From May 19 to 23, as part of the events organized by the portalRoomble "Architectural excursions" took a trip to Baku. For 4 days, designers and architects visited the most famous sights, studied Baku architecture and got acquainted with the local flavor. Baku is often compared to European cities and is called the eastern Paris, or the second London, and someone finds similarities with Barcelona in the streets of the Old City. Modern areas with skyscrapers are more reminiscent of Dubai, and ancient fortresses refer to the East. Such architectural and cultural eclecticism cannot but fascinate, and therefore the capital of Azerbaijan became the site of the next Roomble architecture tour. In four days, our group visited all the iconic sights and design places, visited the Green Market, furniture showrooms and fully experienced the famous Baku hospitality. Day one Baku is striking literally “from the threshold”: Heydar Aliyev Airport is a mixture of futurism, glass and metal on the outside and smooth shapes and wooden elements on the inside. The design of the new terminal was done by the Turkish studio Autoban: as the main concept of the interior, the designers chose the idea of oriental hospitality and, with the help of wooden pavilions-cocoons, made the faceless terminals more cozy and friendly.
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko Having inspected the airport, weWe went to a small private hotel, Maestro Hotel Baku, which is located in the center of Baku. Thanks to its location, our excursions began every day from the Old City. We also spent the first evening there, going in search of the famous place where Andrei Mironov and Yuri Nikulin's characters fell and screamed in the film "The Diamond Arm".
Photo by Oksana Kashenko We stayed in a cozy anda nice hotel, which had exactly the number of rooms for our group, so we lived there as if in a big house, drank tea in the evenings with our warm company, visited each other and had breakfast together. Oksana Kashenko
Maestro Hotel Baku
Maestro Hotel Baku
Maestro Hotel Baku We couldn't get aroundattention and the famous Baku market, going there on the way to the hotel straight from the airport. Vegetables and fruits, greens and spices, nuts and dried fruits, berries and jam - everything is fragrant, very tasty and very cheap. Despite the fact that a visit to the market was not included in the program, it was impossible to resist!
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko Walking around the Old Townleft an unforgettable impression: old buildings with beautiful doors, narrow streets, hand-made carpets laid out right on the ground. And at the Icheri Sheher metro station there is a glass pyramid reminiscent of the Louvre and sending associations to Paris. An unexpected and pleasant surprise for us was a meeting with a friend of the magazine - Uvays Heydarov (at that time the manager of the "Kitchen Interiors" salon in Moscow), who was very glad that Moscow, Kazan and Samara architects came to Baku. Later, he joined us several more times during excursions and showed us his favorite places.
Photo by Oksana Kashenko. Icheri Sheher station
Photo by Oksana Kashenko. Icheri Sheher station
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko The first one has endedexcursion day with dinner in the oldest restaurant in Baku, “Caravanserai”, located in the center of the Old City. Delicious national dishes, traditional architecture and vaulted ceilings convey the Azerbaijani flavor in the best possible way.
We were all surprised by how clean Baku is,a cultural and truly European city, and the night illumination completely transformed it. If during the day it seemed that you were in London, then with the onset of darkness Baku turned into Paris. And the switched on Flame Towers completely amazed us!
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko We are very luckyto meet the famous architect and urban planner Elchin Aliyev in Baku, who built many buildings in the capital and knows the history of the city very well. For three days, he accompanied our group, conducted several interesting excursions and told us things about Baku that you won’t read in guidebooks. Oksana Kashenko Day two On the second excursion day, we planned several events at once: a visit to the Heydar Aliyev cultural center, the CHELEBI showroom, a designer hotel and two shopping malls. First of all, we went to the center, which was designed in 2013 by the late Zaha Hadid. It so happened that her objects were included in the program of architectural excursions in Moscow and are planned for the program, so we can say that visiting the buildings designed by Zaha is becoming our little tradition.
For the design of the Heydar Aliyev Center building in 2014In 2015, Zaha Hadid received the prestigious British Design of the Year award. Indeed, the design of the facades and interiors is striking: the entire building is a single curved surface consisting of smooth lines and transitions. There are practically no straight lines or sharp angles here: according to the architect's concept, the Center's structure embodies infinity with elements flowing into each other.
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Pavel Alekseev In the museum named after.We managed to visit two exhibitions at the Heydar Aliyev State Museum of Fine Arts: “Art of Azerbaijan” and “Mini-Azerbaijan”. The first one featured national costumes of Azerbaijan, and it made a huge impression on the designers. It would seem that the history of the costume has no direct relation to design, but everyone was very interested in looking at the combinations of textures and colors, studying national ornaments and drawing inspiration from them for their projects.
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko Second exhibitionis represented by models of the most significant buildings of Azerbaijan, including the famous Carpet Museum, the Green Theatre, the Maiden Tower, Flame Towers, the Baku Railway Station and others. Despite the fact that we had a guide from the museum, Elchin Aliyev, who accompanied us, told us about all the buildings in details that only an architect could know: how the projects were coordinated, what difficulties accompanied them. It turned out that Elchin personally had a hand in the construction of some of these structures: for example, he was involved in the reconstruction of the Orthodox Cathedral.
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko Anastasia Muravyova,designer: — Oil money can work wonders instead of running away into the sand. In Baku, you are convinced of this at every step: modern buildings, including those built by the best architects of the world, well-kept parks and embankments, restored historical quarters. In the Heydar Aliyev Center, we visited the exhibition "Mini-Azerbaijan", which presented models of all the most significant buildings in the country. In my opinion, the very fact of such an exhibition speaks of the corresponding attitude to architecture. anastasia-muravyeva.name
Photo by Anastasia Muravyova
Photo by Anastasia Muravyova Next itemOur architectural tour included a showroom of Azerbaijani designer furniture CHELEBI and a meeting with the brand's art director, who told us how the furniture is designed and created, what patterns are used and what serves as inspiration for designers. It turned out that most of the plant patterns were composed of herbs and fruits used in the national cuisine: basil, kenza, cherry plum, feijoa, coriander, figs, etc. We also learned that the CHELEBI brand works with the best artists of Azerbaijan and regularly invites them to develop prints. A presentation was even specially arranged for us, which was held by designer Ulkar Huseyn-zade, "our man in Baku", it was Ulkar who helped us find the necessary contacts in Baku and prepare a program of architectural tours.
Visiting the showroom was one of the highlightsimpressions of the day: colorful furniture, original prints (what are the tomatoes and sturgeons worth!) and the art director himself charmed our entire group. Communication with Farid turned out to be very informal, lively and creative - no one wanted to leave! And, of course, everyone tried to buy something as a souvenir.
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko Then we had a walkaround the Port Baku shopping mall and a visit to the Marriott, one of the three coolest designer hotels in Azerbaijan. We liked everything inside, especially the bars with their magnificent lighting, verandas and light panels. In the VIP room, we were amazed by the huge table with a recess in the center — an ice storage area. It can hold caviar, champagne and vodka. It looks very impressive!
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko After visiting the hotel weWe went to the Park Bulvar shopping mall, which may not be the largest in Baku, but is certainly the most original in terms of architecture. The mall was built by the English studio Burrows Little, and many call the central structure of the façade a smaller version of London's famous Gherkin, a 40-story skyscraper designed by the famous architect Norman Foster.
One of the most famous restaurants in the cityKohne Sheher (Old Town) is famous for its national character and therefore became an integral part of our evening program. Oriental ornaments and copper utensils, rich fabrics and a huge collection of antiques: during dinner we got acquainted not only with the local cuisine, but also with the traditional art of Azerbaijan.
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko
Photo by Oksana Kashenko Day three The next dayOn the day we went to the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum on Primorsky Boulevard. Initially, we were going to look at its interesting architecture (the museum building is made in the form of a rolled-up carpet), but in the end, everyone was truly amazed by the carpets and their richness. The guide told in detail about the technique of carpet weaving, the history and philosophy of patterns, but most of all, the decorators and designers were interested in the patterns themselves and their combinations, as was the case at the exhibition of national costumes.
Anastasia Muravyova, designer:— I was impressed by the building of the Baku Carpet Museum — it is made in the form of a roll. There are three floors inside, the exhibits are located on inclined concave surfaces (we are inside a rolled-up carpet). The floors are not adjacent to the walls, so you can stand on the second floor and see the carpets that are below, and vice versa. And from the end of the “roll” you can see the sea! The carpets themselves are also very interesting: there are old ones with traditional ornaments, each of which has its own meaning, and modern ones, including Soviet ones with canonical pioneers, exemplary families and oil rigs.
Photo by Anastasia Muravyova
Photo by Anastasia Muravyova
Photo by Anastasia Muravyova
Photo by Anastasia Muravyova
Photo by Anastasia Muravyova After lunch weWe went to the luxury Jumeirah Beach Bilgah Hotel, designed by Azerbaijani architect Nazim Valiyev. We were delighted with the interior: already in the lobby, a huge chandelier made of precious metals, 57 meters long, was waiting for us! And it works on 72,000 light bulbs. Also in the lobby there is a library with rare books on art and design.
Day four The last excursion daystarted with a walk along Primorsky Boulevard, from where we went to the Old Town. Elchin Aliyev again became our guide and told many interesting stories about literally every house, we walked around all the streets and alleys and even climbed the Maiden Tower.
After the tour we visited the Museum of Modern Artart, built by the famous French architect Jean Nouvel. American Christopher Stinon was invited to develop the design of the surrounding landscape, and the interior design was entrusted to the famous Baku designer and artist Altay Sadykh-zade.
Pavel Alekseev, designer:— I really love posters and paintings in interiors, so the Museum of Modern Art was especially memorable. I would hang some of what I saw in my home, some works seemed incomprehensible, some even repulsive, but nevertheless, they all evoked certain emotions and associations. facebook.com/alek.pav
Photo by Pavel Alekseev Part of the group at the same timeOn the day I visited the house-museum of Tahir Salahov, an outstanding contemporary artist. We also managed to make an unplanned but happy hour-long trip out of town, walk along the sandy beaches and at the same time see how elite cottage villages are being built near Baku. Our trip to Baku ended with a farewell dinner in a stunning fish restaurant on the seashore, which was organized by our friend Uveys Heydarov, allowing us to fully experience the famous Azerbaijani hospitality.
House-Museum of Tahir Salakhov
House-Museum of Tahir Salakhov Pavel Alekseev,designer: — The architecture tour in Baku exceeded all my expectations: I thought that I would simply experience new emotions and see a different culture, but once there I was stunned. I was amazed by almost everything: the architecture of the new and old city, the culture, the parks, the nature. I received a huge number of emotions, impressions and, most importantly, inspiration. I would like to separately note the contribution of Elena and Oksana, who competently organized all the trips and visits, guests and accompanying persons. Plus, we had a great group, positive and professional: throughout the trip we exchanged experiences and talked about various topics. I was absolutely satisfied with the trip to Baku and am sure that the upcoming architecture tour to Vienna will be no worse!
Photo by Pavel Alekseev
Architectural excursions Roomble: Baku
