Nizhniy Towers

In the very centre of Nizhniy Novgorod, with stunning views to the Kreml, Dyer was commissioned to design a mixed-use development with emphasis on the luxury residential component on a fairly complex site. With more than 100.000 sqm gross building area, featuring close to 600 apartments, this scheme will be one the prime luxury developments in the city.

The site characteristics and local requirements allowed us to create a composition of two blocks, both constructed of three base modules. The square unit blocks allowed us to break down the massing into segments, to highlight the verticality of the towers. However the proportion of the elevation is hardly that of a slender tower, and the elevation pattern has been designed to accommodate the inheritance of the surrounding building environment.

We have investigated the vertical stacking of panels within the grid across different levels, with consequent effect on the proportion of the tower facades. Eventually, we chose to stack all the elevations into a coherent grid pattern accentuating the narrower, more elegant proportion of these elongated blocks. We have included a variety within this grid through the disposition of windows; ventilation casements and spandrel insulated painted glazing. These elements are staggered from one floor to the next within an ordered pattern. This is a regular pattern with traditional character, which we believed is more suitable for a residential use than the more common random pattern we see so many times these days.

The stepped caps of each individual tower features a sudden material change, which is necessary to achieve the required effect of the neighbouring Russian Orthodox Church onion domes. This was a special request from our client, which we found difficult first to accommodate. However the decreasing floor plates created spectacular penthouse terraces and provided a special character for the development.

The site and the whole development are rather complex. We chose a special approach where the different uses are overlaid one on another, rather than splitting different types of functions with party walls. The architecture of the scheme brings all the different uses together, and differentiates towers and podium. Parking integrates a segment of the office component, vertically followed retail, public services and the residential private park. On top of all these layers the group of residential towers are located.