The site allocated for the construction of the museum and temple center is located along the designed passage between the Tushino 2018 residential area and the Moskva River embankment.
Project Name: Lighting design as a tool for the sacred architecture
Studio Name: QPRO
Location: Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo, Moscow, Russia
Lead Architects: Sergei Tchoban, Igor Chlenov, Anton Boldyrev
Built area: 6157,2 m2
Site area: 2,14 hectares
Completion year: 2023
Photography by: Marika Volkova
A distinctive feature of the white stone church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir is the facade with textured floral patterns, thanks to which classical architecture acquired a new modern look. The belfry, which stands alone on the premises, is with the same finishing. The cultural and exhibition center, which is part of the temple complex, complements the architectural ensemble with an equally interesting facade design with rectangular inserts with bas-relief.
The concept of the lighting design solution is based on the idea of creating a special image of the building in the dark: to form an emotional perception of the sacred through the external appearance, emphasizing with the help of light the purity and lightness of the architectural solution. So, it was decided, with the help of architectural lighting, to create an image of a building seemingly hovering above the ground, with its snow-white facade, bathed in golden rays, directed high above the dark ground.
The stylobate part itself decorated with gray slabs, was decided not to highlight with lighting. At dusk, this part appears even darker in contrast to the upper, illuminated tiers of white, and it seems as if the building is raised above the ground. This technique makes the building “sublime” above everything mundane, but at the same time maintains the connection between earth and sky through the lighting of the entrance area.
For the snow-white facade of the temple, were chosen luminaries with a neutral white color temperature. They emphasize the white shade of the decoration best of all, as well as the reflective elements of the mosaic, the decorative design of the portals and the gold of the dome.
There is a round square with a walking area around the Church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir. In the evening, minimalist led lighting poles provide a required level of illumination for comfortable movement around the temple. There is a landscaped square with greenery and places for recreation for citizens between the temple and the cultural and exhibition center. Here, the main transit routes are also illuminated by luminaries on poles with warm white light, while in the center of this park area, where the benches are located, there are no lighting fixtures, leaving vacationers in a more intimate, secluded atmosphere.
