Architect：Brusnika Company, Russia DROM

Location：Ulitsa Dekabristov, 108, Novosibirsk, Russia

Project Year：2024

Category：Apartments

Na Nikitina is a residential quarter comprising eight urban villas and a tower block in Novosibirsk, Russia. It exemplifies how historic urban fabric can be restored and revitalised.

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In the early 20th century a market square and wooden cottages were sited in the area. The city structure degraded in the Soviet times with high-rises and industrial buildings replacing private housing. It resulted in chaotic construction, district amalgamation and shrinking streets. The two-storey houses built just after WWII had fallen into ruin by the early 21 century and their residents were relocated. In 2016 Brusnika development company proceeded to design and construct a new housing estate on the site. 

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The master plan, the architecture concept and the fronts of houses were designed by the Netherlands based DROM bureau. The core of the master plan is to restore the historic grid of streets and the outline of quarters, while  preserving human-scaled proportions and open structure built-up areas.  

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In the same vein as poché in architectural drawings, the quarter perimeter is built with ‘pocket’ spaces between the houses, transformed into gardens, each with a distinct character. They link the restored streets lengthwise with the green courtyard park designed for the residents in the centre of the plot. On the southern corner of the quarter such ’pocket’ space morphs into a small square with shop windows and summer terraces of commercial properties located on the ground floor. Two ‘pockets’ are conceived as entrances to the underground parking located under the courtyard.