About the project tells its author architect Mikhail Krikheli.

SALON: You had to change a lot in the planning of the apartment? Or was it work from scratch?

- Here the situation was generally non-standard. The fact is that when we joined the work on the apartment, the house in which it is located was not completely finished. This allowed us to make very significant adjustments in the course of construction: to influence the plan, design, engineering - in general, it is sufficient to operate freely with the internal space. As a result, a lot has really changed in comparison with the initial variant provided by the project of the house.

S: For example?

- For example, a third level appeared (the standard layout assumed only two). For his device, we "pierced" the roof over the inner stairs, blocking the hole with a glass dome, and thus received an additional source of light and access to the roof. It was equipped with a terrace for relaxation (equipped with a barbecue area with a canopy in case of bad weather) with a decorative fountain, a winter garden and a magnificent view of the Moskva River ... But still the most important move was the replacement of a straight dvd for a spiral staircase. I must say that we treated the stairs as a kind of plastic and spatial object.

S: And made this object the compositional center of the apartment?

- Absolutely. The staircase with a glass dome above it has become an architectural dominant, organizing, the central element of the whole space. In addition, it itself is a very expressive image.

S: And the image of the apartment itself? Can we call it classic?

- Yes and no. Of course, we used separate methods of classicism, somewhere improvising, going into other styles, and somewhere frankly quoting. Say, Pompeian murals on the walls appeared in the interior of the master bathroom (copies with imitations of cracks and losses), a picturesque ceiling with an illusory sky, antique motifs in the decor ... This is a game, half-a-day curtsy to the refined, grotesque antiquity, which has so long fed all the possible forms of classicism ...

S: But seriously?

- But seriously, the antique-classical theme in this apartment exists as a background, a leitmotif. In proportions, in a warrant, in fairly strict forms of decor, the presence of a classical spirit is felt. But in reality, this is not just a classic, or rather, not even a classic at all, but a mix of all sorts of styles that exist inside a modern living environment. Take at least a ladder. At its base is a completely traditional mosaic rosette with a meander and a wind rose. However, there is nothing classical in the pattern of curved railings and fences. Rather, their plant forms are reminiscent of modernity. The same can be said about the fireplace zone: onyx columns, capitals, ornamental frieze above them is a completely classical order scheme. But then there are lamps in the form of cast-iron helmets, swords in niches - in general, mixing everything with everything ... In my opinion, eclecticism is a style, an image, if you like, the quintessence of our modern life. And that means that for the living space it is most welcome.

Project author Mikhail Krikheli: "At first, the customer wanted clean classics. But gradually we found a more interesting solution: let the rhythms, proportions, and individual elements be classical, but on the whole the interior will combine different approaches, including completely modern, functional ones. The owner trusted us and was pleased"