Skyscrapers are the new calling cards of megacities

Skyscrapers are not just high-rise buildings, but a true quintessence of the most advanced architectural solutions. They reflect progressive trends and embody innovative technologies, and Moscow skyscrapers fully confirm this rule.

What is Moscow-City

According to the latest data, there are about 120 buildings in the Russian capital that are over 100 m tall. The first of them began to appear in Stalin's times in 1951-1955. The history of Moscow skyscrapers began with these 7 high-rises. New buildings were gradually built, but the real apogee of high-rise construction in Moscow came in 2000-2009, when the first multifunctional complexes began to be actively built on the territory allocated for the construction of the Moscow International Business Center. During this time, more than 40 skyscrapers were built. After 2010, several dozen more projects were implemented, affecting Moscow City and adjacent areas.

Overall, about 40% of Moscow's high-rises are residential complexes. The remaining 60% are divided between multifunctional complexes, business centers, hotels, etc. At the same time, 9 out of 10 tallest capital buildings are located in Moscow City, if you do not take into account Triumph Palace.

The construction of Moscow City was conceived with the aim of relieving the historical center of the capital. But from the very beginning of the project's implementation, many disputes arose around it, which were fueled by forced breaks in construction. Nevertheless, today the most difficult milestones are behind us, and the skyscrapers of Moscow City have deservedly become the calling card of the capital.

Even the Moscow mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said at one of the meetings devoted to the City that the "Big City" project, conceived by Boris Thor, can be called accomplished and successful. Today it is one of the largest business centers in Europe, because on the 50 hectares allocated for it, almost 3 million square meters of real estate have already been built, and 1 million square meters are still under construction. At the same time, more than 80,000 people work in the business center's towers reaching into the sky.

Most of the facilities located in the MIBC that were put into operation were built between 2011 and 2019. Therefore, the area is already largely formed, however, much still needs to be done here.

In general, the entire strategy for the development of the territory within the framework of the Big City project is divided into 3 stages, the first of which should be completed in 2020. The completion of the 2nd and 3rd stages of its implementation is planned for 2025 and 2035, respectively. As a result, more than 4.2 million square meters of residential, office, commercial and other types of space will be built in the MIBC.

As of today, several more large buildings are planned for construction in Moscow City, including:

• One Tower , which promises to be the tallest multifunctional complex in Europe and is expected to be 444 m high;

• the Empire-2 tower, 71 m high;

• concert and entertainment complex Sensorium Hall , 53 m high;

• MFC on site No. 15, height 283 m;

• Multifunctional complex on site No. 20, height 228 m.

All skyscrapers in the City are being built at the expense of private investors. But today it has already become the city's main taxpayer and one of the largest taxpayers in Russia as a whole, thereby bringing profit not only to developers selling square meters and companies operating here, but also to the public.

It is important to overtake time!

According to statistics, in 2019, there were 4,953 completed skyscrapers worldwide, i.e. buildings with a height of 150 m and more, and another 978 objects of this size under construction. Among them are supertall buildings, which include objects with a height of 300 m and more: 170 are completely completed, and 126 are under construction. Also, for various reasons, the construction of 208 objects, including 40 supertall ones, has been suspended. Thus, it becomes obvious that high-rise construction is a global trend. But, since the construction of each skyscraper requires many years of careful planning, in this matter it is important not to follow the latest trends, but to truly be ahead of your time.

In this regard, architects often include advanced technologies in their projects that do not have time to become obsolete not only by the time the construction of the building begins, but also by the time it is put into operation. This is implemented in practice to varying degrees.

The experts of Giprogor Project even compiled a rating of completed, under construction or planned skyscrapers from different countries of the world, each of which received its own assessment on a 5-point scale for height, infrastructure development, area, architectural solution, etc. To assign the final assessments, the points were summed up, which made it possible to find the leaders in each category.

TOP 5 completed skyscrapers 2020

Among the newly constructed buildings, i.e. those completed in 2019-2020, were:

• Raffles City Chongqing – 16 points;

• Suzhou IFS, Suzhou – 13 points;

• LCT The Sharp Landmark Tower – 11 points;

• Tianjin CTF Finance Centre, Tianjin – 10 points;

• 30 Hudson Yards, New York – 9 points.

Based on the skyscrapers erected in recent years, it can be concluded that height is still the prevailing parameter, although the principle of "the higher, the better" is no longer so relevant. There is a tendency to create more perfect forms, implement interesting ideas that allow increasing the usable area without adding extra floors and expansion. One of the striking examples illustrating this can be the horizontal skyscrapers of China Raffles City Chongqing, united by a common "bridge". Such solutions allow increasing the multifunctionality of buildings by creating various public spaces, including alleys with their own microclimate, atriums, etc.

There is also a tendency to create skyscrapers of unusual shapes, which significantly increases the architectural appeal of the buildings. In the already commissioned facilities, there is a tendency towards streamlined shapes, rounded corners, and the use of structures that allow for an extremely extensive panorama.

TOP 5 skyscrapers under construction 2020

High-rise buildings under construction include:

• Dubai Creek Tower – 16 points;

• Suzhou Zhongnan Center – 14 points;

• Chengdu Greenland Tower – 12 points;

• Quay Quarter Tower – 10 points;

• 443 Queen Street – 8 points.

When examining high-rise projects in the final stages of construction, one can see that architects are increasingly giving preference to ambitious ideas. They increase the height of buildings, consciously take risks by placing them in areas with high wind loads, etc. To implement such complex projects, they choose special materials and technologies that increase their stability. At the same time, there is a tendency in architecture to create elegant “pencil” forms with the introduction of elements of classical architecture, as well as the formation of green areas on facades in order to improve air quality and increase the energy efficiency of buildings. Also, various techniques aimed at improving the visual characteristics of a skyscraper are increasingly used.

TOP 5 planned skyscrapers

Among the skyscrapers whose construction is still in the planning stages, the best were:

• X-Seed 4000 – 16 points;

• Dubai City Tower – 15 points;

• Sky Tower Mile – 12 points;

• Mubarak Tower – 9 points;

• The Big Bend – 8 points.

Nevertheless, it is safe to say that the future belongs to super-tall buildings that will rise 1000-2000 m. This trend of increasing the number of storeys is primarily due to the emergence of a housing shortage and rising land prices in the most interesting areas of megacities.

And although the technologies for constructing such tall buildings are still quite expensive and complex, there are already projects for a number of objects with a height of over 2 km. But there is no talk yet about starting their implementation.

Super-tall buildings also include super-long ones, the area of which increases due to an unusual shape or the construction of auxiliary structures. In general, skyscrapers of the future are expected to have high-speed elevator trains, green areas, special batteries for accumulating solar and wind energy, as well as other engineering solutions that provide comfort.