PROJECT RUSSIA №46 - business

Ever since Russia became a market economy, almost any activity in this country involvingthe making of decisions has taken a business-like quality. Business is what in one form or another is practiced by Russia's civil servants, policemen, teachers... Pragmatism has penetrated into all walks of life and the cities themselves have become gigantic business centres. Plainly, the main function of any business space is to facilitate efficient conduct of affairs. It's likewise plain that such efficiency is impossible without good planning. However, for some reason in Russia the logic used in design of individual offices is not applicable to cities. Here all power is held by property developers, and the latter's role is played not just by business people, but by the authorities as well. The systematic approach to urban planning that was typical of the prefree-market period has given way to a view of the city as a mechanical aggregate of separate plots of land that are either suitable for development or not. This might seem to be a victory for liberalism. However, when applied to a city, this same liberalism, instead of acting as a stimulant, is actually a brake on business. The greater the flow of investment into a city, the more that city requires condensation. New office, hotel, and retail buildings are erected, land prices go up - and, with them, the number of storeys in a building. But without a coordinated development policy, normal condensation of a city is impossible. When such a policy is lacking, as in the case of Moscow with its 'spot-by-spot development', the result is complete chaos. Fora city with such vaulting ambitions, this is simply unbearable. It may seem incredible to us, but the megalopolises with the highest concentration of capital (London, New York, Hong Kong) have the most developed public-transport systems; the 'golden boys' use buses and the metro to get to work. And this is not simply because business in these countries is more democratic, but also because a skyscraper is never going to have enough parking spaces for everyone. So it would make more sense not to spend money on car parking at all. Renzo Piano's 70-storey London Bridge Tower, currently under construction, will have a mere 11 parking spaces. But Norman Foster's Russia Tower for Moscow City will have 300% more... Alexei Muratov. editor-in-chief.   CONTENTS NEWS Yury Grigoryan About the pure form Alexander Zmeul In brief Anna Mikhailova Restauration: summing up the season Dmitry Shvidkovsky Retro-development and self-reflection Sergey Sitar PERMMUSEUMXXI: city branding or historic event Andrey Kaftanov Gazprom competition can be replayed Tatiana Pashintseva Zodchestvo: The comeback of avant-garde Ekaterina Goglovatyuk Siza was shown in Moscow Anna Kostina Abitare il tempo: Look into the future Efim Freydin Warm summer in Siberia Office technologies by Solo Planes: furniture for improvisations Trimo competition results Architects decorate chairs ArchiCompetition with NAYADA JUNG: office in the city centre Ligne Roset: the expansion continues Family dinner in Manezh Lumina: the new quality of light GUP MNIIP Mosproekt-4 Apartment building on Khodynskoe Field in Moscow BUSINESS Alexei Muratov Editorial Alexei Muratov Room-sized cities IrinaShipova Office architecture in post-industrial Europe: Germany INTERIORS Alexander Zmeul Yandex. In search of the ideal office Atrium architectural studio Yandex office Atrium architectural studio Office of Life Financial Group ABD Architects The Bacardi office in Moscow XYZ architectural studio Office of the Parquet Hall company board Art-Blya Architects Studio in the ArtPlay design centre BUILDINGS Sergey Ryabokobylko Aesthetic projects are always successful Sergey Kiselev and Partners Hermitage Plaza office centre Ostozhenka Architects Capital Plaza office complex NBBJ and Art-Blya Silver City business centre Mamoshin Architecture and Design Centre Office building in St Petersburg ART Proekt Conversion of canteen to office building in Nizhny Novgorod Elena Gonzalez The present and future of business parks in Russia Andrey Chernikhov Architects and Modern Line Arkitekter Khimki-IKEA business park Tatiana Pashintseva Firstborn at Moscow City ENKAand Natal Embankment Tower office complex in Moscow City Anna Bronovitskaya Communist-era research institutions MONITOR Ekaterina Golovatyuk Fence. Mountain part of the south coast of Crimea PAPER/TOTEMENT Apartment in Moscow Philippe Chiambaretta PinchukArtCentre in Kiev DNKАГ Private house near Moscow TEXTS Feliks Novikov The Union of Architects of the USSR and the architect gene Tatiana Malinina Architect Karo Alabyan: Between avant-garde and the classics TECHNOLOGY PROJECT RUSSIA CATALOGUE