The Plato restaurant is located at the top of the Aikuaivenchorr Mountain, one of the northernmost points of Russia, at altitude of 820 m above sea level. It is primarily designed for serving guests of the Apatit JSC ski resort, the highest mountain resort in the north-west of the Murmansk region.

Its outright futuristic exterior resembling a "flying saucer" with transparent walls hovering over a massive concrete base has already made the restaurant a bright tourist attraction not only of the resort, but also nearby Kirovsk as well.

However, the iconicity of architecture has never come first for Kleinewelt Architekten - this project is the most accurate and appropriate response to the architectural challenge. Firstly, matching the man-made volume to harsh mountain landscapes. Secondly, creating perfect facilities to admire them.

When searching for the image of this building, the inspiration came from the effect of magnetic levitation, once at ultra-low temperatures metal under the influence of a magnetic field soars above the ground. Here, a circular base made entirely of concrete acts as a magnet, while a “disk” with panoramic walls acts as a superconductor capable of levitation.

Functional areas are distributed in a predictable manner: all technical premises as well as kitchen are placed in the stylobate, while a bistro and a restaurant occupy a spectacular circular space with panoramic windows.

The middle level making the roof of the stylobate is reserved for a bar with an open terrace.

Visually, the effect of one volume floating over another is achieved through a specially designed constructive solution: the architects managed to do without support pillars by using a single central “core”, where public spaces, elevators, stairs and all engineering communications are concentrated. The floor with a restaurant protrudes 8 meters from the support pillars of the central core.

Customer: Tirvas LLC, PhosAgro Holding

Status: implemented

Type: public building

Address: Murmansk region, Kirovsk, Mount Aikuaivenchorr

Total area: 2 963 m2