The OMA-designed Garage Museum of Contemporary Art has launched in Moscow, Russia, with stars including George Lucas, Woody Allen, Miuccia Prada, Stella McCartney, Harvey Weinstein and Karlie Kloss on hand for the opening night.
The building will house the gallery founded by Dasha Zhukova – wife of Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich – and becomes the capital city’s first post-Soviet and not-for-profit contemporary art space.
Architect Rem Koolhaas and his studio first launched designs in 2012 for the renovation of the 5,400sq m (58,125sq ft) building in Moscow’s Gorky Park, purchased by Zhukova to provide the Garage project with its first permanent home.
The building previously housed the Vremena Goda restaurant but has been derelict for more than two decades. A polycarbonate facade now covers the original concrete pavilion, with the translucent plastic skin raised two metres off the ground, affording a better view of the park from the ground floor spaces.
Inside there are five exhibition galleries on two levels, a creative centre for children, a shop, a café, an auditorium and offices.
OMA’s design preserves a number of original Soviet-era elements including a large mosaic, decorative tiles, and brickwork.
A red-metal staircase will be added to the building by September, providing access to a roof terrace.
