двухуровневый особняк площадью 430 м2 в Подмосковье Vera and Alexey Lobanov

Passing the gallery

A photo: Oleg Parfenov

Interview prepared: Elena Jarova

Architect: Alexey Lobanov, Vera Lobanova

Magazine: N11 (78) 2003

At first there was a lot of controversy. Architects Vera and Alexey Lobanov could not understand what their own house should be. Disputes turned into projects that were transferred to paper, after a few months the drawings were measured not by the number of sheets written, but by height — how many centimeters from the floor did the stacks of paper take. When the pile reached half a meter, Vera and Alexei finally got the idea of ​​their ideal home - the project under the conditional name "house-theater"Scene: five minutes from Moscow in the south-east direction. Big Glade. Near the river, linden alley and forestTime of action: the presentCharacters: architects Vera and Alexey Lobanov Scene Onein which the Lobanovs explain how it all began and what primarily relates their house to the theater.Alexey Lobanov: It began with the fact that we have developed a project for the phased construction of a house. First we built one house, then another one was attached to it, and then the third one. As a result, all the houses were linked. From one can go to another and into the third. In the first one they placed the kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedrooms, in the second - the nursery, workshop and meditation room, in the third - the garage. The main connecting room is the entrance hall with dressing room. From the street you get here first, and then you pass into the first, and into the second, and into the third house. So our house, as well as the real theater, begins with a hanger.Scene Two, in which the Lobanovs claim that in the house and in the theater one of the important elements is the correct light.Vera Lobanova: The windows in our house overlook all four sides of the world. The living room on the first floor faces south - a beam of light appears, and the space immediately lights up. Especially this effect "warms" in the winter. The windows of the workshop and the office are oriented to the north, this is important, since the sun interferes with the work. The bedroom faces east - to wake up well in the morning from the first rays of the sun, and sunset in the evening is just a hindrance.Scene Three, in which the Lobanovs act as set designers, invite them into the house and show "scenery".A.L .: The walls are covered with plywood panels, corrugated iron on the ceiling, black slate on the floor, a marble fireplace in the living room, next to which is a mountain of oak wood. This is with regard to materials. If we talk about the organization of space, then all the rooms flow into one another, flat roofs alternate with sloping and, most importantly, interiors are capable of transformation. The walls in the house are decorated with furniture plywood. Have you noticed that in our house there is a metal ceiling and a black slate floor? These seemingly cold materials do not really cause any negative emotions - on the contrary, you feel quite comfortable among them, and it is cozy in the house. Using these materials, we wanted to get a natural effect: the ceiling should seem like a sky, and the floor - the ground. It happens like this. During the day, the sun's rays give the metal a bluish "heavenly" shade. In the evening or in the cold season, we send lamps to the ceiling and get a completely different environment: the reflected light creates the effect of a night, star sky. We came up with the interior according to the principle of mobility: if we are tired of the metal "sky", black "earth" and plywood walls, all this can be replaced. Plywood planes, as well as black slate sheets, are easy to dismantle.Antract, in which the owners reason why they decided to build a house-theater.V.L .: Creating this house, we wanted to solve several architectural problems. First, we allowed ourselves to work freely with different materials. And to apply them very non-standard. For example, if a “normal” house has a roof covered with metal and the facade has wood, then we have the opposite: the roof is wooden and the facade is metal. The walls inside the house are not made of wood, but of plywood. Interior doors are inlaid with Carrara marble, and not made, say, from the usual glass. The floor in the living room is black. Many customers are amazed when they propose to make a black floor. They do not even suspect how this color can be warm and cozy.Scene Four in which the Lobanovs act out the main plots of the house-theater ... V.L .: Plots in this house can be played as much as you like. For example, we recently came from the North, from Arkhangelsk, and brought with us folklore gizmos: a wooden horse, woven paths, make-up tables. In the near future, on plywood panels, we will hang up the brought pictures, put carved painted tables, replace the high-tech dishes in the kitchen with utensils from the Russian hut, and make woven carpet mats. Welcome to the "Arkhangelsk Province"! After some time, the plot "Russian North" we will change to the exhibition "Back to Polynesia." Then the house will be filled with coconut dishes, tropical plants and shells. Our interior, as an empty stage, allows us to stage any performances, from avant-garde to classical. It will look great antique column and antique trinkets. It is very convenient to live in such a house, and the emotional filling of space every time depends on how we feel at the moment.Last scene in which Vera and Aleksey say that this theater home has the final, as in the performance, remains open ...A.L .: Our home is a living being, it, like its inhabitants, is constantly transforming and improving itself. In the future, we plan to attach a fourth house - with a swimming pool and a winter garden.Vera Lobanova: "We built this house to live and work in it. In other words, for ourselves. I think that says almost everything."Alexey Lobanov: "We argued for a long time and discussed how it will be. There were a lot of options ... until it dawned on us: why don’t we create a transforming house, a theater house ..."