Design towers dressed for the occasion

Black, red, gold – no, it’s not the German flag, but an extraordinary architectural project in Moscow that originated as a small black square.

Luxurious apartment building in Russia

In the Shabolovka district, an area with experimental, monumental buildings from the 20s and 30s, the architectural bureau Tsimailo Lyashenko and Partners created an artistic, luxurious apartment building. Kompozitsiya No. 24 is the name of the triptych in the style of Russian constructivism, which houses 74 apartments with 30 different floor plans. “Our goal was to create an environment of the highest quality with the greatest possible comfort for the residents,” explain the architects Alexander Tsimailo and Nikolay Lyashenko. This quality can not only be felt inside, but can also be perceived at a great distance from outside. “Black as a base, gold-ochre as a complement and red as a luminous accent” is how he describes the colour scheme of the façade, which was implemented with shiny Terca bricks in the dimensions 250 x 55 x 65 mm.

Smooth, shiny outer shell

“The main task of façade solutions is to create a holistic yet unusual tableau,” the architects explain. “The combination of shiny black, golden ochre and red makes the building unique and recognisable.” The black brick façades form a solid, smooth wall with windows of various sizes that are set at different heights depending on how the interior is used. The window niches also vary in height.

The golden brick façade forms a solid and smooth wall interspersed with a grid of large windows, and visually counterpoints the black. “Finally, the large red canopy over the main entrance spectacularly rounds off the appearance of the entire building,” is how Tsimailo and Lyashenko describe the exciting composition. “For the golden brick, three matt and high gloss textures were mixed, which resulted in an interesting surface that creates a spillover effect even on overcast days.”

Square within a square within a square

The three eight-storey buildings are accessed through the main entrance with the red canopy and through a spacious designer lobby that connects the houses. In front of it, a large open courtyard invites residents and visitors to linger outdoors. There are also two private, garden courtyards open to residents, which can only be reached from the inside.

Even if it is not visible at first glance – most of the forms of the apartment complex are derived from a square. “The entire project is based on squares,” the architects explain. “The site, the floor plan of the three towers, the windows.” The inspiration for the design and the optics also originated from the square. “A composition by the artist and painter Kazimir Malevich, in which he arranged a black square in a red corner, was one of the first great conceptual statements of Constructivism – and the basis of our concept.”