The theatre is an important volumetric and visual landmark in the northern part of Moscow’s Garden Ring. Over a distance of approximately one and a half kilometres, it shapes the urban panorama for both pedestrians and motorists. At the same time, the building has a number of evident spatial and compositional inconsistencies.
Architecture and Context
The initial brief was relatively specific: to propose a new façade for the existing theatre building. However, we deliberately chose not to interpret this task as a need to completely replace the existing building envelope. Dismantling the current façade systems and constructing an entirely new façade would have required a significant amount of additional construction work, considerable financial investment, and the generation of large quantities of waste, despite the fact that the existing building remains structurally viable.
It was therefore important for us to find a solution capable of transforming the architectural image of the theatre without destroying what was already there. Rather than replacing the façade, we proposed introducing a new, independent layer — a lightweight, semi-transparent envelope that interacts with the existing building without negating it.
Today, the theatre is perceived as a collection of stylistically disparate fragments and does little to express the cultural function it contains. As a result, it fails to establish itself as a memorable element within the city.
Our idea is to wrap the existing building in a “soft” outer shell that partially emerges from its existing volume and allows it to coexist sensitively with the surrounding urban fabric, without resorting to false architectural imitation. Like a theatrical drapery, a shimmering white fabric envelops the building.
This approach makes it possible to preserve the existing façades and retain most of the material resources already embedded in the building. The new architecture is created not through demolition and replacement, but through the addition of the minimum necessary new layer. This makes the proposal more rational both economically and environmentally: it reduces demolition and construction work, limits waste generation, and decreases the demand for new materials.
At the same time, the existing building is not completely concealed. It remains perceptible behind the new envelope as the material foundation of the project, while the membrane becomes a tool for its reinterpretation. Old and new coexist simultaneously: the original architecture remains legible as a record of its time, while the new layer establishes a contemporary identity for the theatre.
The slightly translucent, visually dynamic membrane creates a strong contrast with the rigid geometry of the existing volume contained within it. During the day, the theatre is perceived almost as a textile structure; after dark, this effect becomes even more pronounced. Illuminated surfaces and light sources visible through the fabric create a distinctive and recognisable silhouette.
The theatre becomes a single luminous form, acting as an urban landmark both day and night. The new envelope does more than simply alter the façade; it changes the way the building is perceived within the city. Previously fragmented elements are brought together into a coherent image, allowing the existing structure to acquire a new identity without erasing the architectural layer that preceded it.
Materials
The façade system is composed of several materials. The primary supporting structure is formed by steel elements combined with tensioned cable systems. The outer envelope is made of a flexible, semi-transparent PTFE membrane.
PTFE is a membrane material based on woven fiberglass coated with a high-performance protective layer, providing exceptional mechanical strength and durability. The material can be produced in mesh-like configurations and in a range of transparency, density, and structural performance levels. One of its main advantages is its resistance to extreme climatic conditions: PTFE membranes are capable of performing in both Arctic cold and intense desert heat.
Structure
The textile façade is designed as a pre-tensioned membrane structure made of flexible, semi-transparent PTFE fabric. The membrane is tensioned over a system of cables that perform both load-bearing and form-generating functions and are arranged linearly along the façades and roof surfaces.
Both the cable system and the membrane are connected to a steel framework composed of horizontal and vertical beams and columns anchored to the floor slabs of the existing building.
At the lower levels, the structure is fixed directly to the floor slabs through localised dismantling of the existing façade systems. At roof level, the supporting columns are anchored directly to the existing structural slabs.
