bath complex (200 m2) with a Russian bath Sergey Rogulev

Passing the gallery

A photo: Peter Lebedev

Text: Julia Sakharova

Architect: Sergey Rogulev

Magazine: N5 (72) 2003

In the picturesque environs of the Gulf of Finland, a magnificent glass and stone structure appeared, remotely resembling the organic architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. The apartments are an architectural-philosophical oxymoron: it is a bath complex with a Russian bath, but in an unexpectedly innovative way.SALON: Sergey, how did this unusual project start? - Traditional enough. The customer, fascinated by the poetry of these places, decided to settle here, to build a house.S: And what, he started with a bath? - If in order, he first built a wooden house. Then came a bath, if you can call it a solid structure of glass, wood and concrete.S: What did the customer say about such radicalism? - He was ready for this internally.S: Have you already had experience building saunas? - Yes of course. And besides, the customer readily accepted my proposal to make a non-standard bath, that is, to move as far as possible from the banal image of the VIP-bath in the Roman style, and at the same time, the estimated size initially excluded the traditional wooden hut.S: That is, developing a stylistic strategy, did you build it from the opposite? - Absolutely. I had a clear idea of ​​what I didn’t want, like my customer. By the way, he is a progressive man, young and ambitious in a good way. And I will add, a great role for me was played by his unconventional view on many things. You will probably be surprised if I say that the glass wall in the steam room (which is either nonsense or a revolutionary innovation for a Russian bath) was suggested by the owner. In the Russian bath it is not so accepted: usually it is a small window. Here is an example of positive customer intervention in the architectural process.S: And more? - The customer suggested connecting the bathing area itself (traditionally “wet”) to the living room area (“dry” area) using a large opening and a glass partition. I was planning a gradual transition from one zone to another, from one state to another, and he set a different “pace” to the space of the bath complex.S: Do you think that this pace corresponds to such extreme pleasure as the Russian bath? - Yes, indeed, one can draw certain parallels here: speed and extreme are related categories. And I agree that the Russian bath has always been an extreme pleasure: first, you sit in the steam room, where the temperature is 100 degrees, then you roll around in icy water or bathe in the snow, then you take a steam bath again ...S: It seems that the Russian bath you deeply cute? - Yes, I have invested in this project all my love for the Russian bath.S: Do you think that from the point of view of geographical authenticity, here, near the Gulf of Finland, would a Finnish sauna look good? - From the point of view of benefits and compliance with the national character - Russian is better. Although, in my opinion, the log architecture in the modern interpretation becomes banal. Why if it is a bath or a country house, then it is necessary from a wooden constructor? The future for fusion: architects will experiment more with styles, mix different materials ...S: But how did he manage to convince you? - I understood that, for example, a winter garden or a living room can be extremely open, but a steam room ... However, he convincingly proved to me that in his understanding a steam room can perform one of the living room functions: certainly not in the sense of receiving guests, but creating a feeling of special "representativeness". After all, a steam room for a Russian bath is the same as a Roman swimming pool: we not only steam, but also enjoy communication.S: That is, the bath complex turned out to be innovative thanks to creative collaboration with the customer? - Yes of course. But at the same time there is a lot of traditional. For example, I used natural materials: stone, wood, combining them with coarse metal in the style of low-tech (the opposite of high-tech). The collision of materials, as well as the design of structures, for example, the ceiling, may seem brutal, but this is my concept of a natural theme, referring to the times when the man was a hunter.S: How did the family members of the owner react to such a "courageous" interpretation of the interior? - They trust the taste of the head of the family. Besides, following the logic of the collision of opposites, I filled the rooms with simple and elegant designer furniture.S: The collision of opposites - is it only an architectural decoration or something more? - Within this bath complex there is a whole philosophy. The dichotomy of the elements and space. Fire and water, heat and cold, glass and metal, wood and stone - all this is reflected in the designs and colors, restrained, but not uniform. And even in the ways of finishing natural materials there is a game of opposites: for example, I used rough stone and made a traditional “curtsy” towards polished Mediterranean sandstone ...S: Have you forgotten to mention a couple of "past and present"? - This is not a pair, but a triad, it also includes the future. And it will show how I was right.Sergey Rogulev: "I would define the style of the bath complex built in Razliv as follows: brutality in the spirit of minimalism. In my opinion, it fully corresponds to the idea of ​​the Russian bath, its extreme pleasures. the same time to get away from the image of a wooden hut. I hope that I accomplished this task. "