Swanke Hayden Connell Designing Moscow Mixed-Use Complex.

MOSCOW -- Swanke Hayden Connell Architects (SHCA) is designing a 5 million square foot (465,000 square meters) mixed-use complex in downtown Moscow.

Called SLAVA Multi-use Complex, the project is being developed by Stolny Grad, Russia. Located on Leningradsky Prospect, a major artery linking Red Square to the city outskirts, it is being built in a sector of the city currently zoned for industrial use which is being converted to residential and commercial functions. The three city block site is adjacent to the Belorouskii train station, one of the major transportation hubs for the city.

The development will entail six separate A+ class office buildings varying in height from nine to 22 stories. They will all share a common retail podium on the first, second, and third floors, spanning over existing and planned new streets. The total office space is 1.8 million square feet (167,000 square meters) with approximately 820,000 square feet (76,000 square meters) of retail space planned. The complex will also include an underground parking facility for in excess of 4,000 cars on four cellar levels.

According to Roger Klein, design principal for SHCA, the facilities are being designed to the highest global standards. "The tallest of the six office buildings is designed as the signature piece of the complex," he explained, "intended to become a new symbol in the Moscow skyline."

The 22 office floors of the building are organized in nods of three, each with its own atrium overlooking the Winter Garden, a large enclosed public space that can be used year round. The vertically stacked atria form an uninterrupted green link for the Winter Garden up to the sky. The south fa[?]ade is developed using a double fa[?]ade system, minimizing the heat gain through the use of shading devices within the double wall cavity and maximizing the resulting comfort for the users. The atria act as a thermal buffer for the building. One the top floor, is the Sky Lounge, a restaurant offering uninterrupted 360 degrees panoramic views to the city.

The complex's retail podium includes large surface retail, boutiques, restaurants and cafes. The heart of the complex is the Winter Garden. Spanning over 150 feet (45 meters) with an interior clear height of 100 feet (30 meters), this grand space becomes the focal point of the project and is used as the organizational element for the retail experience. Restaurants and cafes are located around the Winter Garden and a permanent skating rink is at its center.

The main retail experience is developed in a "piano nobile" scheme with the retail loop on the second floor. Six retail lobbies are located throughout the complex but the main access point and therefore the main address of the overall development is on Leningradsky Prospect. There, a six-story atrium space acts as a gateway to the complex and carries the visitor from Leningradsky Prospect up to the Winter Garden on the second floor. A four-story media screen wall is used as both a backdrop to this space and as a signal to the city. On the third and fourth floor of the building is a 70,000 square foot (6,500 square meter) event and conference center with a double height ballroom that opens up to the atrium.

Construction on SLAVA will commence in late 2007, with completion slated for 2010.

Based in New York City, Swanke Hayden Connell Architects (http://www.shca.com) is the continuation of an architectural practice founded in 1906. Staffed with more than 300 professionals located in eight offices worldwide, the firm provides services in four core areas of practice: architecture, interior design, master planning and historic preservation, working with a variety of corporate and institutional clients. SHCA, is designing a 70-story mixed-use tower in central Moscow near the Kremlin and recently opened a new Moscow office.