The Moscow building was conceived as an educational complex linked to the zoo behind it, a natural science museum and library, but only the planetarium was built. In the original scheme of Mikhail Barsch and Mikhail Sinyavsky, the ferroconcrete outer dome followed the hemispherical profile of the German 'Netzwerk' sky inside. In the circle under the parabolic, reinforce concrete dome there was room for 1,440 spectators. Over the decades, elements of the original architectural design, and interior and exterior finishing details have been lost.

The planetarium was closed down for 17 years and is now finally reopened (June 2011) after sweeping renovations, billing itself as the largest planetarium in all of Europe with a massive 17,000 sq. meters of floor space. The body of the Planetarium has been jacked up 6 m to allow for two additional storeys to be added below, distorting the architect's original concept.