Houses with Architecture Inspired by Norwegian Fjords to be Built in Moscow

Construction of residential buildings according to the project of  WALL Architectural Bureau has begun on Simonovskaya Embankment. The buildings will “cite” the rocky seascape and form a “vertical embankment”. This effect is achieved thanks to the original design of the facades, which combines the natural solidity of the stone and the transparency of glass. Chief Architect of Moscow Sergey Kuznetsov spoke about this.

Først Residential Complex is being built on the arc of Simonovskaya Embankment, where river, park and transport infrastructures converge. The total area of the project will be 82,686 sq. m. It consists of four buildings up to 20 floors high with underground parking for 273 cars.

“The clinker facades of the complex are designed in the aesthetics of coastal cliffs: the alternation of bricks in five shades of gray (from dark to light) creates the effect of layered rock. By analogy with the tectonic structure washed by the seas for centuries, the darkest layers are laid down at the base of the building, gradually changing the gradient to light gray on the upper floors. Therefore, the authors of the project poetically compare the decoration with the pattern of the Norwegian fjords"- said Sergey Kuznetsov.

Large balconies with an open view and panoramic glazing (the height of the windows reaches 2.5 meters) work in favor of the natural concept in the horizontal and vertical planes. As a result, the house, it seems, grows out of the earth, like a natural formation - a rock - a symbol of the security and resistance of the material in the dynamics of the city. It is important that such a facade is able to withstand the age. Brick is a durable material, besides, it “ages” beautifully.

The traditions of modern Scandinavian architecture are also expressed in extremely precise lines that remove unnecessary visual "noise" and stress, allowing you to make a visual pause. 

“We think of ourselves in the context of world architecture, and minimalism is an absolute trend. This sensual experience in projects, when architecture is made up of proportions, simplicity, the ratio of light and shadow, vertical and horizontal, from the sensations of the place where this architecture should appear, it presupposes rather ascetic external solutions based on the play of volumes, plasticity and sculpturality" - says Ruben Arakelyan, co-founder of WALL Architectural Bureau, author of the Først Residential Complex project.

The project, which is being implemented by Forma developer, also provides for landscaped public spaces with an area of more than 6 thousand square meters.