Russia Tower
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| Russia Tower | |
|---|---|
| Башня Россия | |
 Rendering of the skyscraper project "Russia Tower"[1] |
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| General information | |
| Type | Mixed use |
| Location | Moscow, Russia |
| Coordinates | 55°45′5″N 37°32′4″E / 55.75139°N 37.53444°ECoordinates: 55°45′5″N 37°32′4″E / 55.75139°N 37.53444°E |
| Construction started | 18 September 2007 |
| Opening | around 2016 |
| Cost | over $2 billion |
| Height | |
| Roof | 612.2 m (2,009 ft) |
| Top floor | 500 m (1,600 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 118 |
| Floor area | 350,000 m2 (3,800,000 sq ft) |
| Elevators | 101 |
| Design and construction | |
| Owner | Russian Land |
| Main contractor | Satori (site preparation) Soletanshstroy (Soletanche Bachy) (Diaphragm wall, 0 level) |
| Architect | Foster + Partners |
| Developer | Russian Land |
| Structural engineer | Halvorson and Partners |
The Russia Tower (Russian: Башня Россия; Bashnya Rossiya) is a partially built skyscraper[2] in the Moscow International Business Centre of Moscow, Russia. Construction began in September 2007, and was planned to be completed in 2012. The total area of the structure would cover 520,000 m2 (5,600,000 sq ft), of which approximately 200,000 m2 (2,200,000 sq ft) would be located underground. The tower would contain 118 floors, 101 elevators, and underground parking to accommodate 3,680 cars. Commercial retail shops would be located at the base of the building. The maximum people capacity of the building was projected to be around 30,000.
Construction was halted in November 2008, in February 2009 the project was suspended, and in June 2009 the project was officially cancelled.[3]
According to Russian press as of January 2012, Moscow government prolonged construction permit until December, 31 2015. The total are of structure is decreased to 350,000 square metres (3,800,000 sq ft), of which approximately 240,000 square metres (2,600,000 sq ft) would be located above ground. Floor count and height remain unchanged.
[edit] History
Russia Tower was proposed for plots 2 and 3 of the Moscow International Business Centre in 1994 as the world's tallest building; a 648 m (2,126 ft), 125-story tower. It was designed by Chicago-based architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. It was soon moved to plot 14. In the middle of 2003 an updated 648 m (2,126 ft), 134-story design had been moved to plots 17 and 18. In January 2004, the Moscow Development Company (STT Group) was appointed as the main investor and developer of the $2-billion project.[4]
On 18 September 2007, the building's cornerstone was laid in a groundbreaking ceremony.
The Russian news agency Interfax reported on 21 November 2008 that construction on the tower was to be halted.[5] Shalva Chigirinsky, head of the tower's development company, indicated that the credit crisis of 2008 had left him unable to secure financing for the project and had also removed demand for the tower's office space, even if the building were able to be completed.[6]
On 3 December, Russian oil company Sibir Energy agreed to buy a number of real estate assets, including Russia Tower, from Chigirinsky. As Chigirinsky was a major shareholder in Sibir Energy, the purpose of the purchase was to alleviate financial pressures upon him, so that he would not be forced to sell his shares in the company, and thus enable the company to preserve its existing shareholder structure. However, many analysts decried the move, arguing that such use of the oil company's capital to assist Chigirinsky by purchasing his distressed real estate assets — which had no relation to the company's core oil business — at possibly inflated prices was detrimental to the company's shareholders and constituted a significant conflict of interest.[7][8][9][10]
On 12 February 2009, it was announced that the Russia Tower will most likely not be built. The project developer's assistant stated that, "In today's economy, a project of such scale is no longer feasible for us and can no longer be justified."[11] In place of the tower, the company proposes to use the land to build three smaller skyscrapers and a large parking garage.[12]
In June 2009 the project was cancelled, to be turned into a parking lot for existing buildings.[13][dubious ]
As of January 2012 it is projected that the tower will be completed before 2016.[14]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=image&id=448888
- ^ Foster + Partners
- ^ "Iconic Russia Tower in Moscow to become a car park". June 12 2009. http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/russia-tower-moscow-200906123208.html. Retrieved December 30 2009.
- ^ Интерфакс > Недвижимость > Главные новости
- ^ Moscow super skyscraper 'on hold', BBC News, November 21, 2008.
- ^ Crunch cripples Europe's tallest tower, CNN (reprinted by Pattayatoday), November 11, 2008.
- ^ Warner, Jeremy. (2008, December 4). "Sibir Energy’s lesson in caveat emptor", The Independent
- ^ Stewart, Catrina. (2008, December 3). "Sibir Offers $340M Bailout to Russian Shareholder", Associated Press
- ^ Macalister, Terry. (2008, December 3). "Sibir property deal dubbed a 'first-class scandal'", The Guardian
- ^ Stiff, James. (2008, December 4). "Oil group Sibir buys property to bail out Russian investors", The Times
- ^ Russia Tower May Find a New Home by Jessica Bachman, The Moscow Times, Issue 4085, February 13, 2009.
- ^ Mirax Offers to Build Russia Tower by Jessica Bachman, The Moscow Times - Issue 4085, February 12, 2009.
- ^ "Iconic Russia Tower in Moscow to become a car park". June 12 2009. http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/russia-tower-moscow-200906123208.html. Retrieved December 30 2009.
- ^ "Tower "Russia" in the "Moscow City" built before 2016". http://www.interfax-russia.ru/Moscow/news.asp?id=285147&sec=1668. Retrieved march 2012.
[edit] External links
- Fosters and Partners official site (English)
- Halvorson and Partners Structural Engineers official site (English)
- Waterman Group official site (English)
- Wordsearch official site - branding and marketing partner (English)
- Additional Images at e-architect.co.uk (English)
- Facts on SkyscraperPage.com (English)
- Main SkyscraperCity discussion topic (Russian)
- English SkyscraperCity discussion topic (English)
- Facts and pictures in Emporis (English)
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