FORM strips historic building in moscow to relocate garage museum of contemporary art

the garage museum designed by OMA has been moved from its original location at the bahmetyevsky bus depot to gorky park in moscow during 2012. the headquarters presented by FORM has been relocated to a seemingly anonymous building partly occupied by the park administration. research into the history of the site has revealed an architectural environment, a building with many lives that has been marked by crucial events in moscow’s history. built at the end of the 19th century as a shipyard, the building has been reinvented several times, becoming a pavilion at the first all-union agricultural exhibition, a cinema, a WWII trophy gallery, a bathhouse, and a shop of sanitary equipment and ceramics. several prominent architects have been involved in its reconstructions, including sergey sherwood, alexey shchusev, el lissitzky, vasiliy voinov, rodrigo da costa.

the garage museum has been moved from its original location to gorky park in moscow during 2012
all images by yuri palmin

by the 1990’s, like many historic houses in the city center, the building was taken over by small businesses and segmented into a labyrinth of cluttered offices. russian based studio FORM‘s project has focused on opening up the space and stripping it of recent layers to reveal its historic core. the plan of the cinema has been adapted to the needs of the garage museum headquarters. the brickwork has been exposed and has revealed a patchwork of decades; arches of the shipyard, walls of the cinema, patches of clinker tile from ad hoc repairs. original porthole windows and exits into the park have been opened up, which brought the facade back to its rhythm of the 1930’s.

the project has focused on opening up the space and stripping it of recent layers to reveal its historic core

the layering can be felt in the new interior; the historic shell envelopes several new functional volumes varied in form and finish. the rough shipyard walls become a backdrop for clean lines and textures of the new furnishings. the various departments of the office are divided among 4 stories, with each given a distinct space, while maintaining a visual connection with one another. the space can be observed in its entirety from the open circulation spaces. the director’s office acts as an observation room suspended to the side of the other work areas. a panoramic window was installed to light the topmost mezzanine, revealing the ruined cinema and the city skyline with monuments of the luzhkov era.

the layering can be felt in the new interior

built at the end of the 19th century as a shipyard, the building has been reinvented several times

the space can be observed in its entirety from the open circulation spaces

the plan of the cinema has been adapted to the needs of the garage museum headquarters

several prominent architects have been involved in its reconstructions

the various departments of the office are divided among 4 stories

the rough shipyard walls become a backdrop for clean lines and textures of the new furnishings 

the brickwork has been exposed and has revealed a patchwork of decades 

research into the history of the site has revealed an architectural environment

the facade brings back its rhythm of the 1930’s

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: apostolos costarangos | designboom