The best wooden architecture in Russia 2021: 9 main projects

The winners of the ARCHWOOD 2021 — the annual award for the best wooden structure in Russia — have been announced. We tell you about the main architectural works of the competition, which won the hearts of the jury and the public.

Teresa Poghosyan

Photo: Ilya Ivanov

The ARCHBISHOP’s Award is being held for the twelfth time, and despite a difficult pandemic year for customers and architects, the number of participants has grown significantly this time. Last but not least, the quality of work has also improved. The award ceremony was held in Moscow on September 24 — the winners were announced in nine nominations, which were determined by the opinion of the jury and public vote. Consider the best architectural projects of this year’s award.

Cottage of architect Rustam Kerimov

Author: Rustam Kerimov, designer Alexander Motkov

Nomination: “Country house» / jury’s choice

The house of architect Rustam Kerimov is distinguished by brutality and laconic design. The author of the project wanted to create a one-and-a-half-story house with access to the roof on a small plot. The walls of the house were decided to be painted black, and the rhythm of the facade was given with the help of a vertical beam. In strict architecture, a huge panoramic window with a view of the garden attracts the eye. An amphitheater staircase leads to the roof, which can be used as a recreation area and an observation deck. A panoramic view of the forest opens from the roof, and a terrace is located around the perimeter of the house, acting as a link between the interior and exterior. On an area of 92 m2, the architect managed to accommodate a master and guest bedroom, two bathrooms, a living room combined with a kitchen, a study with a fireplace area and a library, a hall, a zone for zoom conferences on the mezzanine.

Photo: Ilya Stolyarov

Siberian Retreat House

Authors: A61architects

Nomination: “Country house» / public vote

The architects of the A61architects bureau had the task of creating a secluded space on a “closed” on the north side and an “open” on the south side plot with a forest. This effect was achieved thanks to the complex shape of the roof: from the north side it is invisible, so the house looks like a one—story ascetic structure, and from the south — thanks to the visible roof, the building becomes two-story and compositionally very saturated. The heart of the house is a terrace that unites all its parts. In such an open space, harmoniously integrated into the volume of the house, you can comfortably relax in the fresh air at any time of the year.

Photo: Ilya Ivanov

Sauna and guest house in Kavgolovo

Author: architectural bureau “Needles”

Nomination: “Small object» / jury’s choice

The sauna is located on a plot at the foot of a hill overlooking the lake. In order to harmoniously fit the building into the natural landscape, it was partially deepened into the ground, and grass was planted on the roof. In the decoration of the facade, the architects used aged dark boards, and added a column painted red as an accent.

Photo: Grigory Sokolinsky

A house on stilts in a pine forest

Authors: Green Path Bureau

Nomination: “Small object» / public vote

“We adhered to the dimensions of transportable housing: if necessary, you can move the house to a new place,” the authors of this project say. The house stands on high stilts, neatly inscribed in a pine forest — it feels as if it is hanging in the air on trees. On an area of 13.7 m2 there is a spacious sleeping place, a kitchenette in a niche, an entrance hall, a bathroom with a shower. In addition, the house has a panoramic window by the bed and hinged glass doors that combine the interior space with a terrace.

Photo: Kristina Merezhko

Dmitry Ovcharov ‘s Barn House

Author: Nefa Architects, Dmitry Ovcharov

Nomination: “Wood in decoration” / jury’s choice

Dmitry Ovcharov’s Barn House is a country house with a facade of aged dark—colored boards. This year, several projects performed in the barn style (translated from English as “barn”) participated in the award, and this is one of them. They are characterized by simplicity, some brutality and environmental friendliness. In the 180 m2 house, along with the use of traditional materials, there are also technological modern solutions related, for example, to the issues of waterproofing of the roof and drainage.

Photo: Ilya Ivanov

The hotel “Dot on the map. Priozersk”

Authors: architectural bureau Rhizome

Nomination: “Wood in decoration” / public vote

The hotel “Dot on the map. Priozersk” is located on Cape Mayachny in the Leningrad region, on the shore of Lake Ladoga. The concept of the hotel is based on the principle of “maximum interaction with nature, minimum impact on it”. For example, all modules were manufactured at the factory and delivered to the site ready—made — so the authors of the project avoided the invasion of construction equipment in the pine forests of Lake Ladoga and preserved the surrounding landscape. The hotel has 46 rooms with panoramic views of the coast and the forest. The architects tried to arrange the modules so that the presence of neighbors was not felt and the hotel guests did not interfere with being alone with nature.

Photo: JSC “NSB”

Air Park ”Plywood Sea“ in the indoor extreme park «Uram”

Authors: Legato Sports Architecture

Nomination: “Public building” / jury’s choice

The wooden structure for BMX freestyle is located in Kazan in the indoor extreme park “Uram”, in one of the centers of street sports in Russia. The Plywood Sea Air Park is not just a set of huge trampolines, but a smart object: each figure here has a wide functionality, and often they are combined into one complex hybrid object. All the details and subtleties of the project were carefully thought out together with the BMX athletes. Since the convenience of riding directly depends on observing the proportions of the figures, some of them were adjusted right during installation.

Photo: Daniil Shvedov

“Plywood Sea” is not only a center of street culture, but also a unique example of wooden sports architecture. “In fact, the beauty of Air Park is hidden behind its facade. In general, beauty in construction is a clear understanding of design solutions, on which the speed of production, material consumption, reliability of structures and the time spent on installation depend. It is from these points that beauty is created that no one sees and which is called balance or professionalism,” says Vasily Borisenko, co—founder of Legato Sports Architecture and legend of Russian BMX.

Photo: Daniil Shvedov

Skate Park Bowl Alvar Aalto

Authors: XSA Ramps, Konstantin Taranov, Viktor Kvasha

Nomination: “Public building” / public vote

XSA founder Konstantin Taranov, after self-isolation, decided to create a place where he and his colleagues could spend their free time. Since many of them lead an active lifestyle, the choice fell on a small indoor skate park. Delving into the study of the history of skateboarding, Taranov came across a very significant person of world architecture, which indirectly influenced the origin of skateboarding. It was Alvar Aalto, a Finnish architect, an icon of the Scandinavian style.

Photo: Alexander Bivol

In the 30s, a swimming pool in the shape of a human kidney was created in a Finnish city according to his project. The depth of the bottom changed from one side of the pool to the other, and this became its main feature. Aalto technology has spread all over the world and has reached the USA, where it has become fashionable to design swimming pools in backyards. In the 70s, there was a drought in America: the pools were empty, and the wind did not catch up with the waves on the beaches. Surfers in search of thrills decided to attach the wheels to the board and ride on such a device on the slopes of empty pools. That’s how skateboarding was born. “We will return to the origins of skateboarding. And we will have our own “pool”, which we will build as a tribute to the great architect,” says Konstantin.

Photo: Alexander Bivol

According to the drawings found in the Aalto library in Vyborg, they managed to design a skate park, which also became a remarkable object of wooden architecture.

Photo: Alexander Bivol

Public space in Nikolsky rows

Authors: Katarsis Architectural Bureau, Pyotr Sovetnikov, Vera Stepanskaya

Nomination: “Urban Environment Design” / jury’s choice

Katarsis Bureau has created a pop-up space in the courtyard of Nikolsky Rows in St. Petersburg. The new place is harmoniously integrated into the surrounding historical architecture — as the bureau says, it turned out to be an “ensemble within an ensemble”. Such stylistic diversity in one square resembles the atmosphere of traditional winter fairs in Russia with their inherent eclecticism. The new space includes an art object “Rotating Triumphal Arch”, a wooden bandstand, small houses with luminous caps, a slide.

Photo: Grigory Sokolinsky

Wooden structures can change their position and functionality — thanks to this, different scenarios of space use are possible. For example, in winter you can sledge on the slide, in summer it turns into an amphitheater with plants, where citizens relax, hold lectures, master classes and film screenings in the open air.

Photo: Grigory Sokolinsky

Photo: Grigory Sokolinsky

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