect of the Institute, Elena Mironova, the principles of the Athenian Charter for some reason are not always supported in the city. To accentuate the border between old and new, as well as preserve the integrity of the case and avoid the new-build effect, three types of restoration bricks were used, which were brought from Belgium and Estonia. Despite the fact that the building has lost its authentic form, the work with the authenticity of the material evokes respect - in this project it is the restoration that takes place: with the clearing of the historical masonry and the careful selection of new material. Unfortunately, in our city this is still a rare case of restoration work, especially when it comes to buildings that do not have a conservation status.
Velux played an important role here too: to create rhythm and harmony with facade glazing in attics, not traditional free-standing windows were used, but combinations of modules of different sizes assembled into a single block.
Also, another solution, quite rare for the St. Petersburg reconstruction, was used: a window block made of combined attic and facade elements. Thanks to this combination, the rooms received not only overhead light through the inclined roof window, but also a good view. The facade element is attached directly to the facade window, which minimizes the width of the impost and creates the feeling of a single translucent structure.
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zooming 1/6 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 2/6 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 3/6 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 4/6 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 5/6 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 6/6 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
The building on Bolshaya Zelenina, a typical building of 1950, the customer also decided to reconstruct. The architects corrected the proportions of the openings, leaving the constructive structure, the pitched roof was dismantled and built up within the framework of the height regulations. The new "layer" of the clinker and travertine façade linked the building with the context of the street, softening the place of adjoining to the red-brick neighbor. The color for the "frame", where the old Soviet wall is hidden behind the plaster surface, was borrowed from the apartment house of Duke Nikolai Leuchtenberg, located nearby.
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zooming 1/4 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 2/4 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 3/4 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
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zooming 4/4 MFC GRANI Photo © Grigory Sokolinsky
The name of the complex successfully reflects its essence - it really turned out to be multifaceted and multi-layered both visually and functionally: in addition to the apart-hotel and offices, a fitness center will soon appear here, shops and cafes will open on the ground floors, a landscaped courtyard is open to all residents of the city.
