Perforated dacha: Solntsevo Metro Station by Nefa Architects

Sunbath in Moscow. Solntsevo Metro Station by Nefa Architects is a site-specific re-interpretation of the dacha – a type of cottage that particularly characterised the early days in the history of the Solntsevo district, when it was first settled. The architects' design also refers to the district's name, solntsevo being the Russian word for sun.

The archetypal shape of the entrances to Solntsevo Metro Station is punctuated with irregularly arranged holes of varying size. The perforations in the entrance pavilions create the impressions of sunbeams directly penetrating the sloping roofs. The same effect is achieved in the underground areas with the use of reflected luminaires, resulting in light-flooded platforms for the perforated dacha.

White-coloured concrete panels mainly make up the exterior of the entrance pavilions, whereby the architects had their surface texture provided with vertically organised grooves in replication of the linear joints between the panels. Notches have been deliberately left visible to underscore "the rhythm of the facade".

Further information:  Chief Architect: Dmitry Ovcharov
Authors Team: Dmitry Ovcharov, Elena Mertsalova, Viktor Kolupaev
Architects: Margarita Kornienko, Maria Tarasova
Visualization:  Dmitry Tridenov, Rustam Yusupov
Chief Engineer: Sergey Kurepin
Project Management: Daria Turkina