Jekaterinburg

In 2018, the Russian property developer Brusnika launched a competition with the theme of 'Urban Block Collection', which was won by Nöfer Architekten. Brusnika sought to apply the principles developed during the competition to combine Russia's tradition of prefabricated and modular housing construction with the functional and formal principles of the European city, creating urban spaces modelled on this approach. One of the first completed projects is a complex on Ulitsa Chelyuskintsev in the Zentralny district, comprising four blocks from which four towers rise. The aim is to integrate the high-rise buildings, with their varying proportions, into the urban fabric in such a way that the human scale of the street spaces is preserved. Optimised modules and grids give rise to blocks that create clearly defined public and private spaces whose functions enliven the public realm. The upper floors contain a wide variety of flats of different sizes and specifications. The façades consist of a number of different yet recurring elements which vary enough to create diverse spaces. This approach will enable the enormous housing demand in Russia in the coming years to be met without resorting to the monotonous, poor-quality mass housing construction that is so often associated with anti-urban development.

Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022, we have been forced to end our collaboration with the Russian project developer Brusnika. There is no justification for the aggressive, expansionist attacks on Ukraine’s independence, and we fully support all European and German sanctions. However, alongside the intolerable political dimension of the conflict, there is also the human and professional collaboration with Brusnika’s staff, which was very trusting and productive right up until the start of the war. To protect both sides, we ceased our collaboration with our Russian clients when the sanctions were imposed. Nevertheless, we would like to showcase the excellent results achieved in housing construction – projects built in accordance with our plans – as they bear witness to the friendly cooperation between Russians and Germans.