Architect Boris Levyant: my interest in my work is only growing

Architect Boris Levyant, founder and head of the successful bureau ABD architects , which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, will take part in the Architectural Lecture at the MosBuild exhibition. In the format of a public interview, he will answer 30 questions, including the most interesting ones asked from the audience or online. He answered three more questions now and spoke about the main trends in architecture and interior design, the consequences of social distancing, and what questions an architect should ask himself when working on a project.

What question would you ask yourself and how would you answer it?

What question would I ask myself? I would ask a cardinal question: what do you think, Boris Vladimirovich, are you generally doing the right thing, doing your job? And what would I answer to him: in my opinion, yes, I’ve been doing this business for about 40 years, maybe even more, and somehow I don’t lose interest – on the contrary, it’s only growing.

What question(s) should an architect ask himself/herself when working on a project?

First of all, the architect must ask himself the question: what is he offering and what is he developing, how appropriate and meaningful is it? Appropriate from the point of view of the context: city, street, space around. The second, certainly important question: who will pay for this pleasure, whether there are such people, and how much they trust you.

What are the main trends in architecture and interior design that you would note today and which, in your opinion, are the future?

The question is very difficult, because the development of architecture and interiors has very different directions. There is no “leading role of the party,” at least not yet. Everything is more consistent with the general development of culture in the world than with a strictly national history, so I don’t see any fundamental changes: yes, urban textures and patterns are gradually changing.

By patterns I mean drawings of the facade and planes that also form urban space. These changes can be noticed over 20, 30 and even 10 years. They occur in “mainstream” architecture – after all, the bulk of construction is associated with mass and social housing, and, fortunately, changes are taking place in it towards the search for more interesting color solutions and patterns, but also towards increasing heights. In essence, this process remains a “machine for housing”: buildings grow taller, and the very population density of specific areas and cities increases. These are general trends, and the modern development of agglomerations supports them.

If we are talking about office interiors, then again they are very multidirectional: there is strict high-quality minimalism, there is a playful interior, and our clients set tasks depending on what is closer to them and their business. This is obvious: banks or law firms require a certain rigor, company headquarters require more complex associations. Accordingly, shape formation in both architecture and interiors occurs in a more complex manner. But in general, there is an awareness that a high-quality office and office interior is part of the business process (or production process). If previously we worked within the 6 sq.m. standard. meters per person, now we see an increase in area per employee in projects and in the minds of the customer.

Companies are looking more at people’s comfort, and this is where social distancing requirements help, so to some extent they can be welcomed. The consequences of restrictions will give an understanding and habit of freer spaces and interesting interiors. Quite a lot of elements, relatively new, arise within the framework of the formation of the workspace: for example, the concept of joint work arises – coworking spaces, collaborations. This is a fairly new format that is developing confidently and, probably, the future lies with it.