Located in moscow’s gorky park, the garage museum of contemporary art has opened its doors to the public for the first time. This modern house design, which has been designed by rem koolhaas’ international studio OMA, hosts the gallery of russian businessperson and art collector Dasha Zhukova. The project sees the renovation and reuse of the 1960s vremena goda pavilion, with a new program containing diverse exhibition, learning, research and event space configured to showcase the best of contemporary russian culture.

Spread over two extensive floors, the exterior of this architectural design building is characterized by a polycarbonate façade. Purposely raised 2.25 meters above ground level, the lifted elevation offers visitors glimpses inside the building, while also ensuring external ground floor views towards the surrounding parkland.

The stalin-era gorky park was planned in the 1920s by soviet constructivist architect Konstantin Melnikov, who also designed the bakhmetevsky bus garage – the institution’s previous home. Opened in 1928, the park extends 300 acres along the Moskva river in the heart of Moscow, and is currently undergoing a major regeneration.

The interior architecture facilitates two levels of exhibition areas as well as a creative center for children, a shop, a café, an auditorium and a variety of offices. The existing concrete structure – along with a large mosaic, decorative tiles and exposed brick elements – maintains the character of the pre-soviet era. The future resident non-profit initiative intends to explore and introduce contemporary Russian art into international circuits, while encouraging new generations of artists to emerge with the new facility.

The building adds modernism to the landscape architecture.