Residential complex "Botanica" is one of the projects for the revitalization of the northern part of Aptekarsky Island, the industrial territories of which in recent years, square by square, have been transformed into respectable residential quarters. The predecessors of Botanica are the Europa-City complexes at the site of the Electric plant and Skandi Klubb at the site of the stadium. "Botanica" occupied the territory of the plant of the chemical-pharmaceutical association "October" and the main reserve pharmacy store.
Almost the entire block in which the complex is located is occupied by the campus of the Electrotechnical University with a variety of - from
pseudo-Gothic to functionalism - buildings of the XX century. Two steps away, across the street of Professor Popov, the Botanical Garden of Peter the Great begins - the former Pharmaceutical Garden, in fact, which gave the name to the entire island. On such a site, it is impossible not to react to the genius loci.
"Botanica" does not try to argue with the neighboring building of the oldest LETI building, designed by Alexander Vekshinsky at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, but at the same time strives to become "their own" on the island, for which the architects conducted their own study of the characteristic features of the "gene code" of Petrogradskaya sides, especially neighboring buildings. In the resulting composition,
according to the authors, courtyards-courdoners and decorative elements made of metal were included. On our own, we add that the use of brick in combination with light strokes reminiscent of a stone is also probably initiated by the neighborhood of "brick Gothic" neighboring factory buildings a hundred years ago. Or the same LETI.
One way or another, the image turned out to be collective. It was assembled on the basis of a version of modern architecture intended for the historical center: moderately restrained, but ornamented both for the sake of echoes with the context, and to saturate the facades with eye-catching elements that enrich the impression.
In addition, the average number of storeys is important in the complex - 7 floors, “ideal” for the urban environment, are displayed on the red line; with tiers of "enhanced comfort" receding in depth and equipped with terraces, it turns out to be 8-9. The metal cladding of the upper tiers makes their sound more modern - one would like to compare the house with the reconstruction projects of the 19th century: the brick at the bottom is "as if old", and the metal at the top is new.
But not disguised ventilation exits make you think about Carlson's travels on the roof. The configuration of the pipes, of course, is picturesque, but Pompidou does not hold up to a statement like a facade, and if it echoes with the pinnacles of neighboring historical buildings, it is random. Although we admit that the pipes are not visible from the pedestrian's position.
So, the image turned out to be collective. The brick reminds of the factory architecture, although the different colors and textures definitely show us that it is handmade, that is, not cheap and modern. At the same time, relief stripes, similar to a stripe, are a characteristic technique of the facades of avant-garde buildings, as well as the unification of windows into horizontal groups and corner windows. Slightly rounded corners return to modernity, while lattices and hardwood panels resemble a generalized search for Art Nouveau. White frames can be considered an allusion to pseudo-Gothic, although most of all they resemble the experiences of Italian architects of the 1930s with Campo Marzio.
-
zooming 1/4 RC Botanica Photo © Mamin Denis
-
zooming 2/4 RC Botanica Photo © Mamin Denis
-
zooming 3/4 Botanica residential complex Photo © Denis Mamin
-
zooming 4/4 RC Botanica Photo © Mamin Denis
The abundance of details and textures definitely captivates, the expensive brick looks warm and man-made, and the slight differences between the buildings enliven the project. In general, it is consonant with the European environmental construction in the centers of historical cities, perhaps a little more saturated with decor than most buildings of this typology, that is, it is slightly "hanging" on the verge of 30 and 70, iconic and background, if you approach a house with a theoretical standard, proposed a couple of years ago by Sergei Tchoban.
-
zooming 1/5 RC Botanica Photo © Mamin Denis
-
zooming 2/5 RC Botanica Photo © Mamin Denis
-
zooming 3/5 Botanica residential complex Photo © Denis Mamin
-
zooming 4/5 RC Botanica Photo © Mamin Denis
-
zooming 5/5 RC Botanica Photo © Mamin Denis
The plant motifs on the window grilles, which the architects propose to use as home flower beds, are echoed by the pattern of courtyard fences, similar to the drawings of the grilles by Alexei Bavykin in Bryusov and Elektricheskiy lanes in Moscow. Together, they resemble a maiden grape encircling the walls in late autumn, when it sheds its leaves. Public spaces are arranged between the houses and to the right of the southern building - pedestrian promenade streets, and the latter, adjacent to the university, is enlivened by the preserved pipe of the old boiler house, which looks like an artifact from its perspective. All courtyards and pedestrian streets are decorated with large flower beds in the form of stylized almond-shaped leaves, echoing the floral patterns of decorative panels and grilles on the facades.
Together with the Europa-City and Skandi Klubb complexes, Botanica forms an interesting ensemble of mid-rise buildings, forming the aura of a small European city dear to the hearts of many townspeople.
