Garage for Car Collection in Moscow by ATRIUM

ATRIUM has reimagined the idea of a private garage with Garage for Car Collection, a 200-square-meter project in Moscow that treats the automobile not simply as a machine, but as part of a carefully composed domestic environment. Rather than functioning as a sealed storage box, the building becomes a hybrid of car gallery, fitness space, and business retreat, extending the architectural language of a private estate first designed by the practice in the early 2000s. In this project, ATRIUM turns a support building into an experience shaped by movement, display, and landscape.

Set within a wooded site, the structure was designed to preserve the existing trees while introducing a bold new form to the property. This careful response to context is what gives the project its particular force. It is visually striking, yet it avoids competing with the forest around it. Instead, the building threads itself into the setting with a sense of control and restraint.

A Garage Reframed as Architecture

The project challenges the familiar typology of the luxury garage by shifting it from utility to architectural program. Here, the automobile is displayed rather than merely parked, and the garage becomes part of a broader lifestyle setting. The ground floor acts as a luminous exhibition zone, directly connected to the driveway and framed by large glazed facades that make the car collection visible against the backdrop of the surrounding woodland.

This strategy gives the building a social role within the estate. It can host informal meetings, conversations, and moments of leisure, all without losing its practical purpose. The garage is no longer secondary architecture. It becomes a destination in its own right, shaped with the same attention usually reserved for a main residence or pavilion.

A Mobius-Inspired Ribbon Through the Trees

The defining gesture of the design is a continuous ribbon-like form inspired by the Mobius strip. This flowing envelope wraps around the site and organizes the building as a sequence of connected spatial layers. At ground level, it encloses the main glazed volume. As it rises diagonally, it transforms into an accessible rooftop terrace that supports an outdoor workout zone.

This formal move is not only sculptural. It also solves the practical challenge of fitting new construction into a densely wooded plot. By shaping the building around the existing trees, the design preserves the natural condition of the site while giving the project a strong identity. The result is a structure that feels engineered, but never detached from its environment.

Light, Material, and the Automotive Reference

Large north and south facades use ultra-thin glazing profiles to dissolve the edge between interior and exterior. This transparency reinforces the impression that the cars are displayed within the forest rather than isolated from it. The effect is both technical and atmospheric, allowing daylight and views to animate the exhibition space throughout the day.

The white Corian skin strengthens the building’s association with aerodynamic design and precision. Its smooth, continuous surfaces recall the language of high-performance vehicles, while interior accents in wood and copper temper the crisp exterior with warmth. That balance is important. Without it, the building could have drifted into showroom coldness, which is a favorite mistake in luxury architecture.

Layered Program Beneath a Compact Footprint

Beyond the gallery level and rooftop terrace, the project extends below ground to accommodate a gym and office. This subterranean expansion allows the building to remain compact above grade while still supporting a more ambitious program. Natural light reaches these lower spaces through carefully placed openings at ground level, helping them feel connected rather than buried.

The project also demonstrates a disciplined approach to site intervention. By concentrating the footprint, preserving mature trees, and embedding part of the program underground, the design shows how a highly specialized private building can still operate with ecological sensitivity. It is this combination of sculptural clarity and contextual control that makes the project notable.

Selected as a finalist at the World Architecture Festival 2025 in both the Completed Buildings – Transport category and the Small Project Prize, the Garage for Car Collection confirms how ATRIUM continues to test familiar building types through form, landscape, and program. More than a place to store vehicles, this Moscow project by ATRIUM turns the garage into an architectural setting where collection, wellness, and everyday use are held together by one continuous spatial idea.