News

—10.02.2023
Rizhskaya metro station opened

Metro station Rizhskaya (Bolshaya Koltsevaya Line) was opened

—11.12.2022
Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning of Moscow approved the concept of a new club house Sminex-Inteko "Obydensky 1"

Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning of Moscow approved the concept of a new club house Sminex-Inteko "Obydensky 1"

—10.10.2022
Discovery Shopping Center becames the best mall on Arendator Awards 2022!

The project won a prestigious commercial real estate award.

—26.09.2022
Department stores

A department store in a shopping center is a whole world with the architecture based on its own canons.

—15.09.2022
Building of GEOLOG

Construction of the GEOLOG business center by Hutton Development is in progress on Obrucheva St. in Moscow.

—09.09.2022
The decoration of the "Rizhskaya" is 80% completed

Works on the architectural decoration of the Rizhskaya metro station in Moscow have been completed by 80%.

—20.07.2022
The St. Petersburg office of Blank Architects is working on HOLLYWOOD Shopping Center

This year St. Petersburg is waiting for one new shopping center - HOLLYWOOD, the architecture and interiors of which were created by Blank Architects team.

—19.07.2022
Shopping center "Vesna" renovation has been completed

The renovation of the shopping center "Vesna!" located on the Altufyevsky Highway has been completed according to our project: it includes the renovation of public spaces and food court.

—15.07.2022
New 4* hotel in Magadan in details

We found the architectural solution for the new 4* hotel project in Magadan in the harsh northern landscape – with its powerful rock breaks and stunning large-scale views.

—11.07.2022
Hotel in Agoy – new video about the project

The hotel complex in the Agoy Village of Tuapse district is one of our new, but already favorite projects.


Blank Architects strengthens the team

We invites chief, leading and landscape architects, and visualizer.

—27.06.2022
Discovery: grand opening

Discovery shopping center by developer MR Group has been opened in Moscow. The project became the first opened shopping center in the city since the beginning of 2022.

—14.06.2022
Blank Architects won at ArchMoscow

The Blank Architects team took part in the exhibition ArchMoscow 2022 — the main event of the architectural world, annually bringing together hundreds of professionals and experts.

—30.05.2022
Blank Architects at ArchMoscow

Blank Architects will present an exposition dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the bureau's at the exhibition "ArchMoscow 2022".

—23.05.2022
Blank Architects metro project was shortlisted

The project of the consortium BACE (Blank Architects and Clancy Engineering) for the Ostrov Mechty metro station became the finalist of the first stage of the International competition for the development of the architectural appearance of the Moscow Metro stations.

—12.05.2022
How the residential projects may look in future

How the residential projects may look in future and what are the architects ready to offer? The chief architect of Blank Architects projects, Dane Klyakovich, shared the opinion in the author's column for the Portal of Archsovet of Moscow on how the approach to the design of residential real estate will change.

—25.04.2022
Как новая турбулентность изменит торговые центры?

орговые центры в новых условиях закрытия международных брендов столкнулись с оттоком трафика, а эксперты предрекают рост вакансии.

—24.03.2022
New project in Sochi

Another hotel project by Blank Architects - this is a complex in the village of Maisky.

—17.02.2022
Rizhskaya station in progress

Look underground: at the station of BCL "Rizhskaya", which was designed be Blank Architects everything is already prepared for the installation of arched structures.

—15.02.2022
"Tomorrow will come today" is now available on our website

"Tomorrow will come today" is a research and manifesto dedicated to changes in the architecture of the housing in future and our ideas about how we see really comfortable modern homes.

—08.02.2022
Blank Architects made a masterplan concept for the Prokshino cluster in Moscow

Blank Architects has developed the concept of a masterplan for the Prokshino sports and event cluster in Prokshino, Moscow, - a unique project for Russia. The project includes cultural and sports facilities, an event venue, a water park and a 100 m high slide.

—03.02.2022
Branding for NOVAMALL

For an umbrella brand of shopping centers NOVAMALL, we have created a logo, corporate identity and brandbook.

—27.01.2022
Branding

We create real estate projects at all points of contact with the audience: from architecture and landscaping to interior design, way finding and unique branding.

—12.01.2022
The Discovery shopping center by MR Group has been commissioned

The Discovery shopping center by MR Group has been commissioned in Moscow as part of the residential complex. We have created the concept of interiors and navigation in for the shopping area: finishing works and installation of lighting are continuing inside.

mari_details_-6.jpg
Name
Location
Program
Status
Scale
Mari — Shopping Center
Moscow
Program: Retail, Interiors
Status: Completed
Scale: 50 000-100 000 sqm

—09.05.2016
Mari — Shopping Center

The Interior for the five-story shopping mall, where the main element was an atrium with an enormous skylight above the entrance zone.
The name "MARI" for the mall was chosen by the Client. We followed along with the idea and look at the building as at MARIa – a girl, a lady and a woman - all in one.

 

"The circle plan became the ornament of the interior design."

Magda Kmita
Partner

Conversation —
A non-standard project

Lukasz Kaczmarczyk
Partner

This one — the "MARI" Shopping and Entertainment Complex looks to have been a non-standard project. Can you tell me a bit more about it?

Alexandra Razina
Architect

Ah yes. Definitely. We were asked to design an interior for the five-story shopping mall, where the main element was an atrium with an enormous skylight above the entrance zone.

LK
Partner

Seems more or less standard so far!

AR

Sure, but the unusual aspect was the name for the mall — "MARI," which was chosen by the client. Perhaps the choice of name was just incidental, and yes, connected to the fact that the site was in the suburb of Marino, but we decided to play along with the idea. We decided to view the building as MARIa – a girl, a lady and a woman - all in one.

LK

Well ships are always female, so why not buildings?!

AR

Indeed — why not? The more we thought about it the more it made sense, bearing in mind that Mari could actually have many faces: a mom, an athletic girl, a business woman, and a fun-loving little girl. We decided to dedicate each floor to a different Mari and her varied "moods" or "personas," ranging from the laid back and comfy, to energetic and vibrant.

LK

And how did you achieve this?

AR

Well we created different atmospheres by designing each floor with different floor surfaces, suspended ceilings, columns, furniture, and lighting systems.

LK

A question on a slightly different topic: do you think it's actually possible to create thoughtful architecture for what is essentially a commercial space?

AR

Well.... while this type of project — and indeed many of our commercial projects — are not imbued with deep philosophical intent, I believe that's it's possible to create thoughtful, mindful architecture in any circumstances. If architecture’s original concept can go deeper, it adds meaning to the place it is constructed in. While the average visitor remains blissfully unaware of the architect's intent, it is nevertheless our aim to approach every project — as much as possible — with mindfulness about the use of the space, and where possible — as is the case with this project — to inject some wit and humor into the design process.

LK

Ok, back to the more practical questions: tell me about the circular shape of the whole complex.

AR

Yes, it's a repeated theme: we capitalized on that idea as well and used the circle as the main shape for the interiors. They change in shapes, sizes and colors with each floor. The main atrium is full of colors and circle elements.

LK

And a lot of glass additions.

AR

Yes. The side atriums have glass finishing from the balcony bottoms and to the pictograms on the glass walls. There are glass art pieces mixed in with lighting elements hanging in the center. In the last atrium at the back side of the building, where we can see the river front, we have added a hanging, light fixture sculpture. We used light, bright colors in the mall and added colors as accents to the furniture, the details of the wall-hangings.

LK

And quite a mix of materials, which is something unusual in a shopping center.

LK

And quite a mix of materials, which is something unusual in a shopping centre.

AR

Yes definitely. There's a real mix of colors, and materials: tile, metal, wood, graphics, and furniture on the third floor in the food court area. In the middle, we designed wooden 3D trees that branch out above different seating areas. Lighting elements add brightness to the area where the skylights are missing. We placed simple but different-styled seating on a very colorfully designed floor. To make it cozier we added natural greenery.

LK

And a lot of natural light, I see.

AR

Absolutely. Thankfully the days of those "casino-like" shopping malls where you can't work out what time of day it is after you get inside are coming to an end in Russia, and clients themselves understand that spaces that are entirely artificially lit don't create a positive, welcoming atmosphere. At the end of the day our clients for these types of projects are interested in offering a pleasant experience for visitors and guests — especially in a place like this that is not merely a shopping center, but a complex that contains office space, and areas for sport and entertainment. It's essentially a hub of activity, and as such, needs to engage and attract people who are likely to spend considerable time there. And that part of the job is something that we can assist with!

Team
 

Lukasz Kaczmarczyk
Partner

Magda Cichon
Partner

Magda Kmita
Partner

Piotr Fafara
Partner

Agata Stebel
Lead Architect