The London-based architectural firm AI Studio has restored and expanded a traditional Russian apartment building.
The weathering steel apartment building is located in Moscow. The design team carefully restored its original neoclassical facade, and set up a covered courtyard space on the first floor of this weathering steel building. Mass.
The weathering steel building is located in the central area of Moscow, on the historic garden ring road, which dates back to the 1870s. The architect's initial idea was to design a dedicated apartment building, but soon afterwards it was designed as a popular public bathhouse at the request of local residents. In the 20th century, it was used as an administrative office. In 2016,
The developer of the project, Vesper Moscow, bought the building and proposed the idea of restoring its original residential function. AI Studio is committed to restoring the original functional space of the building through an "honest" approach-completely exposing the newly built volume to people's vision, thereby forming it with the original neoclassical style buildings prevailing in the center of Moscow sharp contrast.
"Although the original building is not included in the list of historical cultural relics protection, we still choose to consider it as a perfect example of traditional Moscow architecture," said Anton Khmelnitsky, the principal of AI Studio. "Therefore, we decided to restore the original structure of the building and add a modern volume to its roof to form a unique style and form contrast." The spacious addition structure on the roof of the building uses composite weathering steel perforated panels as Facade materials, and provide enough space for the penthouse apartment on the top floor. Large floor-to-ceiling windows provide unparalleled city views for indoor residents.
At the same time, the design team also set up a covered courtyard dedicated to the residents on the first floor of the weathering steel apartment building, which not only provides reception space and public spaces, but also develops the retail industry. The roof of this shared space can be used as a dedicated outdoor activity platform for residents, and the round skylight on it can also provide sufficient natural light for the indoor space.
