rhizome reinvents the modern villa in living room pavilion in russia

the living room pavilion, or ‘tochka na karte’ (russian for ‘a point on the map’), is a harshly orthogonal volume which stands in stark contrast to the soft organic shapes landscape of russia. the hospitality project, designed by russian firm, rhizome, emphasizes the opposition between the natural and the human-made. at the same time the co-living space overcomes its own anthropomorphic origin and tries to mimic the surrounding landscape. the blend between the architecture and nature is achieved through the use of the project’s main materials – glass and wood.

all images © rhizome

rhizome took inspiration from the villa typology, an architectural category that has always been linked to a particular sort of escapism. the living room pavilion enters into a dialogue with this idea and proposes accessibility and openness to the elitist and isolated character of modernist glass house villa, which was taken as an aesthetic model for the project. the volume also re-establishes the link between the architecture and its context, the cold, northern nature. 

the architects implemented a structural glazing on the first floor, which creates an illusion of a volume dissolving into its surroundings. the facade, covered in the natural pine panels, also corresponds with the vertical rhythm of the trees around. the pavilion is a part of ‘tochka na karte’s’ hotel complex also designed by rhizome. developing the idea of ‘an exploded hotel’ whose functions are spread within separately standing buildings, the pavilion is meant to work as a lobby. apart from being a common living room, the pavilion also contains a bar area, a library and a space for events and board games. the interior of the pavilion correlates with its exterior: the inner space has been designed with neutral surfaces and minimalistic, freely placed furniture.

the minimalist interior, the absence of intense colors and radical attributes makes guests not focus on the design but on the pavilion’s atmosphere, the feeling of the space, and the events happening in its interiors. the roof terrace opens up, providing new ways of interacting with the pavilion. in any season the terrace can be used as a new viewpoint overlooking the lake ladoga and the neighbouring forest. in the summertime the rooftop can be turned into an open-air bar with a perfect area for sunbathing. the pavilion’s architecture and versatility makes it an ideal blank canvas.

project info:

project name: living room pavilion tochka na karte

architecture firm: rhizome

completion year: 2018

gross built area: 185 m2

project location: 188760, ul. zaozernaya, priozersk, leningrad oblast, russia

lead architects: evgeny reshetov, tatiana sinelnikova

design team: anastasia voropaeva, ilya belyakov

photo credits: dmitry tsyrencshikov