MFC Evolution Tower

Located on Presnenskaya Embankment, 4, building 2, the 246-meter Evolution Tower with cold-formed glazing has become one of the most striking objects of Moscow City. It is a 54-story skyscraper twisted around its own axis, confidently rising on a 3-level stylobate.

The Evolution Tower and the adjacent city square are located on plots 2 and 3 of the MIBC, so it is in close proximity to the Bagration Bridge. It has become a real cherry on the MIBC cake and has every chance of being included in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest building with a cold-formed facade.

History of creation

The idea of building a tower of two ribbons belongs to Tony Kettle from the Scottish bureau RMJM, inspired by the sculpture "The Kiss" by O. Rodin. Its essence lies in creating a kind of projection of the ancient Chinese Yin-Yang, which was supposed to symbolize the unification of two halves in a legal marriage. The project was named City Palace Tower, because at the base of the skyscraper it was planned to build the largest Wedding Palace in Moscow.

Initially, the owner of the project was the company OOO City Palace, which was equally owned by Inteko of Elena Baturina and Snegiri, owned by Alexander Chigrinsky. In 2008, work began on plots 2 and 3 of the MIBC, with a total area of 2.55 hectares. But that same year, the crisis thundered. It led to the freezing of the project until 2011, which became one of the reasons for Inteko to sell its share of the property for 37 million dollars to partners Viktor Rashnikov (Snapbox) and Nader Nader in 2010.

Since market conditions were changing rapidly and investors were more interested in prestigious office and commercial space, the idea of constructing a Wedding Palace had to be abandoned in favor of constructing a multifunctional office and retail building, and its height was increased by 7 levels. As a result of the rebranding, the skyscraper received the loud name "Evolution", and its shape began to be identified with the spiral nature of evolutionary development, the DNA molecule. The architect of the multifunctional complex was the company "Gorproekt".

At the end of summer 2011, Gazprombank provided a loan for completion of the construction in the amount of 345 million dollars for 7 years. Active work began in 2012. The developer was the company Renaissance Construction (Turkey). And already at the end of December 2014, the multifunctional complex was put into operation.

It is impossible to say exactly how much the Evolution Tower cost. But experts are leaning toward the amount of 446-520 million dollars. Today, the owner of the complex is Transneft, which announced its desire to buy the tower in 2014 for 1 billion dollars. The deal was made, but in light of economic difficulties, Transneft only acquired office space, rumored to be for 300 million dollars.

Features and stages of construction

The Evolution project was developed by Gorproekt and in particular by Filipp Nikandrov. The building is based on 8 columns located 15 m apart, remaining strictly vertical throughout the entire height of the skyscraper. Each of the top 51 floors is rotated by 3° relative to the previous one. Thus, the entire building is twisted by 156°. The spiral shape of Evolution is also repeated by the 4 corner supports.

To bring the neo-futuristic idea to life, a specific formwork system was created that rose independently and combined the functions of a working platform with effective wind protection. This solution made it possible to build a floor in just 6 days.

For the facade finishing, single-chamber cold-bent double-glazed windows with SunGuard High Performance mirror glass, manufactured by Guardian Industries, were used. They form a continuous bent strip of glazing with a constant slope at the corners of the building, which creates a striking optical effect: the panorama of Moscow is reflected in the windows of the building at an angle of 90° to the horizon.

The Evolution Tower has a new elevator system from ThyssenKrupp. It allows for the use of two independently operating elevator cabins in one shaft, which has saved useful space and reduced the number of elevator shafts to 10.

The final stage of construction work was the creation of the top or crown of the tower in the form of two asymmetrical arches with a span of 41 m, uniting the opposite facades. They were made in Italy and brought to Moscow in separate parts.

The tower's layouts provide open space and the ability to freely move partitions. This is very valuable for experienced managers, as it allows them to fully control the work of their employees.

The building is managed by JSC City. It was built taking into account the latest trends, using the best finishing materials. It has the latest water supply, air conditioning and central heating systems.

The Evolution Tower and its "fillings"

As mentioned, the 54-story tower stands on a three-level stylobate, the so-called "Evolution" gallery. The total area of the skyscraper is 154,000 sq. m., of which 94,000 sq. m. are offices, and 14,700 sq. m. are shopping areas. Today, the tower houses:

• Transneft central office;

• banks;

• fitness centers;

• restaurants;

• MARRIAGE REGISTRY;

• pharmacies;

• beauty salons;

• inventory agencies.

At the ground level, the Masterslavl profession park was created, which can be compared to a mini-city with houses, a railway station, highways, a theater and much more. The landscaped roof of the stylobate has become one of the favorite places for city residents and guests of the capital to relax and take bright photos. There are fountains, green areas, cafes, and cozy terraces offer a gorgeous view of the city square adjacent to the Evolution tower. Its size is approaching 2 hectares. You can climb directly to the roof of the stylobate from the embankment using modern covered escalators.

On the minus first level of the stylobate there are retail premises, restaurants, cafes and banquet halls, museums. Its total area is 28,000 sq. m. The exits are also located here:

• into the tower itself;

• to the Vystavochnaya metro station;

• to the Bagration pedestrian bridge.

The second floor is a spacious parking lot for 1,350 cars.

Interesting facts and features

Today, the Evolution Tower ranks 10th in the list of the tallest buildings in Russia and is included in the list of the 30 tallest spiral skyscrapers in the world. In its short existence, it has received many awards, including:

• Grand Prix at the VI Russian architectural competition “Glass in Architecture 2015”;

• winner of the professional competition NOPRIZ in the nomination “Best MFC project” (2015);

• finalist of the International Competition "CTBUH Award 2015".

Many disputes and conflicts around the Evolution tower flared up at the design stage, when Elena Baturina sold her share. The shareholders of Snegiri believed that she did this at a price almost 5 times lower than the market price.

A new scandal broke out after the sale of the skyscraper to the Transneft company. It turned out that the entire amount was transferred to the accounts of A. Chigrinsky's company, and the co-owners of the tower, Nader Nader and Viktor Rashnikov, never received their share of the profit. The legal proceedings are still ongoing.

The Evolution Tower burned in 2014. During construction work, an electrical cable caught fire, but it was quickly extinguished and no one was hurt.