Reception House of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Moscow, Russia

The building was designed between 1894-1898 by F. Schechtel, the well-known architect for S. Morozov, one of the major Russian manufacturers of that time. The architect designed not only the facades of the building and its interiors but also the chandeliers, some elements of the furniture and other elements of the interior.

In his building Schechtel combined rationalism and the romanticism of Gothic style with modern spirituality. The building looks like a castle with its towering roofs, arches, buttresses and battlements. Currently the palace belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is being used for receptions of high level international delegations.

The development of architectural lighting for a historical building and monument of architecture always is a challenging task, as requirements ensure that the design is in line with historical heritage requirements. The lighting scheme developed by our designers emphasizes the beauty of the architecture of the palace and enriches its daytime image by adding a new “dimension” to the architecture.

Our lighting concept is based on a smart combination of two lighting techniques: floodlighting of the facades using in-ground projectors and accent lighting of the window frames and decorative elements of the facades by miniature LED light fittings invisible during the day time. Neutral white lighting has been proposed for floodlighting and warm white lighting is used for accent lighting.

In order to create a comfortable atmosphere for the visitors of the park around the palace and to avoid any possible glare we worked closely with a manufacturer to develop a special design for the light poles for the project. The height of the poles as well as the arrangement of the poles around the site was carefully designed to achieve the required lighting levels but not overlighting the expanses of the park providing considerable energy savings.

Please see the video of the project - http://youtu.be/KFI7cD35w5c