Archiloft | Geometrix Design

Geometrix Design: an unusual loft in a former power plant building

Archiloft is a multifunctional public space in the west of Moscow, a venue for master classes, awards, and presentations. Total area: 450 sq. m. meters. The project was implemented by Helen and Michael Miroshkin, Geometrix Design, reconstructing the power plant of the early twentieth century.

The project lasted about ten months, the longest and most difficult stage was the cleaning of the facility from the layers of time — "historical garbage". It turned out that the building actually consists of two separate buildings. The front wall of one of them became an internal partition dividing the interior into two main zones, which were named "steel" and "acrylic". Outside there is an outdoor terrace of 80 sq. m. meters. "Our task was to preserve and accentuate the ancient brick shell, filling it with innovative content," the authors say.

Brick walls, ten-meter ceilings, a giant cross formed by two supporting beams — all this reminds of temple architecture. "We have filled the restored foundation of the building of the early 20th century with futuristic structures and details. So, a polygonal wall with a dual purpose appeared in the main room: firstly, 3D mapping can be designed on a white polyline surface, and secondly, it hides functional rooms. The design has become the architectural dominant of the loft."

There are four black circles on one of the walls, highlighted by an LED backlight hidden behind them. The color and shapes of the composition contrast with the brick. The largest circle is the designer TV screen, which can also be used for events. The interior uses furniture from the Spanish brand Vondom, plumbing Laufen, Roca. Accent — Up, the iconic B&B Italia pouf chair that Gaetano Pesce came up with it half a century ago. There is a fence around the loft, which the authors of the project interpreted as a work of art. Rectangular fiber cement slabs are used as the material. The designers have come up with a waste—free technology: each panel is cut in a curve, one part is convex, the other is mirror-concave.