2003 
In July 2020, the development company MR Group presented the concept and announced the start of construction of a new class A business center, in which two skyscrapers standing on a common stylobate will harmoniously combine intelligence, innovation and individuality. The complex was named iCity and will be built at 37 Shmitovsky Proezd. The authors of the project call the future skyscrapers the first digital towers of Moscow, and, perhaps, absolutely deservedly so.
Briefly about iCity
iCity is an innovative project that will use the most modern solutions. This will create a number of advantages for owners and tenants of offices in it, and will also allow the formation of a completely new business space. Its construction has already begun and promises to be fully completed by 2023.
The complex will consist of two towers of different heights, which will perch on a common stylobate. They have already received eloquent names: Time Tower and Space Tower. The height of the first will be 141.2 m, which will correspond to 34 floors. Its total area will reach 47,432 square meters. The second tower, Space Tower, will grow to 256.7 m. It will have 61 floors, and the total area will be slightly more than 94 thousand square meters.
Almost all the useful space of the skyscrapers will be allocated for offices, with a total area of about 141 thousand square meters. But the creators also took care of the convenience of their employees, as well as visitors. Therefore, in iCity 9.8 thousand square meters will be allocated for the retail zone. To solve the eternal problem of parking, iCity will organize a 5-level underground parking, which will be able to accommodate 942 cars.
The general contractor is Renaissance Construction, a company with considerable experience in constructing skyscrapers. And the consultants in creating the project were such leading world market leaders as CRBE, Knight Frank, Colliers International.
iCity Location
The business center of the future will be built on a site occupying 2 hectares and located directly inside the transport overpass connecting the most important highways of Moscow: the Third Transport Ring and Shmitovsky Proezd. At the same time, it will be possible to get to the iCity parking lot directly from the Third Transport Ring, which is not only convenient, but will also avoid creating obstacles for other participants in high-speed traffic.
Moreover, you can get to iCity not only by car, but also by public transport. After all, literally a minute's walk away is the MCD station "Testovskaya", 5 minutes away is another MCD station "Shelepikha", and 7 minutes away is the metro station of the same name. The presence of MDC stations will help you not to worry about the possibility of being late for the plane, because with the help of regularly running Aeroexpress trains you can literally get from iCity to Sheremetyevo Airport in an hour.
Since the complex will be located in close proximity to Moscow-City, convenient pedestrian routes to the business district will be thought out. In particular, it will be possible to get to iCity from MIBC using a system of underground and overground crossings starting from the Delovoy Tsentr and Mezhdunarodnaya metro stations. The entire journey will take no more than 10 minutes.
The complex is surrounded by high-speed highways, leaving no chance for the project developers to miss the need to create a developed infrastructure inside the complex. Therefore, the concept of a mini-city is fully implemented in iCity. As a result, employees and guests of the innovative business center will have access to all the benefits of civilization, to get which they will just need to go down on a high-speed elevator to the stylobate part of the complex. Its floors will house large restaurants and cozy cafes, convenient canteens and mini-markets, numerous shops, pharmacies, beauty salons and much more. In addition, a fitness center will be opened on the 8th floor of the Time Tower, from the windows of which an amazing view of bustling Moscow will open, and a large swimming pool will be an additional bonus for fans of a healthy lifestyle and active recreation.
Business space
Naturally, a complex like iCity will house class A offices, but at the same time the building will have premises for businesses of any scale. In the Time Tower, offices will be located starting from the 9th floor, and in the Space Tower – from the 13th. iCity will also have coworking spaces and service offices, which will be located on floors 8–12 of both towers. The building as a whole is distinguished by its well-thought-out layout, which is especially emphasized by the placement of all communications in the core of the skyscrapers.
When creating the project, the specialists took care of both the convenience of people and the advantageous emphasis on the class of the complex. Therefore, it includes the idea of creating extraordinary sky terraces on the north-eastern and north-western facades of the towers. On them, office employees and guests of the complex will be able to take a break from their worries and admire the city. Sky terraces will be combined into several groups vertically, but their main feature will be the use of high-strength and at the same time translucent glass as ceilings. Designer lighting, which will turn on at nightfall, will help to additionally enhance the wow effect.
Engineering innovations
It is not for nothing that iCity is called the 1st digital business center, because the construction of this complex will use the smart building or "smart architecture" approach. This implies a combination of intelligent engineering with absolute automation and energy efficiency. Therefore, the developer does not hide the fact that the latest technologies and developments in the field of intelligent systems will be introduced during the implementation of the project, including:
· biometric access system;
· launch a mobile application to log in and manage services;
· office optimization based on heat maps, etc.
The complex was initially designed so that it could receive a LEED Gold certificate. Therefore, all engineering solutions will fully meet the strict ASHRAE requirements, in particular, the complex will be organized in energy-efficient and environmentally friendly:
· air recovery system;
· LED lighting of workplaces, parking, common areas, facades;
· air conditioning system;
· silent high-speed elevators, including panoramic ones, connecting the atrium, lobby and parking floors, etc.
Some of the iCity facades will have a fritt shading layer, which will prevent excessive heat radiation and will not worsen the view from panoramic windows due to a decrease in their transparency. Overall, according to the plan, iCity's energy consumption will be 17% less than ASHRAE standards suggest.
Architecture
The futuristic architecture of iCity was developed by the architectural bureau JAHN Architecture and Helmut Jahn himself, and the domestic architectural bureau Pride was chosen as the general designer. As a result of painstaking work, the iCity project was approved by the Moscow Committee for Architecture in the spring of 2020.
The elegant iCity skyscrapers have a "waist" and chamfered corners, which are subtly emphasized by the red fritted glass. Incidentally, the red color was used not only for the design of the building's facades, but also for the design of other rooms in the complex, which makes it look uniform. The facades are decorated with vertical perforated steel plates of different shades. Opening windows are located behind them. Helmut Jahn, who has designed stadiums, skyscrapers and airports around the world, said that iCity promises to become a unique project for 4 continents and in the future - a bright calling card of Moscow.
The design of the business center's public areas was entrusted to specialists from the British bureau Yorgo Lykouria. They decided to maintain a restrained technological style in the foyer, but to organically complement it with the characteristic texture of birch, inclusions of stainless steel, and gray marble.
Landscape design
The companies Gillespies (UK) and Arteza (Russia), responsible for the landscape design concept, created a unique solution for iCity – landscaping of the stylobate, harmoniously flowing from the internal atrium into the open garden. On the roof of the 8-storey stylobate there will be a ground garden, which will include recreation areas, landscaped paths, playgrounds, etc.
Investments
The developer MR Group took the path of receiving investments from private investors and launched a line of investment funds in 2020. With their help, individuals get the opportunity to earn money on the company's projects, and the company - to implement them. The entry threshold for the iCity project at the initial stages of construction is 6 million rubles.
The developer plans to sell the areas in Space Tower in blocks of 150 sq. m and rent them out in Time Tower floor by floor, i.e. 1.8 thousand sq. m and more. All the premises for infrastructure are also intended for rent. At the initial stages of construction, you can buy a square meter of office space in iCity from 275 thousand rubles, but after the business center is put into operation, it will increase to at least 420 thousand rubles. At the same time, renting a square meter will cost 35 thousand rubles or more.
