офис проектного бюро "Акант" Mihail Lopatin Деловой центр проектного бюро "Акант" - офис со своей особой "домашней" атмосферой

Passing the gallery

A photo: Mikhail Stepanov

Text: Olga Vologdina

Architect: Mihail Lopatin

Magazine: H (54) 2001

Architect Mikhail Lopatin saw the image of his company's residence as such: not just an office, but an office with its own special “living”, homely atmosphere. He immediately liked the old building in Petrovsky Lane (5, p. 5). The house is located in the depths of the Petrovsky courtyard and securely sheltered from the noisy center of the capital. And it is important that there is a small piece of land, which has now become a cozy green garden, a favorite place for recreation for employees. At lunchtime, you can drink a cup of coffee, celebrate a birthday, or just talk about business ... But with all the apparent "impressiveness" and informality, the office primarily remains the business center of the Akant design bureau. The second functional purpose of the office (show room) is supported by the decoration of the representative area. Here, thanks to the neutral background of brick walls, the furniture of well-known European companies and the collection of designer furniture are naturally perceived, the modeling and design of which is another activity of this company. The architect respected the respectable age of the house, he had seen a lot in his lifetime, and tried to reveal the advantages of the building without radically altering the interior, but only delicately bringing modern elements into it. The surviving fragments - massive beams, brickwork, wooden ceiling - are in themselves so expressive and give the interior a distinctive character that allowed it to do with minimal means during the reconstruction. From the office, there remains a sense of confusion, but of confusion, meaningful and deliberate. Indeed, a certain degree of “chaos” was originally planned by the authors, and inherent incompleteness of the room contains a philosophical meaning. Volume is not once and for all a frozen reality: there must always be a place for experiments of the most different kinds, be it a “revolutionary” reorganization of the interior or small changes in the decor.