Effect of Technical Safety Regulations on Form-Making in Russian Architecture on the Example of the Mountain Dwellings by BIG in Denmark

The article assesses the effect of technical regulations on form-making in Russian architecture. The first part describes an outstanding architectural object, the Mountain Dwellings in Copenhagen. It consists of a housing block and parking spaces located both under the residential part and on the same level as apartments. This arrangement is unusual and spectacular, while the apartments are comfortable. In Denmark, this solution is recognized as safe and environmentally friendly. The second part of this article considers this project from the perspective of Russian building codes and regulations. Certain fire and sanitary regulations are shown to make such an architectural approach impossible or, to be more precise, dictate only standard design solutions. The Russian construction industry is over-regulated, restricting architects from creating new design solutions that are acceptable in Denmark. In addition, a large number of architectural solutions used in global construction cannot be realized or are difficult to implement under our conditions. Russian architects are denied many of the tools to create expressive space and form. It seems necessary to involve architects in the validity analysis and development of building codes.