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New York and Moscow-based architect Harry Nuriev of Crosby Studios converted a Stalinist-era eatery in Moscow into ‘Russian-Japanese’ restaurant and bar Pink Mama. In avoiding having to heavily alter the original bones of the building, the restaurant interior is divided into two zones; one a moody bar with ambient red lighting, and the other a more open, bright space for restaurant and daytime dining.

Pink Mama is located in the historically symbolic heart of Stalinist Russia, on Krasnopresnenskaya Naberezhnaya Street surrounded by government agencies and minutes from the Moscow White House. Aware that political references would not be lost on the surrounding demographics, Nuriev draws playful connections to the past through a 21st century-approved, photogenic lens.

Soviet colours such as faded pink and muted green are applied across a material palette including copper, velvet, acrylic mirror and perforated MDF. Most prominently, a giant luminous red star presides over the bar area and reflects into the restaurant space courtesy of the shimmery glass panels that line the walls. Cage-like cylindrical copper pendant lights are strung low from the restaurant’s double-height ceilings.

Nuriev was wary of not making the 175sqm space overly decorative, contrasting the coloured glass panels with exposed concrete facades and cladding part of the bar with industrial stainless steel. A terrazzo floor with sparse, widespread pieces of stone rather than the more common, densely packed iteration provides the only hint of pattern. Textured materials such as the shiny copper, reflective glass and brushed velvet add to the layered composition.

Tall windows allow for plenty of natural light, adjustable via folding fabric partition screens that are propped on each window ledge. Round booth seats and white tablecloths add a nostalgic sense of formality and ritual. One for a monochromatic surprise, Nuriev introduces a mustard shade in the bathroom, uniform across the facades, tapware and amenities. Twinkling lights shine through tiny perforations on the walls and ceiling.

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