office of a large company Evgeny Polyantsev, Boris Belsky Office of a large Russian company. Ceremonial style of the rooms, sustained in classical traditions with a slight ironic tinge

Passing the gallery

A photo: Zinon Rasudinov

Text: Olga Vologdina

Project author: Evgeny Polyantsev, Boris Belsky

Architect: Alexander Vyshinsky, Sergey Makushev, Ekaterina Movchan, Claudio Vigano

Magazine: H (54) 2001

This office is owned by a large Russian company. Before the architect Evgeny Polyantsev and the artist Boris Belsky, the task was to create a representative floor in an ordinary office mansion. Customers wanted the style of the room to be a front door, designed in classical traditions. Strict Victorian style - a kind of card "respectability and solidity" - always speaks for itself. And yet, the authors decided to give it a slightly ironic tone. They themselves say: "We are accustomed to take the interior seriously: joking is unacceptable. In our opinion, in this area, the joke genre acquires a different quality than is commonly believed." Perhaps that is why enough space is taken in this interior by a joke bordering on pronounced irony. For example, the place in the corridor around the corner, allotted by the lithograph of Salvador Dali, shows not only the high cost of the interior, but also the sense of humor of its creators. Architects were invited to the stage when construction was already completed. Nothing could be changed and redone. When the authors saw the premises, they had associations with the theater, and the completed space reminded the scene. So, actually, the theme of stage performance and shocking appeared in the concept of interior. Taking into account the principles of theatrical scenography, both architectural techniques and decor were chosen. The authors deliberately refused to mural and stopped at the zodiac panel, made in the technique of silk-screen printing. The columns in the meeting room are painted in such a way that they are almost invisible. True, as recognized by the architects, they did not have a well-thought-out concept. It was decided to act on the situation. The chosen approach, as subsequent events showed, proved to be justified. In the course of the work, it became clear that the interior was too realistic and monotonous, which had to be avoided. Only going beyond the traditional and traditional, the interior could take place. Achieving this goal is built on the principle of contrast. Vivid emotionality of Salvador Dali is contrasted to the restrained energy of the room, the cutting-edge aesthetics of the lamps are dissonant with the luxurious "Victorian" panel on the ceiling (the author is Boris Belsky), and the exclusive table in the meeting room asserts itself against the background of standard conference room chairs. The object took place - in the given circumstances and on time. Agree that the interior pretty much surpassed the original tasks!