Moscow-based twin sisters Irina and Olga Sundukovy founded their design firm, Sundukovy Sisters or S+S in 2004.
In the past 15 years, they have grown gradually to a team of 70 that designs primarily luxury, lifestyle and boutique hotels and restaurants around the world. They have followed early advice to never dream too small and always reach high.
This, however, has not meant that they would over-design or over-work a project. In fact, they admire, for example, the minimalist and clean design sensibility of Japan for the skill of leaving out everything that is not necessary. The luxury of emptiness.
In a recent renovation project of the Bosco Mishka Bar (formerly Bosco Fresh Bar) in the GUM departments store in Moscow, the sisters’ ability to uncover the essence and pedigree of a space is evident.
Bosco Mishka Bar is right in the centre of Moscow with its entrance right on the Red Square and its terrace overlooking the Kremlin and the iconic St. Basil’s Cathedral, opened in 1561.
The bar is located in the storied GUM department store that was the main state department store in the Soviet Era. GUM’s glorious late-1800s architecture is characterized by huge, three-level arched iron and glass domes under which walkways connect rows of shops. Today, the arches and towers of its fairy-tale façade of red Finnish granite, limestone and Tarusa marble are illuminated at night with rows of lights.
With its iconic features both inside and out, GUM itself gave the sisters the answers they needed. That, and the fact that they had only three months to complete the entire project. They chose lighting as the key feature and traced the interior features with 2,050 dimmable light bulbs to link the brightly-lit heritage exterior and the open-plan interior.The interior lighting is clearly visible from the Red Square at night, attracting guests to the bar
The 478 square-metre (5,145 sq. ft) Bosco Mishka Bar has 235 seats in total and functions as a restaurant during the day and a bar at night. The interior lighting is clearly visible from the Red Square at night, attracting guests to the bar. Tuija Seipell.
