A Train Station as an Epoch

A Train Station as an Epoch
© Andrey Safonov

A TRAIN STATION AS AN EPOCH RECONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY STATION

Faber Group

ARCHITECTS
Oleg Melekhin, Andrey Safonov, Dmitry Rizhakov

ARCHITECTS
Faber Group

MANUFACTURERS
AutoDesk, Apton, Estet Beton, Statio, Trimble

DESIGN TEAM
Elena Franchyan, Boris Matveyev

CLIENTS
JSC Russian railways, Government of the Ivanovo region

GENERAL CONTRACTOR
JSC «RZD Stroy», GK1520, LLC «Trans Stroy Resurs»

СONSTRUCTION COMPANY
LLS «MonteAvo», GK SU22

RESTORATION WORK
«VolgaStoryInvest» LLC (Yaroslavl)

ENGINEERING
JSK «Yaroslavzheldorproekt»

ORNAMENTS AND COLORS, DECORATIVE FINISHES PROCESS AND TECHNOLOGY
Color Lab, Marat Ka (Moscow)

AREA
5755 m²

LOCATION
Ivanovo, Russia

CATEGORY
Train Station, Renovation

The Ivanovo railroad station building is both a cultural heritage as well as an architectural landmark. The largest Constructivist station in Russia, it was built in 1933 based on the architect Vladimir Kaverinksi’s design.

A Train Station as an Epoch
© Andrey Safonov
A Train Station as an Epoch
© Andrey Safonov

The total area of the station is 5,755 square meters, and it has a capacity of 2,500 people. From 1933 until the present time, the station has undergone three total reconstructions in the 1950s, the 1980s, and in 2020.

Each of these introduced structural, exterior, and interior elements with easily recognizable attributes of the era in which they were done.

A Train Station as an Epoch
© Dmitry Rizhakov
A Train Station as an Epoch
© Andrey Safonov

As a result, the building represents a hybrid of two ideologically opposing, but stylistically complementary artistic trends - avant-garde constructivism and Soviet modernism.

The 2020 reconstruction with restorative work was to have added all the necessary functions and technologies of a contemporary station while revealing its unique appearance and preserving the station’s authentic structural and decorative elements.

A Train Station as an Epoch
© Andrey Safonov
A Train Station as an Epoch
© Oleg Melekhin

The reconstruction’s project design was preceded by comprehensive research which showed what remained from the original constructivist style building from 1933 where the overall size, and the larger part of load-bearing elements, including the extensive 158 meters long, 16-meter high facade with large windows as well as circular ones.

Returned to the exterior of the station was a combination of colors characteristic of the 1920s-1930s avant-garde architecture – red, grey, and beige. The “Blue” hall retained the azure and beige wall and ceiling colors.

A Train Station as an Epoch
© Dmitry Rizhakov
A Train Station as an Epoch
© Dmitry Rizhakov

Also preserved was the passenger flow organization from the station square through the grandiose space of the passenger waiting areas and the exit out onto the train platform.

This hall retains the striking artifacts of later era Soviet modernism. In the course of the 2020 project design, the decision was made by the team of architects to preserve the hybrid character of the building and its image, one having enormous meaning for the city’s residents.

A Train Station as an Epoch
© Oleg Melekhin
A Train Station as an Epoch
© Dmitry Rizhakov

During the 1950s reconstruction, the gigantic avant-garde passenger hall was divided into two halls - “Blue” and “Red”. The “Blue” hall was decorated in the early Soviet modernism style. The “Red” hall’s decorative appearance was developed in 1980.

The columns of the “Blue” hall are covered with decorative stucco, with ornamentation based on motifs from the 1930s “campaign textiles” art-project.

Use of such stenciling technology for layering ornamental designs onto columns allowed for achieving the effect of using textiles for decorative effect.

A Train Station as an Epoch
© Andrey Safonov
A Train Station as an Epoch
© Andrey Safonov

As a result of the 2020 reconstruction project, the avant-garde station building has become not simply an important site for the city’s transportation infrastructure, but a center for cultural and public events for the entire region, representing a unique example for Russia of a careful restoration of a 20th-century architectural landmark.


A Train Station as an Epoch
North and south facades


A Train Station as an Epoch
Blue hall floor plan


A Train Station as an Epoch
Bench details
A Train Station as an Epoch
Bench details


A Train Station as an Epoch
Hall floor plan
A Train Station as an Epoch
Red hall floor plan