Olive Beach

Address: Gorky Park, Krymsky Val, 9, Moscow, Russia
Client: Gorky Park
Design work: May 2011-July 2011
Construction work: July 2011
Heads of Wowhaus: Dmitry Likin, Oleg Shapiro
Architects: Darya Listopad, Artem Ukropov
Photos: Ilya Ivanov, Dmitry Karpov, Yogastan

Objective:

- To mark the ‘unofficial’ entrance to Gorky Park from the direction of Neskuchny Garden, making it more friendly and just as popular as the main entrance;
- To create an accessible recreation area by the water in the center of Moscow.

Solution:

We came up with an idea for how to create an alternative to the main entrance to Gorky Park. By way of contrast with the granite and marble that are the dominant presence at the front entrance, we have used wood for the ‘welcome zone’ leading from Pushkin (Andreevsky) Bridge. On the desolate embankment of the River Moskva we have created a proper leisure zone with a beach, showers, and a bar. The wooden beach is a symbol of the renewed Gorky Park.

The diversely angled surface of the solarium does the same job as myriad deck loungers, resulting in a great saving of space on the river embankment.

The solarium has been constructed in such a way that visitors can sit or lie down on almost any of the wooden surfaces which meet each other at different angles and descend to the water’s edge.

On a hot summer’s day this democratic spot is extremely popular with sunbathers.

All kinds of activities and events are held here.

Since swimming in the River Moskva is not advisable, we came up with the idea of a water feature for visitors. The shower consoles stand outside the solarium area, above the surface of the river. Water from the showers collects in trays underneath and drains into the sewerage system.

Next to the solarium is another universal recreational space – under a canopy which offers protection from the blazing sun. This canopy takes the form of a complex pergola and has space for a DJ.

Olive Beach

Model of the solarium

Model of the canopy