Malevich’s avant-garde works to influence the design of Nizhniye Mnyovniki metro station

The new Nizhniye Mnyovniki metro station on the Larger Circle Line will be decorated in avant-garde style. The Committee for Architecture and Urban Development (Moskomarkhitektura) has given the green light to the design project for the new station, which will open in the Khoroshyovo-Mnyovniki District, Northwestern Administrative Area.

«When working on the design of the Nizhniye Mnyovniki metro station, the architects drew inspiration from paintings by famous artist Kazimir Malevich,» said Sergei Kuznetsov, acting chief architect of Moscow. «For example, the centre of the platform will be dominated by an arch with bright red columns — to evoke associations with his painting Red Square — that will be set against the charcoal-grey walls of the platform.»

Kuznetsov added that geometrical figures typical of the avant-garde style will also decorate the tops of the walls, just below where they meet the ceiling, on the platform, the escalators and in the entrance hall. Red rectangular ceiling beams will be installed above the escalators, which will be illuminated by metal triangular lamps. Another unusual design solution is a 3D ceiling on the station platform.

The three-dimensional effect will be created by luminescent black-and-white pipes, with an overall length of about 150 metres, pointing forward to symbolise, according to the project designers, the speed and movement of trains. The ground entrance halls with panoramic glass will also be painted in contrasting colours: the dark facades will be balanced by bright red arches. The area around the new station will be enhanced with trees and shrubs, lawns, lamps and benches.

The Larger Circle Line will connect all radial lines at a distance of up to 10 kilometres from the existing Circle Line. With 31 stations, the new line will be 69 kilometres long. Passengers will be able to change to other metro and Moscow Central Circle stations. The project is scheduled for completion in 2021-2022. Each metro station on the Larger Circle Line will have a design of its own.

The Sheremetevskaya station will be decorated in the style of imperial porcelain, referencing Count Sheremetev’s favourite tea set that he used to drink tea from after having a dinner; the count’s estate is located close to the new station construction site. The Rubtsovskaya station will feature a glass panel and an unusual 3D façade, while the Ulitsa Narodnogo Opolcheniya station will have monochrome photos of the defenders of Moscow hanging on its walls.

Kazimir Malevich (1879–1935) was a Russian avant-garde artist and the founder of Suprematism, one of the earliest trends in abstract art. He became hugely popular thanks to his three paintings, the most famous and controversial of which is the Black Square (1915). In the same year, he painted the Red Square (another name is A Woman in Two Dimensions) and in 1918, White on White, or the White Square.