UNStudio revealed its competition-winning design for K31 Courtyard, a residential complex in Moscow that fosters community-building in the context of a rapidly changing city. The proposal features a stepped podium and two towers and reinterprets Moscow’s typical courtyard block, aiming to create a new neighbourhood through various housing typologies, amenities, and outdoor spaces.
In recent years, following the approval of a new masterplan, the city of Moscow has seen the redevelopment of former industrial sites into residential areas, and the increase in density came with challenges in fostering a sense of community. The design addresses this issue by cultivating a sense of belonging and safety, encouraging indoor-outdoor living and providing a range of social opportunities.
The podium’s stepped terraces are designed to ensure sufficient daylight for the courtyard-facing apartments while also providing additional amenities for the adjacent units in the form of verandas, greenhouses and orangeries. The project features a wide range of apartment typologies, together with a kindergarten, a fitness centre, commercial spaces and underground parking, as well as a park. Additionally, each tower benefits from a dedicated communal area on top of the podium, housing co-working spaces, sports facilities and a clubhouse for residents.
The façade incorporates a parametrically designed modular system that allows for variety within a rigorous grid, showcasing two distinct architectural images for the podium and the towers. The façade of the podium is clad in brick and black metal, echoing the surrounding buildings, while the towers feature glazed reflective surfaces giving them the appearance of lightness and increasing the openness of the inner courtyard. The latter features a natural wood façade that supports the warm atmosphere within the tree planted outdoor space.
- Building surface: 118.000 m2
- Building site: 1,93 ha.
- UNStudio team: Ben van Berkel, Frans van Vuure with Roman Kristesiashvili, Alexander Kalachev and Nataliya Kuznetsova, Leon Hansmann, Nikolaos Klimentidis, Aigul Sadrtdinova
