Russian towers and sunlight. Metro competition finalists

At last week’s Architectural Council meeting, the Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning of Moscow awarded the winners and finalists in the development of an architectural design for the Solntsevo and Novoperedelkino metro stations. Ten teams made it into the finals with five projects for each station. Despite the fact that the stations already had structural schemes, and the architects could only work with the design, the level of concept design turned out quite high.

Solntsevo

The architectural firms which developed projects for the design of the Solntsevo metro station naturally started from the very title of the future station (“solntse” in Russian means “sun”). However, the variety of interpretations of the image of sunlight was a pleasant surprise.

NEFAARCHITECTS (NEFARESEARCH) (Moscow, Russia)

Russian architectural firm NEFARESEARCH won the competition for the design of the Solntsevo metro station. According to the architects, they primarily were concerned about the comfort and mood of the passengers. Due to this, they came up with the idea of combining the image of the sun and summer country houses.

The station lobbies resemble traditional Russian cottages and bathhouses, but the architects proposed to make holes in the metal sheets of the roof so that the sun’s rays would penetrate into the pavilion.

On the platform, there will be a sensation of sunlight due to artificial lighting and wall navigation designed as a luminous band in a translucent artificial stone. In addition, there will be glowing stone columns which will be used for navigation also, and as benches and pedestals.

“We were fortunate that out of the two stations, we got to design Solntsevo! Light, sunlight — this is the foundation of architecture, and our studio has a notably architectural approach to design. Therefore, we worked enthusiastically on the station’s appearance, developing the theme of sunlight. The fact that we won is very nice, because to build a metro station in Moscow, in my native city, is a great honor for an architect. Thanks to all the participants of the studio’s group of authors,” said the lead architect of NEFARESEARCH bureau, Dmitry Ovcharok.

Wall (Moscow, Russia)

The special feature of this project was that the architects decided not to build a ground lobby, and outer space served as inspiration for them. According to the project, the entrance to the metro is an art object, repeating the trajectory of the motion of the solar system’s planets, and on the platform itself — on the walls and ceiling — glowing stripes are placed, imitating the starry sky. Another interesting design was the “curved” wall in the passageway to the station. The project developers proposed to use it as a bench.

Rhizome Group (Saint Petersburg, Russia)

The architects from the Rhizome Group bureau used bright colors in their project, based on the name of the station. The solar theme is complemented by lights shaped as “solar disks” which are featured in both the above-ground and underground spaces. The designers proposed to face all of the station with white and yellow tiles, and equip the pavilion with bicycle parking and shops.

Anton Barklyansky (Moscow, Russia)

The author of the design sought to create a quiet, visually comfortable space. He proposed to execute the station’s pavilions in neutral colors of metal and aluminum panels, and the wall going below ground with panels of ceramic granite. The brightest accent of the project was bright orange furniture on the platform. The panels also continue the solar theme with solar stick figures, which the architect proposed to arrange on the track walls.

Rosproekt M (Saint Petersburg, Russia)

The architectural bureau Rosproekt M proposed to create a minimalist, but functional space. According to the project developers themselves, they "wanted to show that spending a relatively low amount on the design, it is possible to achieve high-quality results,“so they gave preference to materials such as granite, ceramic granite, polished concrete and glass-fiber reinforced concrete. One of the features of the project was the placement of unusual circular benches on the platform and in the space located next to the ticket windows.

Novoperedelkino

Unlike Solntsevo, the future Novoperedelkino metro station does not have a name that suggests something. Architects also, apparently, did not find what to grasp onto in the context and presented a wide variety of designs.

U-R-A / United Riga Architects (Riga, Latvia)

The winner of the competition for the development of an architectural design of Novoperedelkino station became the Latvian architectural bureau United Riga Architects. The main idea of the station’s design was a combination of native Moscow architectural motifs and modern interior decoration. Architects used decoration motifs of old Moscow towers and chambers — wall paintings depicting herbal ornaments.

Another feature of the station is its “variability”. Equipped with RGB-LED emitter light boxes, flat or in the form of vaulting, they can change their color scheme. During city celebrations and events patterns may become blue, red, multi-colored, or even broadcast video.

The station pavilions are proposed to be adorned with ornaments in the form of tree trunks. Motifs of the patterns are also planned to be used in landscaping the territory.

“We are very pleased that more than 300 thousand Muscovites voted and recognized our work as the best, and we’re even more pleased that the opinion of Muscovites was supported by the jury! Our project is in Moscow, and very Russian in style. We transformed native Moscow motifs with modern materials and the latest technology. The basis of decoration is light panels that are perforated with openings in the form of Russian patterns. These panels are combined in light boxes, shaped like vaults of the Kremlin chambers. Light passes through the pattern and generates lacy light. And most importantly — the light can change! The built-in RGB-LED emitters can shine in different colors, and on city holidays and events Novoperedelkino station will be strikingly versatile.

The most difficult in terms of the competition was that the participants were given a ready-made, model project, and we only had the opportunity to „dress„ the existing volumes. It is therefore particularly pleasing that all of the participants’ projects turned out so different and interesting,“ said the chief architect of U-R-A, Evgeny Leonov.

Gerber Architekten (Dortmund, Germany)

The German architects proposed an idea of simple passenger navigation at the station and the feeling of sunlight underground. The main feature of the station is a luminous ribbon, uniting the above and below ground parts. The „highlight“ of the station is the undulating ceiling, through which the designers have used the full potential of lighting by simulating sunlight.

Designed like a fan, the station’s pavilion is also interesting.

Studio of Boris Voskoboynikov (NEFARESEARCH)

Minimalistic design in this project is fully compensated by bright lighting design. Color plays a navigation role here too. Rich colors create depth and visually expand the space.

The architects proposed to decorate the walls of the tunnel and platform with decorative panels of laminated glass with uniquely designed drawings made in the technique of plotter silkscreen printing.

Variant Studio (Riga, Latvia)

The main idea of the Riga architects was the idea of quietness. They proposed to face the walls and ceiling with acoustic elements of sound insulation and sound-absorbing lightweight ceramic materials that allow sound waves to bounce off the walls and ceiling and create echoes.

According to the author’s intentions, the wall patterns will help passengers to quickly navigate, it will point the way to the platform or to the nearest exit. The walls and ceiling are planned to be executed in a neutral tone of ochre in the form of an accordion.

FAS (t) (Moscow, Russia)

The station design is defined by its minimalism, and its main focus is an original design that is used underground. The architects proposed to build a „forest“ on the platform. In addition, on the central axis of the platform the architects placed one row of columns, while all utilities are proposed to be out in the open.