We talk to Ivan Grekov, head of the KAMEN architectural bureau and designer of many iconic Moscow buildings in recent years, about the history of the bureau and its approach to form, the different meanings of volume and facade, and the “layers” in working with the environment, using two projects by the Osnova Group as examples. These are the MIRAPOLIS quarter on Mira Avenue in Rostokino, construction of which began at the end of last year, and a multifunctional complex on 2nd Silikatny Proezd on Zvenigorodskoye Shosse, which recently passed expert review.
Did you win closed competitions for these two projects?
Ivan Grekov:
Yes, in 2020, we first won the competition held by Osnova Group for 2nd Silikatny Lane, and then for Prospekt Mira (the MIRAPOLIS quarter). In both cases, 3–4 teams participated. Inspired by Osnova's work with MVRDV on the RED7 project, we were very keen to work with this company and approached the competition proposals with great attention. We met several times during the competitions to discuss approaches to the territory; it was an iterative process. At some point, we managed to find vivid images and a successful approach in terms of integrating hybrid functions and transforming objects.
Our hopes were justified—firstly, in both cases, the client chose the option that we considered to be the best, and secondly, the projects are developing in the right direction, with virtually no changes to the main idea (minor details aside). For us, this is an absolute breakthrough. Often, a beautiful idea is significantly simplified in the process of working on a project. In our case, everything is positive.
Yes, the forms of your projects are always impressive. How do they emerge, based on function?
The volume is well-oriented, organizes the courtyard environment, does not create unnecessary surfaces, and is as efficient as possible. I call this approach “architectural origami”: it is a stereometric task to create a spatial sculpture. Like a pattern, when you can't cut or sew anything—so that there is nothing accidental, to clean everything of husks. This approach is very close to us; many of our objects are related to physical properties, to the search for form around certain tectonic features, natural features of forms and functions.
What do you mean when you say that objects are connected with physical properties?
When it comes to physical properties, interaction with the environment is important—how the facade or the object itself reacts to sunrise, sunset, sunny or cloudy weather.
What distinguishes a sculpture from a house?
When we look at any building, we always see windows. Lots of windows—that's a building. But if there are no windows, what is it? A mystery arises. Some kind of urban megalith. We have one large object on the banks of the Moskva River, where we managed to create a facade that, if you defocus your gaze, begins to dissolve and reflect the environment, disappearing. There are themes about volume, sculpturality, and proportions. There is a theme about the organization of functions. And there is a task—to create some kind of connection with the environment, with light, with shadow, with reflections. We also call this physics.
What is the environment for you?
The environment is a three-dimensional concept for us; we break it down into layers. There are layers of perception: distant perspectives, close perspectives. How we interact with an object when moving. The next layer is the atmosphere, our surroundings, the air. The connection between the earth and the air occurs through our object; our objects are a kind of transistor, they connect the sky and the earth. We also see our task as creating an environment at ground level, and the next level is above, beacons that float somewhere in the sky and react only to the sun and clouds.
If we talk about the Rostokino project, the MIRAPOLIS quarter, the dialogue takes place inside the object. It is surrounded by a rich transport infrastructure: public transport, roads, pedestrian routes. Inside, there is dense development, and the dialogue takes place more between the volumes within the object.
When it comes to the Rostokino project, the MIRAPOLIS neighborhood, the dialogue takes place within the facility. It is surrounded by a rich transport infrastructure: public transport, roads, pedestrian routes. Inside, there is dense development, and the dialogue takes place more between the volumes within the facility.
When it comes to 2nd Silikatny, we were more focused on creating a self-contained project because the surrounding area is still being developed; the dialogue here is more internal—in a broad sense, we see it as a welcoming element of the Big City.
Speaking of 2nd Silicate, here we were more focused on creating an object “in itself” because the surrounding development is still taking shape; the dialogue here is more internal—in a broad sense, we perceive it as a welcoming element of the Big City.
The full version of the interview can be found on the archi.ru portal.