apartment (270 m2) in St. Petersburg Boris Beyder, Vladimir Lemekhov

Passing the gallery

A photo: Dmitry Livshits

Interview prepared: Olga Gvozdeva

Architect: Boris Beider, Владимир Лемехов

Glass works (stained glass and other products): Vladimir Tail

Builder: Leonid Stepanov, Georgy Stepanov

Painter: Vladimir Litvin

Magazine: N4 (71) 2003

SALON: Boris, our magazine has already published two apartments that are located in this house on the Moika Embankment. They were solved in different styles, but the reason for their acquisition was one: an amazing view from the windows. Am I not mistaken if I assume that this story began in a similar way? - True. The owner of the apartment told me why she chose this apartment. As soon as she entered the corner room and saw an open window with a balcony, she decided to purchase it, despite the dismal technical condition. She was struck by the view of the Moika and the Krushtern Canal. Then there was a long epic of apartment settlement: it was a terrible communal apartment. But when the partitions broke, an amazing enfilade opened, parallel to the Moika.S: When you look at the series of rooms, it seems that the apartment has avoided significant redevelopment. Surely it is not. - Redesign has undergone almost the entire space. Only the corner living room remained unchanged, except for the doorway that appeared in it. In parallel to the classical enfilade, another one was built - a corridor leading inland. It is formed by a system of arched portals, thanks to which the "transit" space of the corridor has become a parade hall.S: The interior has a pronounced postmodern character. And most clearly this feature is manifested in the hall, where the classic arcade is combined with a glass floor. By the way, how did it originate in a one-story apartment? - When we opened the floors, it turned out that the hall is located above the arch of the corridor of the underlying floor. A space was discovered that it was a sin not to use. Over it we made a glass floor over which a marble bridge is thrown. However, in the interior you can find other postmodern quotes. For example, a stained glass window behind which there is a bathroom. Despite the abstract plot, this is a classic stained glass window with lead bindings.S: The functional area of ​​the apartment - with a kitchen and a bathroom - contrasts with the front suite. Is this intentional? - Here our love for minimalism found expression. In addition, this contrast was necessary so that the interior of the apartment was not perceived as a serious imitation of the classics, which in our time very few people manage to The kitchen was not very extensive, but, to admit, the hostess does not spend all her free time at the stove.S: How did the second level of the apartment come about? - Four-meter ceiling height allowed to develop the interior vertically. Upstairs there was a rest room, but she was of little interest to us as an object of design.S: What role did the landlady play in the project? - Private interior is always a joint work. Many things appeared here thanks to the insistence of the customer. So came the idea of ​​an active ceiling in the dining room (plaster, painted under a tree), a prototype of which she saw during the trip. The window-sills and the fireplace are made of her favorite onyx.S: Many St. Petersburgers dream of living in the city center, but not everyone is ready to buy an apartment in a house where there has not been a major overhaul for a long time. The reason for such a turn of fate usually becomes a romantic feeling, such, for example, that gives rise to a view outside the window. Riddle? - It can be a very strong feeling. So strong that rodents gnawing just laid parquet (as it was on this site), do not seem to be a serious obstacle to the goal. The location of the house, the wonderful Petersburg landscape outside the window - it was worth the investment. But in the end, everyone won ...Boris Beider: “Frankly speaking, my colleague and I are closer to minimalism. However, this apartment itself dictated the classic theme. When we started to reconstruct it, we broke all the internal partitions and a magnificent enfilade running along the Moika opened. deep into the apartment. The whole plot was built on the parallel existence of two suites in the same interior. "