The Bolshevik Factory

The Bolshevik Factory, a former confectionery factory covering a 6 hectare site in central Moscow, is an important piece of Moscow’s heritage and the setting for a remarkable partnership between the developers, 01 Properties and Tactics Group, and John McAslan + Partners. Consisting of five distinct elements, the scheme features a dramatic, naturally lit atria - internal covered ‘streets’ linking the Grade A office accommodation - as well as high-end new build residential elements inserted within the historic building fabric and a new Museum of Russian Impressionism. The external landscape links all of these elements together into a coherent whole, and opens up the previously derelict site to the public as well as residential and business tenants.

The landscape architects have transformed a series of derelict post industrial yards and interstitial spaces into a series of vibrant spaces that serve a diverse range of users including public visitors to the art gallery, residents and business tenants. The client required a publicly accessible and outward facing landscape that linked the development to the streetscape on Leningradsky Prospekt via a welcoming entrance courtyard, whilst also providing quieter and more secluded garden spaces within the interior courtyards. The former industrial yards have been landscaped to create generous pedestrian areas, open and accessible to tenants, residents, the local community and visitors to the business centre and to the Museum of Russian Impressionism.

The transformation of the entire site is highly significant - the Factory’s return to active use is a leading example of Moscow’s ongoing revaluation of its cultural heritage. The landscape redevelopment is a successful fusion of working, living and cultural uses - within an economic hub that has enhanced the Belarusskaya district. The Museum of Russian Impressionism, set within the landscape is an exciting new cultural destination - the first major private art museum to open in the city, hosting annual exhibitions from leading international museums and private collections.

Sustainability is a fundamental design principle of the Bolshevik Factory. The project consists principally of the retention and sensitive restoration of the original historic fabric across the site and the landscape proposals aim to reflect this. Old and new elements have been sensitively integrated, linked by attractive, publicly accessible landscape. Critically, The sequence of spaces, courtyards and gardens limit vehicular movement to the perimeter, with parking concealed underground or at the perimeter of the site, leaving the landscape spine pedestrian only. Stringent fire code requirements in Russia for fire engine access was a key design driver within a constrained historic courtyard space, with fire engine access doubling as the key circulation and pedestrian routes. The entrance courtyard at the front of the building has been designed as a shared surface that is open and welcoming to the adjacent streetscape. The podium landscape within the main courtyard has been conceived as a series of blocks and planes, creating opportunities for seating within lawn and planted areas but also a design metaphor for the juxtaposition of crates and palettes that would have once crammed the main courtyard in its industrial pomp.

We believe the project is an exemplar of adaptive reuse and a landmark by which all the other historic adaption projects in Moscow will be judged: an important reconciliation and representation of Russian history and post-Soviet Russian identity. A formerly derelict site is now a thriving residential, business and cultural destination – businesses that have relocated to the Bolshevik Factory include Leo Burnett, Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi, StarcomMediaVest, Zenith Optimedia, and the VivaKi Media Exchange Group.