Moscow in Foster Care

We Russians just don't know when to stop. Most people would consider this mental peculiarity a drawback. We, on the other hand, are proud of it (that's because we don't know when to stop being proud either).

This sweeping generalization applies equally to alcohol consumption and building skyscrapers. For proof, one needs to look no further than the "Moscow City" project that has been under development for the past decade. Many an architectural rendering has been discarded during this timespan - only to be replaced by drawings of towers that are bigger, better, badder. And more "Moscow". (Like Moscow actually needs vertical growth).

Last year, SiteBits wrote about the "Federation Complex" - two towers of 340 and 240 meters respectively. This year, this already feels too short. We need another tower and we're talking at least 600 meters.

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Sir Norman Foster, the author of London's distinctive "Gherkin", will be the architect of a pyramidal structure slated to be the tallest in Europe when it's completed in 2010 (some sources say, 2011). And here are some tantalizing bits about the project:

• "It will be naturally ventilated and use the latest heat exchange technologies to minimise energy use. The building will also collect snow and rainwater to reduce by 30 per cent the volume of fresh water used by lavatories." (timesonline.co.uk)
• "It will incorporate photovoltaic cells to capture the solar energy from its windows" (urbanity.blogsome.com; in Spanish)
• "Shalva Chigirinsky, a Russian property tycoon... told a property conference in Cannes last week that it would cost $1.5 billion (£830 million) to build the tower." (timesonline.co.uk)

Lord Foster indicated that he expected construction to begin within 18 months. And that's really good because it gives us enough time to rework the project a little bit and add a few more stories.