Russky Dom (Russian House) Residential Complex

Ground floor plan

5th floor plan

Development Drawings

Development Drawing

Visualisation

Visualisation. Interior

Architectural Model

Sketch

Site plan

Project Owners

LSR. Real Estate North-West Co.

Address

5, Baskov ave., St. Petersburg

Designed

2015-2018

Constructed

2012-2016

Plot Area

24 027 sq. m

Built-Up Area

21 979 sq. m

Gross Internal Area

93 724,5 sq. m

Number of Storeys

5–9 storeys

Number of Apartments

395

Head of the Authors Team

Evgeny Gerasimov

Chief Project Architect

Svetlana Merkusheva

Architects

Svetlana Burdonskaya (Head of the Group), Alexey Smorygin, Anna Yakovleva, Yelena Appolonova, Yelena Budylina, Olga Leushina, Yekaterina Goriunova, Tatyana Kriuchkova, Nadezhda Lavrentyeva, Dmitry Zaitsev

Chief Structural Engineer

Margarita Reznichenko

Structural Engineers

Nina Alexeyeva (Head of the Group), Yulia Ilyina (Head of the Group), Tatyana Lebedeva, Yevgeniya Nikitina, Natalia Bogdanova, Alexander Bogdanov, Anton Koblov, Maria Koksharova, Sergey Nenashev, Kira Ivanova, Tatyana Belova, Marina Inger, Andrey Denisov, Vladislav Antonov

General Layout

Yelena Kuznetsova (Master Plan Chief Expert), Alexandra Titova

Utilities

ProektService Co.: SPB PTI

Chief Project Utility Engineer

Alexey Taborsky, Andrey Akimov

Photos

Andrey Belimov-Guschin

Architectural Model

Yuriy Senatorov

Description

Russky Dom continues and rethinks two traditions at once: that of the Saint Petersburg Art Nouveau revenue houses and of the original ancient Russian architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Russky Dom (Russian House) residential complex is located in the historic center of Saint Petersburg, at a T-junction of two streets, and was built as if it were a traditional St. Petersburg revenue house. The 2.4 ha corner site used to be occupied by an automobile park, which has later been terminated.

A meaning-defining element of the whole building arrangement is the cour d’honneur – an open court facing south. It allows to break the monotony of the façade and bring more light into the apartments. This was a move typical of the traditional Saint Petersburg architecture at the turn of the 20th century. Two other yards are closed, as here the entrances to residential stairways are located.

The architectural solutions of the facades and roofings belong to a style which is unusual for the European-looking Saint Petersburg – the Neo-Russian style, also called à la Russ. At the turn of the 20th century, many Northern European countries were in a search of a national style identity within the Art Nouveau framework, Russia not being an exception. A building in this style is located next to the Russky Dom, which also was a source of inspiration.

The Neo-Russian style rethinks the traditional Russian architecture of the times before the rule of Emperor Peter the Great, that is up to the beginning of the 18th century. It is not order-based, it is genuine and does not refer neither to the Ancient world nor to the classicism with their iconic columns and capitals. Instead, the Neo-Russian style offers volumes of different height tied into a single arrangement, a picturesque multitower roof outline, pointed roofs, carved patterns on the façades. Animal figures in ornaments and wrought-iron elements also refer to the national tradition and are inspired by ancient Russian ornaments.

Architectural concrete used in the façade finish both reminds one of the white stone of the Russian noblemen residencies and emphasizes a sense of solemnity, or even fabulousness.

Thus, it is possible to say that Russky Dom continues and rethinks two traditions at once: that of the Saint Petersburg Art Nouveau revenue houses and of the original ancient Russian architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries. At the same time, the building embraces the city’s architectural environment in a delicate way, without disturbing it neither in terms of style nor scale. This is particularly important, the whole historical center of Saint Petersburg being a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

References in Media

Russky Dom (Russian house) got IAA

Russky Dom (Russian house) residential complex became one of the 2019 winners of The International Architecture Awards — a prestigious architectural award established in 2006 by the Chicago Athenaeum (an International Museum of Architecture and Design).

Awards

International Architecture Awards. Final list of International Architecture Awards — 2019

A silver badge of the international Zodchestvo festival. Works of Architecture of 2017-2019. Buildings. Multiapartment Residential Houses

A diploma from the Russian Academy of Arts for development of traditions in modern architecture

A bronze diploma of the Saint Petersburg Association of Russian Architects show contest Arkhitekton-2020 in the category of Buildings — Mainly residential buildings/complexes.

For the monograph "Architect Alexander Lishnevsky" Evgeny Gerasimov was awarded the "Golden Sign" prize of the XXIX International Architectural Festival "Zodchestvo 2021" in the nomination "Best Book about Architecture and Architects"

Next Project

A development project for the Krasny Treugolnik (Red Triangle) plant territory