Project: OPUS
3D | Photography: GORK
Developer: PIONEER
Location: 5 Derbenevskaya Embankment, Moscow
Yesterday, while mentioning PIONEER in our piece on blazar, we unexpectedly realised two things.
First, the OPUS club residence had never received a proper feature in the journal. Yet the project has been part of GORK’s life for some time: the studio created its exterior and interior renders, and its roof has often served as our improvised tripod for photographing another PIONEER residential development, HIGH LIFE. This summer, OPUS itself became the subject of a shoot by our editor-in-chief.
Second, we rarely share our internal processes or show what goes into the final image. Readers usually see the render; the winding path of its technical production stays on our server, with a record of the workflow on Miro.
We’re putting both right by showing OPUS from the working process through to the built project.
OPUS is a club residence by PIONEER on Derbenevskaya Embankment, designed by Tsimailo Lyashenko & Partners. We can now place photographs of the built project alongside its original visualisations. The façade's undulating geometry is both complex and elegant, following the curve of the Moskva River. No two apartments have the same view: each panorama is unique.
The 3D production pipeline on Miro reveals the step-by-step system we use on every project. We document everything here: the initial brief and camera angles, the development of each render with every comment and revision, and our designers' mood boards. Working with only a concept design and ideas from the architects, the team painstakingly reconstructed the project’s design language.
The board may look crowded, but the alternative is to write it all on scraps of paper or keep it in your head — not something we recommend. It gives the client a clear, practical way to follow the project through every stage without getting lost in the flow of information. At any point, you can see how a particular camera angle was chosen, what has been approved and which version is current. We also recommend Gantt charts, though we won’t get too deep into in-house project management today.
The exterior work followed our usual sequence:
The interiors were more interesting. We worked on penthouses and selected apartments with standout views, and their visual language needed to connect with the building’s shared spaces.
Our starting point was the amenity spaces designed by Natalia Belonogova, along with empty floor plans. From these, we had to put together a mood board of furnishings and materials — essentially developing a concept design for key apartments at OPUS. The interiors are difficult to pin down to a single style: a predominantly monochrome palette of natural materials, large sculptural forms and almost tribal, totem-like motifs. References included Atelier Brancusi and the Musée du Quai Branly.
This summer, the process came full circle: we arrived at OPUS with a camera as the finishing work neared completion and photographed the building itself.
You now have a rare opportunity to see one project from three perspectives: its working process, conventional renders and built architecture.
And if your project ever comes to us, there will be a similar story behind the final renders: analysis, a structured process, and dozens of comments and decisions that come together in images capable of selling the project and giving future residents an early sense of its atmosphere.
@gorkjournal · GORK
3D · Photo · Render · Ai
3D | Photography: GORK
Developer: PIONEER
Location: 5 Derbenevskaya Embankment, Moscow
Yesterday, while mentioning PIONEER in our piece on blazar, we unexpectedly realised two things.
First, the OPUS club residence had never received a proper feature in the journal. Yet the project has been part of GORK’s life for some time: the studio created its exterior and interior renders, and its roof has often served as our improvised tripod for photographing another PIONEER residential development, HIGH LIFE. This summer, OPUS itself became the subject of a shoot by our editor-in-chief.
Second, we rarely share our internal processes or show what goes into the final image. Readers usually see the render; the winding path of its technical production stays on our server, with a record of the workflow on Miro.
We’re putting both right by showing OPUS from the working process through to the built project.
OPUS is a club residence by PIONEER on Derbenevskaya Embankment, designed by Tsimailo Lyashenko & Partners. We can now place photographs of the built project alongside its original visualisations. The façade's undulating geometry is both complex and elegant, following the curve of the Moskva River. No two apartments have the same view: each panorama is unique.
The 3D production pipeline on Miro reveals the step-by-step system we use on every project. We document everything here: the initial brief and camera angles, the development of each render with every comment and revision, and our designers' mood boards. Working with only a concept design and ideas from the architects, the team painstakingly reconstructed the project’s design language.
The board may look crowded, but the alternative is to write it all on scraps of paper or keep it in your head — not something we recommend. It gives the client a clear, practical way to follow the project through every stage without getting lost in the flow of information. At any point, you can see how a particular camera angle was chosen, what has been approved and which version is current. We also recommend Gantt charts, though we won’t get too deep into in-house project management today.
The exterior work followed our usual sequence:
- analysis;
- setting camera angles;
- modelling and optimising the supplied files;
- lighting, materials and detailing;
- post-production and work with an AI model.
The interiors were more interesting. We worked on penthouses and selected apartments with standout views, and their visual language needed to connect with the building’s shared spaces.
Our starting point was the amenity spaces designed by Natalia Belonogova, along with empty floor plans. From these, we had to put together a mood board of furnishings and materials — essentially developing a concept design for key apartments at OPUS. The interiors are difficult to pin down to a single style: a predominantly monochrome palette of natural materials, large sculptural forms and almost tribal, totem-like motifs. References included Atelier Brancusi and the Musée du Quai Branly.
This summer, the process came full circle: we arrived at OPUS with a camera as the finishing work neared completion and photographed the building itself.
You now have a rare opportunity to see one project from three perspectives: its working process, conventional renders and built architecture.
And if your project ever comes to us, there will be a similar story behind the final renders: analysis, a structured process, and dozens of comments and decisions that come together in images capable of selling the project and giving future residents an early sense of its atmosphere.
@gorkjournal · GORK
3D · Photo · Render · Ai