Developed by Brusnika, the Na Dekabristov Quarter is a housing estate in the centre of Novosibirsk. The area comprises five houses with three blocks of varying heights and two towers of 17 and 24 storeys. Different architects take credit for designing individual blocks or clusters (a tower and a block). Form and frontage diversity account for a denser and more varied city fabric, contrasting an eclectic mixture of existing district buildings. Three newly completed houses are ready for occupation, a joint work by Brusnika Design and the Dutch-based DROM. The remaining tower and block, designed by the German Nöfer Architekten, is currently under construction. 

Similar to the quarter section by DROM, Nöfer Architekten transformed the remaining plot into a closed block and a podium tower. An open green space with playgrounds, a sports court and recreational spots links the buildings, and a pedestrian precinct with a driveway merges them into the neighbouring area. The cluster embraces the principles of neoclassicism with accentuated simplicity in shapes and minimalist decor. A simple and concise design with a regular grid in shades of beige and grey and symmetrical elements placement was the architects’ choice for the facades. The floor-to-floor shift of recessed balconies, the rhythm of window frames, detail elaboration, and the texture and colour — all add to a vibrant and dynamic look. The tower and block ground floor houses retail outlets and offices, with residential premises on the floors above. The apartments vary from small lots of 30 to 40 m2 to penthouses and duplexes with an area of 200 to 500 m2. The podium conceals underground parking. 

The frontage of both houses features full-size panels of architectural concrete made in Brusnika’s proprietary factory. It is one of the first manufacturers in Russia to produce large facade panels in architectural concrete instead of conventional small-size GFRC (glass fibre reinforced concrete) and fibre concrete. Architectural concrete is a versatile material fit for fulfilling the project concept and realising any architecture. These facades are long-standing and durable, resistant to temperature gradient and humidity, which is relevant for the cold continental regimes of Siberia, with temperatures ranging from + 35 degrees centigrade in summer to - 35 in winter. 

The tower facade design of the Na Dekabristov Quarter requires over 800 cladding panels of architectural concrete of various shapes (80 types overall). The wide range of elements stems from the fact that the quotient of the development area to its 3D projection is 2,5. The size of a sample piece measuring 3,15 by 6,9 metres weighs about 7 tons. Craft production of panels with multi-stage factory sampling ensures their closest fit to the project design.  

With no prior experience in this specific structure manufacturing, the work started with three full-sized, two medium-sized and a range of small-sized trial designs. After verifying the concrete formula, adjusting the final look of the panel surface and conducting feasibility tests for the most complicated elements, pre-fabrication of all pieces started.  

The first step is to build a plywood mould to shape the panel. The mould is then dusted and lined with low-pressure polythene to ensure a smooth finish. Then it is greased, fitted with a reinforcement cage and filled with concrete mixture, whose formula is the factory’s know-how. The concrete solidifies for 24 hours, and then the piece leaves the mould. It is now the clean-up stage, where the surface is polished, the pattern cleared of sealing compounds, and the entire piece sandblasted and waterproofed. At this stage, the cladding slab is ready for fitting. The standard process takes two or three hours: the structure is crane-lifted and fixed with two brackets. Whenever panels differ in shade or texture, they are returned to the factory to be refined and refitted to the building.

The cladding of the tower facade will be complete by the end of 2023, and the neighbouring block finish with additional pre-fabricated French balconies will start in 2024. The whole complex completion is due in 2025.