TOWER WITH A TWIST

The projected volume of housing development in Russia by 2025 will be about 900 million sqm. The task of this scale requires the development of high-quality template solutions that will, minimize costs at all stages of the project, including upkeep, but also, significantly improve the quality of the residential environment in Russian cities.

The government announced the competition for a new mass standard housing solution in Russia. The construction of 900M square meters of housing is far more than a purely design question. Sustainability and economic envisions are fundamental and indivisible. The use of local resources to its best goes along incentivising local jobs and national market growth. Timber as a construction resource encapsulates environmental assets and local economic development, based on a solid growing market. If we have to imagine the city of the future it would be in timber. Russia has everything to make it happen : resources, infrastructures, industries, opportunities.

By tapping into the vast forest reserves to construct timber frames that could support lightweight façades with mountable lock mechanisms, we completely re-imagined the traditional relationship with buildings as finished objects. We envision a world, where users can choose from a vast ever increasing catalogue, from a variety of independent manufactures and distributors, their own façade which responds to their own specific needs, desires and climate. The solution that can be easily adapted in the future to next owner and therefore extend the lifespan of the building.