KRASIN RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX

Project team:

Architects: Nikita Yaveyn, Vasiliy Romancev, Alena Amelkovich, Vera Burmistrova, Alexander Burdin, Dmitriy Lohanov, Nadezhda Goncharova, Daria Gordina, Nikita Krasnov

Visualization:  Andrey Patrikeev

Chief Project Engineer: Lev Gershtein, Sergei Goremykin

 

The construction of the Krasin residential complex is an inspiring example of the redevelopment of old industrial zones. For centuries, they used to cut the city off from the water at the mouth of the Grand Neva. Johann von Siegheim first documented the local warehouse development in 1738 on a plan. In the second half of the XIII century, with the construction of depots for storing combustible materials, the area in question - an island surrounded by a fire canal - was named Maslyany buyan. By the mid-1960s, the canal was filled in and the warehouse buildings were replaced by concrete laboratory buildings. In the course of privatization, these buildings were removed from the Baltiysky Factory property complex.

By redevelopping Maslyany Buyan in the context of housing, the “Studio 44” project integrates planning structure of the new quarter into the overall coordinate system of the historical part of Vasilievsky Island. A regular grid of street lines spaced at 160 meters was established in 1716 by the master plan by  Domenico Trezzini and Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond. One of the intra-block streets extends to the Neva, so the embankment offers a view of the Constructivist monument  -  water tower of the Krasny Gvozdilshchik plant (1931, Yakov Chernikhov).

The layout of the block reproduces another unique feature of Vasilievsky Island. An example of the stepped  plan of the developpment with 'model' houses can be seen nearby - at 43, Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment. The stepped development principle has been interpolated into the new urban fabric, taking into account its dimensions: while in the historic part each ledge was formed by one three-storey building, now it is formed by two six-storey sections. Proportionally increased depth of the ledges creates a full-fledged public space at the embankment side. From here you can admire the legendary icebreaker Krasin.

Three main blocks, each in a shape of a closed square with a courtyard, consist of 44 sections. The height of the buildings is somewhat lower than the permitted height of 25/28 metres or 3-7 storeys (28/33 metres according to the regulations). The ridge of the pitched roof marks vary between +19,800  and +33,000 m. In addition, the height is visually reduced by one or two attic floors set back into the enclosure. This method was widely used in the development of Vasilievsky Island in apartment buildings at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 

The architecture of the Krasin housing estate echoes several historical prototypes of the development of Vasilievsky Island.

First of all, the aforementioned “model” houses for different social classes, designed by Domenico Trezzini and Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond in 1717-1721 by decree of Peter the Great. Sections facing the embankment and the Gorniy Institute vary in height and façade design. This solution creates the image of a human scale neighbourhood densely packed with many modern interpretations of 'model' houses, instead of one massive building. This allusion to the building archetype of the original Vasilievsky Island also reproduces the historic length of the façades - 18-25 metres. The façades of the "model" houses were completely different, although they were made up of the same type of architectural elements. Same principle was used for the façade composition of the new residential complex.  

Another local prototype of the buildings on the front of the Maslyany Buyan is a barrack complex of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment. In this part of the housing estate, façades 1,5-2 times longer,  cornices are set at a uniform level, and the façade plastics are simply furnished. These sections are also located close to the constructivist monuments – the cable workshop  and the water tower of the Krasny Gvozdilshchik factory. it is this proximity that determines the background character of the façade solutions.

The use of different shades of brick in sections refers to the style of the industrial estate characteristic of the area. The attic floors, in contrast to the brick walls, are faced with natural stone. Light -colored natural stone was used for the facades facing the Neva river. By setting these sections apart from others we continue traditions of the past.

Due to the contrast of materials, variation of façade solutions, silhouettes of pitched roofs and rhythm of the window openings, new building 'hits the scale' and makes it feel at home in the surrounding urban fabric, despite its distinctly modern stylistics.

Gross floor area -  121 400 sq.m., including

Apartments - 58 050 sq.m. (755 flats);

Commerce - 5 360 sq.m.

Underground parking - 21 900 sq.m. (492 parking lots)