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Art House mixed-use complex

Sergey Skuratov Architects

Art House mixed-use complex
By Caterina Testa -

Sergey Skuratov graduated from Moscow’s Architecture Institute in 1979. More than 34 years’ experience as a practitioner and academic and some 20 built projects to his name have made him widely acknowledged for his intellectual and design excellence. Skuratov’s many projects in Moscow and other Russian cities evidence an intriguing blend of the rationalist and the ethereal, obsession and practicality, realism and vision; always mindful of context yet at the same time able to transcend it. While the urban context, its culture and history undoubtedly influence his projects and architectural design, Skuratov’s signature is always apparent whatever the building. Similarly, although themes and materials recur, each project is seized as an opportunity to define a new architectural language and launch an experimental challenge in terms of architectural style.

Art House mixed-use complex
Residence, office and cultural centre, Art House is sited in one of Moscow’s prime industrial districts. The brick walls of Skuratov’s project echoes the colours and texture of the huge industrial buildings that form the neighbourhood’s legacy. All outer surfaces of the two new blocks are almost obsessively clad in brick. A meticulously (digitally) calculated use of different shades of brick affords a luminosity that varies with the changing light and gives each block a distinctive identity. Large, three-storey high windows complete the industrial look.
Reference to the contemporary architectural context is often not an immediately recognisable feature of Skuratov’s work and new buildings can seem almost estranged from their surrounds. However, a closer look reveals references to a more distant past and to a more rooted identity. Examples are the perimeter trench along the blocks that recall the historic digs in the area, and the Art House’s intriguing roof profiles.

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