Remarkable changes are afoot in the Russian capital.
It isn’t much of a controversial argument to suggest that the height of Russia’s cultural, economic, and intellectual output occurred prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union. As the federal government of Russia continues to navigate global politics amidst its dwindling geopolitical relevance, Moscow, the engine of the largest country on the planet, chugs along, with her ongoing development of commercial and financial sectors resulting in urban development projects of a scope and scale reminiscent of the lengthy texts of high Russian literature.
The recent competition to design Moscow’s brand-new Federal District (won by a collaboration between British, American, Russian, and Emirati designers and planners, alongside known Vancouverist Larry Beasley) is proof that the ability to think at a grand urban scale is not an element of the past. Indeed, there is an energy in Moscow that is absent from other rapidly growing and transforming metropolitan areas that recognises the importance of soft power in the contemporary political landscape.
The city’s development has, both historically and recently, been marred by controversy and inconsistency, and the ongoing development at Moscow-City certainly adds to the maelstrom of baffling decisions. Indeed, it’s nearly impossible to gaze upon the Naberezhnaya Tower or the City of Capitals and not assume that such projects are nothing more than misguided attempts at injecting foreign direct investment into the Russian economy.
One such effort, the Moscow International Business Centre (also referred to as MIBC, Moscow-City, or Москва-Сити), is located next to the banks of the Moskva. Moscow-City is a concerted, concentrated effort to establish Moscow as a global financial node alongside other prominent nodes (PDF) such as London, New York, and Hong Kong.
To say that MIBC is mildly ambitious is an understatement of the highest order (take a look at the complete list of what’s going on there, development-wise): the original plans included dozens of mixed-use towers, civic government buildings, a power plant, and the necessary transportation infrastructure.
While a global trend of belt-tightening has resulted in delayed or, in the case of the city hall and city duma buildings, cancelled projects at MIBC, the district remains the poster child of post-Soviet development in Russia’s capital, and appears to be precisely the model that Moscow will continue to utilise for urban megaproject development. Just don’t tell hesitant investors that.
View the complete set of Adam’s photographs at the MIBC over on Flickr, as well.
Share On
