On Monday, April 29, the results of the first major competition held by the investor at the initiative of the chief architect of Moscow Sergei Kuznetsov - a competition for the design of the second stage of the Empire Tower complex - were announced. The winner was the project proposed by the architects of the UNK project; the organizers report that the bureau "received the right to conclude a contract with the customer" for further design. The honorable second place went to Project Meganom, the third - ADM Architects.
The competition was announced at the end of February - the participants were given one month to work on the project. During this time, it was required to find an architectural solution that could best complete the ensemble of the City embankment (the design site is located closer to the embankment than others). According to the competition task, the 12-storey volume should accommodate offices, parking lots and public spaces on the lower and upper floors.
1st place. UNK project
In the UNK project, the building of the complex is a cube divided into two parts by a diagonal section, in the central part of which there is an atrium, and at the beginning and at the end, closer to the corners, there are public squares open to the public space of the City, but protected from the rain by a common roof. According to the authors, the displacement of the main entrance to the corner part of the volume supports the general spiral composition of the City silhouette; and the compositional solution is inspired, on the one hand, by the image of a cruise ship cutting through the waters of the Moskva River, and on the other, by the theme of the Arc de Triomphe, since the Empire Tower complex serves as the main entrance of the City from the side of the embankment.
On the facades, an openwork mesh of architectural concrete alternates with panoramic glazing planes.
The jury noted the originality of the facades and the idea with a diagonal passage. The experts called the good work with public spaces a big plus, as well as the economic feasibility of the project.
2nd place. "Project Meganom"
The entire first floor is entirely devoted to the city, there are shops and cafes. At the same time, its space serves as the main buffer zone through which the main flow of visitors and employees of the complex passes. The city square is also arranged on the roof of the building, where there is a large circular pool surrounded by walking areas and terraces. In winter, with severe frosts, the pool can be used as a skating rink. The eighth floor, under the pool, is also given over to public space. Through the windows in its ceiling, people can be seen floating in the pool (how can you not recall here “
Marc Chagall Square by Vyacheslav Petrenko, recently shown at an exhibition in the Museum of Architecture).
For the cladding, the architects suggested using painted white glass, which should distinguish the building from other buildings in the City.
3rd place. ADM Architects
Two ten-storey buildings with a trapezoidal plan are set on a common five-storey stylobate, which includes a four-level parking lot, public areas and a lobby. On the roof of the stylobate, between the buildings, there is a green courtyard overlooking the windows of cafes and public premises. The light stone of the facades should contrast with the dark glass of the City skyscrapers, and the diagonals of the cantilevers at the ends of the cases should add dynamics. In addition, the architects have foreseen measures to ensure the building's energy efficiency.
JSB "Tsimailo, Lyashenko and Partners"
Between the two rectangular buildings there is a pedestrian street connecting the embankment with the Empire Tower square. The division of the complex into two separate volumes made it possible to solve several problems at once - first of all, to facilitate the further operation of the building, which will have two owners, and secondly, to solve the issue of illumination of the internal premises, and also to preserve the view of the river. The space between the buildings is closed and turned into a green boulevard, which opens onto terraces of restaurants, cafes and public spaces.
DNA Architectural Group
The cubic volume of the building is divided by an atrium leading from the river to the square in front of the Empire Tower. The facades are covered with a thin, emphatically vertical orthogonal pattern, and from the side of the Moskva River, the pattern is reinforced and accentuated by a "ladder" of thin risalits, consistently moving out from the main volume of the building. The north and west facades are more neutral and smoother. The project also provides for the creation of a terraced pedestrian gallery connecting the embankment with the central entrance to the building.
A-B Studio
The architects of A-B Studio considered that there are too many dry business objects on the embankment of the Moskva River in front of the Moscow City International Business Center, which have a common gray-smoky shade, and therefore there is clearly a lack of bright colors and colors. After analyzing the perspectives of the object, the architects decided that the main public space should be oriented to the east (that is, towards the Bagration Bridge). Therefore, the main walking route runs along the eastern facade - a covered street space connecting the central atrium of the Empire Tower complex with the embankment.
Jury of the competition:
S. O. Kuznetsov (chief architect of the city of Moscow)
M. M. Posokhin (General Director of "Mosproekt-2" named after M. V. Posokhin)
IN AND. Plotkin (Chief Architect of TPO "Reserve")
G. I. Revzin (architecture critic)
P. Ya. Fuchs (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mos City Group)
O. A. Malis (executive director of Solvers LLC)
Initiator of the Competition: Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning of the city of Moscow
Customer of the Competition: MosCityGroup company
Competition Consultant: Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design
