Moscow

Located on Kuznetsky Most, one of Moscow’s main shopping streets and just five minutes from Red Square, the former Model House stands as a testament to the city’s rich fashion heritage. Designed by architect A.E. Erichson in 1903 in the Art Nouveau style, the four-story building with a basement covers over 2000m². Initially built as a fur shop, it later became a fashion house where collections were created for over 300 clothing factories across the USSR and garments were tailored for the Soviet elite. The building's storied past as a fashion hub provided a foundation for the concept of "TIME" in this project — a reflection on the building’s past, its present as a flagship store for the LIMÉ brand, and its future in the ever-evolving fashion world.

The program of the flagship store is organized across floors, with each section of the brand occupying a dedicated level. The vertical connection is achieved through the building’s original staircase, illuminated by natural light from the facade, leading to the top floor, which is reserved for art exhibitions. Art plays a crucial role as a catalyst for communication in this project, acting not as a separate entity but as a unifying element that guides the customer through the space. The exhibition areas serve as transitions between sections, enriching the customer experience and reinforcing the building's identity as a space for discovery and creativity.

The project embraces the existing building’s atmosphere by creating a contrast between the original architecture and the new tectonic interventions. Large, timeless walls were introduced to structure the space, generating a dialogue between past and present. These walls, while imposing, never physically touch the original architecture, creating a respectful balance between the two. The strategy focuses on preserving the purity of the pre-existing elements, highlighting the contrast between the building’s stony materiality and the lightness of the new interventions. Natural light from the large windows along Kuznetsky Most Street enhances this dialogue, while artificial lighting is kept minimal, serving only to accentuate the architecture without overpowering it. This balance between light, materiality, and respect for history creates a space that embodies both tradition and modernity, honoring the building’s legacy in a contemporary fashion context.