Pergola
Address: Gorky Park, Krymsky Val, 9, Moscow, RussiaClient: Gorky Park
Design work: May 2012
Construction work: June – July 2012
Heads of Wowhaus: Dmitry Likin, Oleg Shapiro
Principal architect: Anna Rodionova
Photos: Ilya Ivanov, Artur Dugin, Kseniya Kornilova
- to create a new relaxation area on Fountain Square in Gorky Park;
- to zone the enormous asphalted space opposite the main entrance to the park.
In order to give the square beside the fountain a distinct function, we built a white pergola perpendicular to the central axis. In the shade cast by this structure we created flowerbeds and installed benches.
The pergola gives Fountain Square an elegant border, transforming the amorphous space of the park’s ‘endlessly pompous entrance’. Thus we separated the square itself from the transit area and concert stage.
The pergola’s demountable structure in the form of an ‘aerial wave’ imparts harmony and lightness to the spacious park alleys. In order to underline this effect, we made the wave shape slightly asymmetrical at the juncture of its two rows.
The components of the arched sections create different thicknesses of shade, inviting visitors to plunge into a play with space and light.
In this way desolate Fountain Square has gained a new public space where on a sunny day you can relax on benches or wooden chaises longues. The tubs containing the plants ‘animate’ the public area of the pergola.
Light from streetlamps is refracted in the undulating pergola roof. This means that during the hours of darkness the play of light and shade continues.
