The first-ever, integrated mixed-use destination in Russia designed by the Jerde Partnership, a U.S. architecture firm renowned for creating experiential destinations, is under construction in central Moscow. Kuntsevo Plaza – a vibrant new live, work, shopping and entertainment village occupying a full city block – will deliver a modern community gathering place rooted in art, nature, and urbanity. Providing a stage for lifestyle, the pedestrian-oriented center is made up of geometric buildings that vary in size and shape, and topped with terraces and undulating glass features, to create a new landmark for the city.
The project provides a vital connection to the nearby transit line through the grand exterior plaza, multiple entryways and various street connections. Intentionally designed to allow the community to naturally flow through it, the development will seamlessly connect commuters and visitors arriving from the nearby subway to the neighborhoods and urban areas surrounding the development.
A district historically favored by artists and writers, Kuntsevo is a neighborhood with an eclectic mix of universities, offices, medical facilities and residences, in a setting admired for its natural beauty and rich history. The bold colors and dynamic forms of Kuntsevo Plaza take queues from the Russian Avant-garde art movement. At nearly 250,000 sqm, two high-rise apartment towers with lush rooftop park terraces, and a Class-A office building are integrated with light-filled retail, entertainment and cultural spaces set within extensive public plazas. Designed to appeal to the unique mix of locals, professionals, and visitors that populate the area—a trademark of Jerde Places—Kuntsevo Plaza is being developed by Turkey-based ENKA TC. Additional specialty design consultants include: Selbert Perkins Design for graphics/signage; ARUP for lighting; and LRM for landscape.
“We designed Kuntsevo Plaza with the intention of bringing a renewed energy to Moscow—a city already rich in culture and history—and a goal to breathe new life into it,” says David Rogers FAIA, Jerde design director. “There hasn’t been a development of this scale, program mix, or contemporary design style before in Russia.”
Kuntsevo Plaza recently was awarded the Future Retail Project Award at the Cityscape Conference for Emerging Markets held in Dubai. The first phase of the project is scheduled to open to the public in April 2014.
10 Comments
Влади́мир Евгра́фович Та́тлин
I just threw up all over my vomit.
some interesting information on Jerde from wikipedia:
"In the context of modern-day architecture and urban planning, designing for flâneurs is one way to approach issues of the psychological aspects of the built environment. Architect Jon Jerde, for instance, designed his Horton Plaza and Universal CityWalk projects around the idea of providing surprises, distractions, and sequences of events for pedestrians." (Flâneur)
[near the beginning of his career] "Jerde was commissioned by developer Ernie Hahn for the design of Horton Plaza,[1] across from Horton Plaza Park in downtown San Diego. The project is credited by some with single-handedly rejuvenating the city's downtown core by replacing several blocks of older structures with a new retail village concept. The design was a radical departure from traditional suburban mall design of the time.
It is a five story outdoor retail complex, with the main passage being diagonally oriented to the street grid Its spatial rhythms include long one-way ramps and sudden drop-offs, dramatic parapets, shadowy colonnades and cul-de-sacs, and the design shattered many traditional mall-design rules such as lowering ambient arousal levels and protecting the maximal lines-of-sight to merchandise. Its fragmented spaces look and feel more like a postmodern art project than a traditional mall, and its festive colors were a contrast to the ubiquitous beige store architecture of the period. The project was completed in 1985.
Despite the unique and non-traditional retail design approach, Horton Plaza's[2] radical design brought 25 million visitors in the first year, and as of 2004 continued to generate San Diego's highest sales per unit area. The project also sparked nearly $2.4 billion in redevelopment to the surrounding area and downtown core." (Jon Jerde)
Hmm. Not at all a typical Jerde project. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by the lack of curves in this-- quite a deviation from the highly organic projects they've been producing like Kanyon, Namba, and Mecenatpolis (all great projects, but it's nice to see them experimenting with more rigid, geometric compositions and playing with color.) Seems like a complex project, materiality, form, and all. I'm guessing they pulled quite a bit of inspiration from Kandinsky... Nice overall, hopefully even more striking in person once its built.
ban dat alias
So my comment was taken down? Wow, archinect, when did we get SO PC?
I love it!
Every recent "avant-garde" project represented in jaw dropping vignettes in this slapstick. Way to go Jerde, you're the best!
make a monument to "pussy riot"
Poor Moscow …or maybe not! However, this design is a little bit pretentious and having nothing to do with Russian avant-garde and avant-garde at all. “Not typical” for him? Al contrary; it seems to be very typical for him mimicking the others and follow the fashionable streams. I am afraid this is not the best way to follow. He can do better to follow in his skyscrapers area :-)
The only saving grace is that no one expects any better from them...
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