How does one envision a future garden where infrastructures had taken over nature? How does one recreate a sense of freedom within confined boundaries? Perhaps these were the questions that Eduard Eremchuk posed when he designed Guapa, a flower store that parasites a constructivist historian building in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

Rather utopian, the space is devoid of any stigmatic associations with floral shops. The interior is covered in white walls with curves that entice a sense of flow. These walls, however, appear grey in contrast to the ceiling that’s made of a full lightning surface. The brightness creates an illusion of a skylight that pours through layers of bricks and concretes. Here, the feeling of freedom engulfs the space, toying with the notions of interior and exterior. On one wall is a minimal crack that divides the historical past and the contemporary addition. The act of reminiscing can be read in this decision of the architect, when Guapa can be seen as a product of the future. Other additions, such as the stainless steel working table as the central highlight or the neon pink light right under the seat, complement the space to further distance itself away from the present reality.

What attracts me about this project is its boldness to re-interpret nature; nature does not need to be lush, it does not need to have tropical floras, it does not need the presence of what we consider natural. What Eduard did was to re-imagine and to then translate that imagination to realisation—a beautiful experimentation.