The Plato Restaurant, Murmansk Oblast, Russia building

The Plato Restaurant Murmansk Oblast mountain, Russia ski resort building project, Kirovsk architecture photos

The Plato Restaurant, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

1 May 2026

Design: Kleinewelt architekten

Location: Kirovsk, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Photos: Daniel Annenkov

The Plato Restaurant, Russia Ski REsort

The Plato Restaurant is located on the summit of Mount Aikuaivenchorr in Kirovsk, Murmansk Region, at an altitude of 820 metres above sea level.

Designed by Kleinewelt Architekten for Tirvas LLC, part of PhosAgro Holding, the building serves visitors to the ski resort operated by Apatit JSC, one of the highest mountain resorts in the north-west of Russia. The project has been realised and has become a visible landmark for both the resort and the surrounding town.

The architecture is built around a very clear idea: a man-made object placed in a harsh northern mountain landscape without competing with it. The restaurant is conceived as a concrete plateau embedded into the rocky ground, above which a circular glazed volume appears to hover.

This image led many observers to compare the building to a flying saucer, but the architectural logic is more precise than that. According to the architects, the formal inspiration came from magnetic levitation: the solid concrete base acts as a visual anchor, while the lighter panoramic volume seems to float above it.

The project is organised vertically. All technical rooms and the kitchen are placed in the stylobate. Above them, the main circular level contains the bistro and restaurant with panoramic glazing along the perimeter, opening wide views toward the Khibiny landscape and Lake Bolshoy Vudyavr. The intermediate level, formed by the roof of the stylobate, is used as a bar with an open terrace.

A key part of the project is its structural solution. The effect of levitation is achieved without perimeter support columns: the architects concentrated lifts, stairs, engineering systems, and public circulation in a single central core, allowing the restaurant floor to cantilever eight metres beyond the supporting structure.

This gives the building its striking silhouette while keeping the panoramic level open and continuous.

The project combines a strong image with a direct response to site, climate, and view. Its architectural character comes from the contrast between heavy concrete and transparent enclosure, between embedded base and hovering volume, and between technical precision and the dramatic landscape of the Russian North.