Moscow's rapidly growing skyline will soon feature an eye-popping new addition: Crystal Island, which will be the world's biggest building when completed. Sir Norman Foster's mountainous 27 million square feet spiraling "city within a building" will cost $4 billion and it is scheduled to be built within next 5 years.
The Crystal Island will be Lord Foster's second large scale project in the Russian capital, and his third new building design that resembles a volcano (we're talking about his two mountainous buildings in Astana, Kazakstan). Although many people are calling this design the 'Christmas Tree' of Moscow - we can't help but be reminded of the utopian and also rather volcanic X-Seed 4000 design for Tokyo. Unlike that pipe-dream project, however, Foster has a track record of getting buildings built, so the likelihood is high that we will see this striking structure towering over the Kremlin within 5 years time.
The statistics for the project are absolutely staggering; floor area alone will be four times the size of Pentagon in Washington DC. The incredible 1500 ft. tall multi use structure will feature 900 apartments, 3000 hotel rooms, an international school for 500 students, cinemas, a theater, sports complex and much more. There will also be a 16,500 space underground parking lot for all the visitors. The Crystal Island visitors will be able to enjoy panoramic views of Moscow on the viewing platforms located 980 ft. above ground.
And as we'd expect from Foster + Partners, this soon-to-be world's biggest building will also incorporate a number of sustainable design features into the overall scheme. The exterior facade will be solar responsive and will include solar panels which, along with wind turbines, will generate electricity for the huge tower. Natural ventilation will be provided thanks to numerous strategically placed large atriums. The internal environment will also have dynamic enclosure panels slotted into the structural framing that will allow daylight to penetrate deep into the heart of the structure; the panels will also be controlled to modify temperature inside the building - closed in winter for extra warmth and opened in summer to allow natural ventilation. Energy management is at the heart of this structure, several on-site renewable and low-carbon energy generation projects are planned.
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1496 Crystal City Facts and Figures:
Project Area:
Total Gross External Area (Above Ground): 1,100,000 m2
Site area: 440,000 m2
Programme:
Public 360deg Top Observation Deck (at 300m level): 3000 m2 gross external area
Public 360deg Main Observation Deck (150m ): 6000 m2
Serviced apartments - approx. 900 units (80m to 140m): 265,000 m2
Hotel - approx. 3000 keys (12m to 80m ): 245,000 m2
Offices (40m to 80m ): 75,000 m2
Retail, Catering, Entertainment (0m to 40m ): 160,000 m2
Museum and IMAX (0m to 40m ); 100,000 m2
Theatres - 1500, 750, 750 seats (0m to 40m): 95,000 m2
School - 500 students (0m to 40m): 4000 m2
Covered Public Space: 150,000 m2
Sub-Total Above Ground: 1,100,000 m2
Sub-Total Above 150m: 3,000 m2
Underground Parking - approx. 14,000 spaces: 525,000 m2
Utilities and services: 875,000 m2
Sub-Total Below Ground: 1,400,000 m2
Total: 2,503,000 m2
Heights:
Top of structure: 450m
Top Viewing Platform: 300m
Main Viewing Platform: 150m
Perimeter building height: 20m
Floor to floor heights (above ground): 4m
Floor to floor height retail: 6m
Floor to floor height parking: 4m
All images courtesy of Foster + Partners.
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