Villa Moscow

Moscow, Russia

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Reconstruction of a building for design factory FLACON

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Villa Moscow

Moscow, Russia

Firm

MOBA

Type

Residential › Apartment

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2020

SIZE

0 sqft - 1000 sqft

BUDGET

$10K - 50K

This project's vision has been inspired by the interiors of Villa Mayrea, a brainchild of two classics of Finnish architecture and design - Alvar and Aino Aalto.
With this striking example in mind, we wanted to address and confront an environment of a busy and loud downtown of Moscow City but yet create a space that would organically tie both environments seamlessly.

Planning and engineering challenges we faced were dealt with by utilizing the fundamental architectural methods.
Meticulous work with the architectural plans and clean nodes.
As a result, by implementing these basics in conjunction with natural materials we created a clean and uncluttered fully furnished apartment with high ceilings that is both - traditional and modern in it's appearance.
Notable materials are: several types of wood (Far Eastern ash, oak, teak in the bathroom, plywood), natural stone (onyx in the bathroom and marble in the kitchen), brick, basalt tiles, combined with a metal column in the hallway.

The core element in the interior is woodwork, particularly the ceilings made of plywood panels, veneered with oak, with smooth curves to the walls, which helps avoiding sharp corners and makes the space more harmonious.
Besides the ceiling panels, most of the furniture and wall decorations are made out of wood as well. Small clothes hanger with a drawer in the hallway; a shelf in the living room adjoins the ceilings and allows to build a kitchen; a large shelf also in the living area, inspired by the work of Ilmari Tapiovaara.

The main room combines functions of kitchen, dining and living rooms and ends with a narrow balcony where we placed the plants.
The metal column serves not only as a partition between a hallway and a kitchen, but also hides electrical panel and communications.
The wall between the hallway and the bedroom is finished with an ash board which is also used on the floor; teak is used for the walls in the bathroom.
The bedroom is extremely utilitarian: no TV, a minimum amount of furniture. The only decorative element is an adorning panel from textiles by the Latvian artist Iveta Vecenane.
Small, neat bathroom. The bath area is finished with onyx, and walls are embellished with teak boards. Ambient lighting in the bathroom resembles a shape of skylights we found in Aalto's projects.