ARchitecture

On the cutting edge

Moscow metro is constantly developing. The figures tell the stories best: current plans call for almost 150 kilometers (93 mi) of new lines to be opened between 2012–2022.
6 January, 2019
Each year the Moscow government inaugurates around 20 new platforms that surprise with extraordinary design solutions. Many of them incorporate details made entirely of aluminium, which both looks stunning, and seems to be a perfect practical architectural solution. Let's review several examples of the Moscow metro being on the cutting edge.
The "Aviamotornaya" station, planned to be opened for the end of 2019, will be decorated in a minimalist style.

"When developing the project, the architects, inspired by the name of the station, turned to the aviation industry. Columns and lamps on the platform will repeat the shape of the aircraft details, and the ceiling is meant to create a sense of an air flow," commented chief architect of Moscow Sergey Kuznetsov.

The most unusual part is the ceiling itself. It will depict a cloud plume that leaves behind a flying liner. The track of the aircraft will be simulated by led and neon lights made of aluminium.
Image: Wikipedia
Metro station "Novoperedelkino" is designed to combine the original architectural motifs and modern methods of interior decoration, as well as to make the station unique and adaptive to time.

The main attraction will be perforated aluminium panels reflecting Russian traditional style that make up light boxes that diffuse the light. Behind them are RGB-LED panels that make the perforated pattern to glow, turning it into an expressive and memorable element of urban development. The platform can easily change the color scheme. During city holidays and events, patterns can turn blue, red, multicolor, or even broadcast videos.

The basis of the decoration of the pavilions are tree trunks patterns. It reflects the main feature of the Novoperedelkino region that is widely known for its unique pine and birch forests, so the proposed pattern will become a vivid symbol of the district's identity.
Image: Archi.ru
One more station with an extraordinary design is "Solntsevo". Concrete pavilions of the station "Solntsevo" are shaped like houses with a pitched roof – as if from a children's drawing. The main idea of NEFA architects was to make round holes in the concrete pavilion through which the sun shoots its beams.

Inside the station, the theme of the sun and sunbeams were preserved, although the panels had to be replaced with lighter aluminum. "The light also penetrates through the round holes in the ceiling, but now it is the light reflected from the ceiling dome, and the lamps themselves are not visible," – says the architect of the project Rita Kornienko.
Image: Archi.ru
Banner image: Moscow Government