The Pushkin is the finest museum of European art in Moscow and one of the world’s great cultural institutions. Building on the experience of projects such as the Carré d’Art in Nîmes and the Great Court at the British Museum, in which cultural buildings were explored as part of a wider urban programme, this masterplan aims to establish a thriving cultural quarter focused on the Pushkin. Combining the best of old and new, the project is another step in the museum’s evolutionary growth. It encompasses the restoration of the museum itself, the acquisition of surrounding villas and the creation of new buildings to more than triple the museum’s exhibition and archive spaces and provide state-of-the-art facilities.

Located close to urban landmarks, including the Kremlin and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the scheme celebrates connections to its wider urban context. Streets in the new quarter will be pedestrianised and its boulevards, courtyards and gardens unified with hard and soft landscaping. New connections will be forged by an axial network, which will allow visitors to move freely whatever the weather. With generous natural light from above, these routes will be enlivened with works from the Reserve Collection. There will also be discreet below-ground access for vehicles; and links to the nearby metro station will be improved.

The grand neoclassical museum building will have its formal entrance reinstated and its spectacular Shukov-designed glazed roof restored. Two existing courtyards will also be enclosed, the west courtyard becoming a new focal point with access to subterranean exhibition spaces and other parts of the quarter. Among a range of new facilities are an administration building, a library and a 600-seat multi-functional concert hall. There will also be new shops, cafes and restaurants, and a boutique hotel. When it is completed, the new quarter will see the Pushkin’s visitor numbers increase five-fold to approximately 5 million a year, comparable with the British Museum or the Louvre in Paris.




Client: Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts
Total Area: 100,000m2

• A world class cultural destination including a 5 star Boutique hotel, restaurants, cafes and Retail
• Museum visitor capacity increased from 1 million to 5 million per year by 2017
• Four new high quality buildings, including:
• A new gallery building
• A new library building to house over 1 million items
• A 600 seat cinema, conference and concert hall
• New landscape strategy applied to Cultural Quarter providing car free zone
• Improved quarter wide circulation both above and below ground
• Exhibition area increased across the quarter by two and a half times
• Greater storage and archive facilities across the quarter
• State of the art facilities across the quarter
• Increase area for the restoration of artworks and sculpture
• Improved cloakrooms, ticketing and security
• Main Pushkin Museum building design by Roman.J.Klein carefully restored including improved entrance circulation
• Main Pushkin Museum building roof structure design by Vladimir Shukhov carefully restored
• Listing buildings restored
• The Pushkin Museum cultural quarter will set a new precedent for sustainable design