MVRDV's 'symbolic gateway to moscow' will feature red ceramic façades

MVRDV has been selected to complete a 78-meter-tall, mixed-use building in russia. designed as a ‘symbolic gateway into moscow’, the 52,000 square meter complex will comprise luxury apartments, a sports center, flexible workspace, an event space, and a sky deck. the building’s top floors accommodate apartments in a variety of configurations and sizes, with the largest providing panoramic views in every direction. meanwhile, underground programs include a supermarket and both commercial and residential parking.

all images © MVRDV

appropriately titled ‘silhouette’, MVRDV’s modular design is sculpted to create distinctive entrances, while a sloping roofscape strengthens views of the city. sculptural cuts on the top and bottom of the façade are carved out according to the relevant internal program’s requirements. additionally, the façade is manipulated by various window sizes that respond to their position within the elevation.

the 52,000 square meter complex will comprise luxury apartments as well as flexible workspace

the distinct red ceramic façade not only refers to the neighboring constructivist buildings, but also, according to the architects, affirms its character as a warm and welcoming place to live. ‘silhouette is really an abstraction of the classical stepped building silhouettes found in the city,’ explains jacob van rijs, co-founder of MVRDV. ‘the combination of two grand and warm-toned buildings create a symbolic gateway to the city center, but also homely dwellings and fine workspaces with a lively program on ground levels for all to enjoy.’

the modular design is sculpted to create distinctive entrances

project info:

location: moscow, russian federation
client: GK osnova
year: 2017+
program: 52,000 sqm mixed-used with 28,320 sqm residential, 8,230 sqm commercial, 1,375 sqm shared facilities and 13,310 sqm underground parking
design MVRDV: winy maas, jacob van rijs and nathalie de vries
design team: jacob van rijs, frans de witte, fedor bron with mick van gemert, elija kozak daniele zonta, fouad addou and iker perez
visualization: antonio luca coco, davide calabro, pavlos ventouris and tomaso maschietti

partners (competition phase)
management coordination: interstroy – aleksey polischuk, ekaterina abramovich, arseniy zubuga, svetlana babloeva and igor belyaev
images: © MVRDV