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Moscow is a home to numerous parks and green zones, but a few years ago the city initiated a new ambitious project - the largest new park in Moscow in 50 years, to be built completely from scratch.
For 40 years this was the location of "Rossiya" - a 3000-room hotel that was one of the biggest in Europe. It was one of the most iconic landmarks of the late Soviet Union. The building became outdated in 21st century, and was torn down in 2006.
Everyone was sure that a prime location like this - right next to Kremlin, facing the river - would be used either for a brand-new hotel, or yet another hi-tech office building.
Surprisingly enough, in 2012 Sergey Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, suggested turning this site into a park.
A design competition was announced, and architecture firms from around the world submitted their vision of what the new park could look like. The winner was DS+R, a New York firm with a great record of designing public areas around the world. Unlike some other more conservative firms, they didn't try to create yet another Central Park in Moscow. Their application was a futuristic landscape with elements approaching the surreal.
DS+R, partnering with local firms, proposed planting flying carpets of greenery above a large restaurant, a food court, a museum of Moscow history and a nature education center.
According to their plan, Zaryadye Park, named for the surrounding neighbourhood, would feature a boomerang-shaped bridge that would extend far out over the Moscow River.
But even that wasn't the most ambitious part of the project; Zaryadye Park was meant to provide its guests with a taste of four key Russian ecosystems - tundra, steppe, forest and marsh - arranged in zones from the hilly side down to the river.
The goal was not just to bring plants representing those 4 terrains, but to provide the feeling of being in those zones. For example, a cave containing an ice sculpture would provide a feel of the tundra all year long. A huge glass bubble covering the grass roof of the concert hall would create an atmosphere of warmer climates, even in winter.
Overall it seemed like one of those sci-fi architecture projects that are never built, but not this time. The city provided the funds - equal to about 420 million US Dollars, to make the project come true.
Not everything went smoothly though - some innovative ideas like underfloor hydronic heating were cut out to save money. The boomerang bridge was also close to being eliminated from the plan due to safety concerns, but it was later decided to build the bridge regardless.
The park was opened to the public in September of 2017, and it is a great piece of modern urban design that defines what a 21st century park can look like.
#moscow
