ALMAZOV NATIONAL MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER: A RESEARCH AND EDUCATION COMPLEX

Project Authors:

Architects: N. I. Yawein, N. A. Smolin, Ya. V. Smolina, E. A. Novosakyuk, A. I. Amelkovich, N. Yu. Andreeva, A. A. Barketov, V. I. Burmistrova, A. V. Domaschenko, M. F. Logachyov, N. I. Novotochinov, K. S. Rylskaya, M. N. Sokolova, R. N. Tarachkov, M. O. Fyodorov, V. N. Yakovenko

Structural Engineers: D. P. Kresov, S. S. Bogdanov, P. G. Maul

Leading Project Engineers: M. S. Blinkova, V. M. Kuptsov

Almazov National Medical Research Centre research and education complex is a campus where medical students will live and study, research will be carried out, and conferences and congresses will take place. The Research and Education Complex holds a special place in the ecosystem of the multifaceted organism to be created: it is both a focal point and a connective tissue. This is where the gravitational lines between the city and the park, the Main Building of the National Medical Research centre and the Children’s Clinical Rehabilitation Centre intersect. These force fields make the architectural mass of the new structure split and give way to communication links in the form of roofed street passages.

A   longitudinal passage runs from the Children’s Clinical Rehabilitation Complex to the Main Building and brings together the main functional blocks of the Research and Education Complex: the Southern (Administration) Block adjacent to the Children’s Clinical Rehabilitation Complex, the Central (Research) Block stretched along Kolomyazhsky Prospect, and the Northern (Multidisciplinary) Block near Solunskaya Street. There are three cross-sectional links: the central covered passage in the main entrance zone and two extra streets along the engineering network lines. Each of the cross-sectional links opens up onto the green space of the Udelny Park, making the structure both physically and visually penetrablee.

The buildings are six storeys high (20 m) in accordance with the requirement issued to protect the visual basin of the Orlov-Denisov estate, a cultural heritage monument designed by A. M. Gornostaev in 1839–41. Their shapes vary, but each building has a five-storeyed top-lit atrium as its core. The façades are uniform, with panoramic glazing framed with fins that provide deep chiaroscuro. The living pulse of the new research and education organism is embodied in the picturesque curve of the Kolomyazhsky Avenue façade.

The Education Block, the heart of the structure, imposes a rhythm on the other parts of the project. Here, the central passage expands to the size of a city square providing the opportunity for people to get together, talk, and organize a variety of events. The top-lit atrium space on both sides of the main entrance houses auditoriums, multifunctional lecture rooms, a museum, a book stall, and islands for classes and conferences. The first and second floors of the Education Block house classrooms of various sizes, department and faculty offices. The layout of these floors is far from being a boring system of hallways: the rooms are located along the perimeter of a large lounge around an oval floor opening that lets in the light. On the third floor, there are the dean’s office and a business incubator with exits to an accessible roof.

The Halls of Residence are three six-storied buildings placed so that most bedroom windows and balconies look out onto the park. The northern and central buildings face the longitudinal covered street with dining halls and teacher cafeteria lounges. Two-bed student rooms are located on Floors One through Five.

The Research Block is mainly occupied by laboratories. It also houses the Admissions Office and the Accreditation and Simulation Centre.

The Multidisciplinary Block houses the sports centre, an open-storage library, and an auditorium of 500 seats. A VIP area with a separate exit faces Solunskaya Street. The directorate offices are located above it.

The parts of the complex are brought together by a well-developed system of passageways on the second and third floors. In addition to the main entrance to the Education Block, there are two extra entryways from Kolomyazhsky Prospect, one leading into the sports area and the other leading into the administration section. In addition to an underground car park, an outdoor visitors’ parking area is available by the main entrance.