The Northern Quarter is a new housing estate in the northern-eastern part of Yekaterinburg. Located in a residential area, the plot neighbours high-rises, private cottages, production facilities and garages.

The master plan from the Dutch LEVS Architecten restores the historical grid of streets, disrupted by industrial and private construction, aligns it and creates a rich environment based on the ‘city within the city’ principle, with variously sized and designed houses, a square, an avenue, numerous shopping facilities and amenities. Brusnika was the project’s contractor and developer.

Houses with sections of varying heights are sited in the quarter perimeter-wise: these are 6 to 9-storey apartment buildings, and several 17-storey towers. Independent urban villas of 6 to 9 storeys are located in the inner district area. A green avenue stretches along the whole plot. The closed building method makes the quarter cosy and sheltered, while shops, cafes and amenities hosted on the ground floor cater for local residents’ needs, providing new services. Urban villas, located in the green oasis of inner courtyards, offer their residents the conveniences of city living combined with the natural environment. Visible from the main motorways and metro station, the 17-storey towers emerge as new city landmarks, while buildings of varying heights promote the quarter’s distinctive and vibrant image.

The combination of different types of design creates a unique complex, where most apartments overlook the courtyard. The Northern Quarter offers both residents and city dwellers a host of leisure activities and fosters the spirit of local community.

The inner area is conceived as a small town featuring the main street - a pedestrian avenue - and apartment buildings dispersed on both sides with cosy spaces in between. These spaces blend together public zones with playgrounds, sports and recreational areas and private zones with terraces owned by first-floor residents and gardens between the houses. Level variations of the plot enhance the concept, conveying a variety of impressions while walking across the area. As any other town, the Northern Quarter has its ‘Town Hall’ square in the centre of the complex, arranged as a cosy green area with a fountain. Perimeter-wise, the square hosts small shops and cafes, available to the public.

Open terraces on the roof complete with green gardens are designed for the top floor residents. The two upper floors of the towers, sited on the corners of the quarter, accommodate duplex apartments and penthouses with panoramic views over the city. A distinct design of the towers’ facades, with two-level windows and the roof railing united into a single structure, resembles a crown if observed at a distance.

The Northern Quarter perimeter can be perceived as common frontage with subtle differences. A major part of the buildings is finished with white stucco, while its colour in the basement retail zone changes to dark grey. Summer kitchens and penthouses on top floors are clad with bronze-tinted aluminium panels. The frontage design thus marks different functional zones. Aluminium panels are also utilised for the facades of summer facilities (recessed balconies), while grey is chosen to highlight the details: window frames, spandrels, and entrances. Defying the conventional orthogonal grid and designed with a shift, variously sized windows are the quarter’s key frontage feature. A swing in the dynamic pattern is visible in courtyard facades with an increased number of balconies and private entrances for ground-floor apartments, similarly framed with aluminium panels.

An underground parking for the residents is below the courtyard, with off-street guest parking spaces available at the external perimeter of the complex.

Project team
Master plan and architecture — LEVS Architecten
Layouts and interiors design — Brusnika. Design
Landscape design — S&P Architektura Krajobrazu
Completion — Brusnika
Rendering — Vitaly Dulger
Photography — Dmitry Chebanenko, Andrew Kuskalo

Volumetric data
Plot area — 2,65 ha
Built-up area — 11 200 m2
SFA — 60 500 m2
Estimated number of residents — 2016
Business premises — 2 300 m2
Number of parking spaces — 660