Architect Yuna Megre had a vision when designing Humans Seafood Bar in the fashionable Patriarch Ponds part of Moscow.
“We all came from the sea. There was no land on this planet, only the ocean, only its inhabitants. This was the idea behind the name,” says Yuna Megre. “It is about what we would see, what we would feel from inside the ocean.”
The underwater kingdom, on the ground floor of an 18th-century residential building, opened in 2018.
“I love the sea,” the designer adds. “I grew up in the south of Russia, near the Black Sea, and my fondest childhood memories are of the beach.”
“I felt straight away that I would have to take my client very far from her comfort zone. Developing this concept was a huge risk,” notes Megre, who now divides her time between Moscow and Beverly Hills. “We thought she would refuse it. But she loved it. She took a leap of faith.”
The biggest installation challenge was the textured mesh meant to resemble waves.
“Five of us spent two weeks forming it by hand and attaching it to the ceiling,” she reveals. “Despite wearing industrial gloves, we had rough hands and sore necks for some time. But something so organic, so bespoke, cannot be trusted to a contractor – you have to control every bend.”
The space is wrapped in a rough concrete shell inspired by the walls of a Helsinki train tunnel. A dimly lit, mysterious atmosphere contrasts with soft, luxurious chairs and banquettes, and tables made of textured elm with integrated glass “rivers.”
The designer’s menu picks? Crab & Stracciatella Salad and Fettuccine with Salmon and Red Caviar. This is Russia, after all.
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