The Horse Guards Department is at once a characteristic and yet still astonishing phenomenon of ceremonial St. Petersburg. This monument of the Petrine Baroque era, comparable in footprint to Palace Square, is located roughly in the center of the so-called “Golden Triangle” – the very heart of the city, where the main landmarks of Russia’s northern capital are concentrated. The building, resembling a fort or a stronghold in plan, almost touches the Field of Mars, the Mikhailovsky Garden, and the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. The Hermitage and the Russian Museum are both just a three-minute walk away. Within the complex, stands the church where Alexander Pushkin’s funeral service was held nearly two centuries ago.



And yet, for many years the building has stood abandoned. The best thing to happen to it in the last half-century was emergency stabilization work, organized in 2017 by the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg under operational management rights – although even the quality of that work is questionable – and, in addition, hosting a fan zone during the memorable 2018 FIFA World Cup. The rest of the time, for many decades, the walls have either been covered with banners or have served as a memento mori. For residents and tourists alike, this place has been a “blind spot”, with not even sidewalks to approach it.

That said, there have been plenty of attempts to set the monument in order.

In 2001, the ensemble was granted the status of a cultural heritage site of federal significance. In 2015 and 2017, the Council for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage reviewed concepts for its restoration and adaptation for modern use. Then, in 2019, upon the initiative of the Investment Committee, adaptation concepts were prepared by five organizations – a rather unusual selection, which somehow even included MVRDV.

In 2022, under the “One Ruble per Square Meter” program, the monument was transferred to the company “Vedomstvo”. Another two years were spent confirming the lease rights, which were contested by other claimants. Finally, Studio 44 carried out research and surveying work, and in April 2025, the Council for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage approved the adaptation concept.

Bread and wine!

Over the years, functions considered for the Horse Guards Department have included a hotel, a museum of architecture or contemporary art, a car showroom, offices, a market, and a “mixed bag” public space combining coworking areas, a theater studio, and showrooms for local brands. Nikita Yavein believes that if it were possible to adapt the building for actual stables, that would have been the best of possible solutions: it is extremely difficult to combine the fragmented historic layout and the untouched fabric, protected, as we remember, by heritage status, with modern technology, regulations, notions of comfort, and an economic model. Moreover, a hotel or office would leave the building closed to the public, thus reducing the transparency of the site.

The program proposed by Studio 44 can most simply be described as a “gastronomic city”, although it is by no means limited to food – it is more of a public center with a wide range of places to satisfy one’s appetite. A food court and restaurants form the core commercial element, but they are balanced by other spaces: exhibition halls, concert venues, a bookstore, and children’s and family recreation centers.

Nikita Yavein, Company:

The two chosen functions are complementary: the variety of public spaces draws in a wave of people who will sooner or later get hungry or want to rest over a cup of coffee. The reverse also works: once you’ve rested and eaten, you’ll be ready to stop by a bookstore or a temporary exhibition. The “bread-to-circuses” ratio is 40 to 60%, meaning that of the total 11,000 m², dining will take up only 4,300 m². In my opinion, such a collective hub in a historic center is destined for success: anyone who has been to the Russian Museum or the Hermitage knows how equally difficult and desirable it is to find a spot to recharge and reflect on the experience.

Grigory Ivanov, head of the restoration division at Studio 44

The entire layout of the building will be fully preserved: the interiors of the wings will not be blocked off or subdivided, with zoning achieved solely through temporary partitions that can be dismantled at any time. The Church of the Holy Mandylion lies outside the project boundaries; however, the investor plans to coordinate the restoration of its facades and roof with the main works on the Horse Guards Department.

Julia Bogdanova, Chief Architect of Studio 44

The scope of work is extensive: the foundations must be reinforced and the walls – now significantly out of plumb – stabilized; the cast-iron columns restored to their historic locations; the wooden trusses and rafters preserved; the infilled window and door openings uncovered; the lost decorative elements, authentic color scheme, and the horse sculpture atop the spire – visible in Nikolai Gerbel’s historic drawings – brought back. In addition, the courtyard’s soil, contaminated with petroleum products, must be replaced: during the site’s time as a motor depot, diesel fuel tanks were buried there.