Lena Solovyeva and Ilya Klimov, founders of Art Bureau 1/1, have designed an apartment on the top floor of a building in central Moscow for a family with two teenage children. The space has become a kind of sanctuary — a retreat from the noise of the city, where the everyday is softened, and the feeling is one of quiet refuge. As the architects explain, the priority was “delicacy, subtlety, and elegance in every decision.”
The interior feels almost weightless — there is nothing brash or overtly dramatic. Instead, the focus falls on natural light and expansive views: through floor-to-ceiling windows unfolds a rare cinematic panorama of the city. “This breathtaking view became a central character in the space. We realised early on that we shouldn’t compete with it, but rather let it become an integral part of the home,” Lena explains.
The color palette is built around the soft, warm hues of a setting sun — a pink-tinged light that fills the apartment at dusk, when the city quiets down. Even on overcast days, this gentle tone creates a sense of nature’s presence. Natural materials are used throughout, especially timber, chosen and finished with meticulous care — from its grain and tone to the detailing of profiles and edges. In the kitchen, designed entirely bespoke by Art Bureau 1/1, the wood takes on a deeper, more grounded character, echoed in the architectural portal that frames and connects the kitchen with the living room.
“We’re not drawn to expressive excess,” Lena says. “What resonates with us is materiality — texture, irregularity, the trace of the hand. Where words fall short, material speaks.”
