Round apartment buildings in Moscow, Residential complex in Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow, Russia.
The Round apartment buildings on Nezhinskaya Street consist of two nine-story circular structures, each with 26 entrances housing roughly 1,800 apartments spread across a 155-meter diameter. The trapezoidal floor plans of individual units define the interior layout, while the circular courtyard creates distinctive acoustic effects.
The first circular structure was completed in 1972 by architect Evgeny Stamo and engineer Alexander Markelov during the Soviet-era housing expansion. The design was abandoned after 1979 because construction expenses and technical difficulties made it less cost-effective than conventional residential blocks.
The buildings housed communal facilities on the ground floor, including pharmacies, shops, hair salons, a children's club, and a library accessible to residents.
The apartment layouts require creative furniture arrangement due to irregular floor plans, so reviewing the unit designs beforehand helps with planning. The circular courtyard amplifies sound noticeably at night, making noise a consideration for anyone spending extended time in or around the space.
The trapezoidal apartments resulted directly from the circular design and continue to shape the living experience in an unusual way. No second complex of this type was ever constructed, making this a rare example of Soviet-era housing experimentation.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
