Commercial apartment building of Pyotr Nikolaevich Pertsov – architectural monument (Moscow)

 Art Nouveau / Jugendstil (architecture), 1910_construction, object of cultural heritage of federal importance (Russia)

Pyotr Nikolaevich Pertsov (1857-1937), a wealthy railroad engineer and a patron of the arts, decided to remodel a three-story structure built here in 1885. Pertsov wanted to construct a personal residence that would include apartments and studios for artists and also would reflect the ideals and characteristics of the Russian arts. He held a competition for the renovation project and chose a design by the artist Sergei V. Malyutin (1859-1937), creator of matrioshka dolls plans, and the civil engineer Nikolai K. Zhukov.

Rebuilt between 1906 and 1907, the plan of this unique building is quite striking. The patterned brickwork, corner bay windows, carved wooden doors, majolica panels of fairy tales on the building's sides and high, pointed roof, all combine in a delightful fashion. Note also the assortment of shapes, variety of doors, different window sizes and rooflines, the asymmetry of the building and and the multiple balconies including one supported by the snakes twisted in spirals.

Today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs owns the building and uses it for diplomatic receptions and for short term stays by high ranking visitors.