Internet-salon "Time on Line" (Moscow) Roman Leonidov, Elena Volgina Internet-salon "Time on Line". Modern interior with a slightly aggressive youth accent

Passing the gallery

Text: Irina Kreinina

A photo: Vitaly Nefedov

Project author: Roman Leonidov

Architect: Elena Volgina

Magazine: 52 (2001)

Oddly enough, in front of us - the store. Only the product sold in it may seem very unusual. It sells time. For clarity, we will clarify that this is not just time, but time to use the Internet. The salon owners are preparing to open a number of such establishments, and the presented hall, located in the Okhotny Ryad shopping center, has become a pilot project, in the image of which, apparently, new branches will be created. Among the clients of the Time On Line Internet salon there are many visitors, in particular, foreigners who do not have a home computer on hand and therefore are forced to seek and tame "wild specimens". However, here all the equipment has already been “tamed”, and the conditions for work have been created quite civilized. The very purpose of the salon required that its design was different from the cheap popular architecture of the Okhotny Ryad. Architectural bureau "Shabolovka" was proposed to create a modern interior with a slightly aggressive youth accent. He was supposed to be strict in office, but with an element of intrigue. This formulation of the problem was due to the coexistence in one large room of the hall for business clients and the segment reserved for gamers and fans of virtual battles. The architects, coordinating the idea with the customers, decided not to construct a suspended ceiling covering communications and supporting structures, but to expose the “internal organs” of the room. It is very pleasant to the technoman’s gaze to contemplate the intricacies of the glittering wires, pipes and beams. He examines them with healthy practical interest, just as an experienced surgeon contemplates the patient’s arteries during the operation without embarrassment. However, the ingenious ceiling and colorful murals are created mainly for those who have time to escape from the blue screen and look around. In general, the appearance of the room and the layout of tables with computers can be considered quite strict. The location of jobs is somewhat reminiscent of the wrong hall of a stock exchange or a bank, or the library. Global computerization has made these different institutions somewhat similar. Indeed, in each of them the dominant role is played by Her Majesty Information. And nowadays those who own it own the world.