Beast from the East: New supertall skyscraper to rise in Moscow

We recently reported on the Lakhta Center in St. Petersburg, which is poised to become both Russia and Europe's tallest skyscraper, and now another massive skyscraper is planned for Russia too, this time in the capital Moscow. The unnamed tower, designed by Sergey Skuratov Architects, will rise to a height of 404 m (1,325 ft).

The skyscraper is slated for a commercial district in Moscow known as Moscow City, and will mostly consist of residential units. Indeed, it will actually boast Europe's highest occupied floor, according to Sergey Skuratov Architects, which is an official CTBUH criteria on measuring building height, so the firm's claims that it will be the tallest tower in Europe have merit. However, by the more commonly used "height to tip" criteria, it'll actually be Europe's second-tallest building.

The skyscraper will consist of two parts. The lower will rise to a dozen stories and host entrances, retail spaces, a fitness center, and more. As well as apartments measuring between 65 - 180 sq m (700 - 1,937 sq ft), the tower proper will also include an observation point on the 104th floor and will be topped by a helipad.

"The plan of the building is an isosceles trapezium 30 m [98.4 ft] wide, truncated on one side, turned to the Moskva River," says the firm. "The sloping edge on the west side of the tower follows the direction of one of the nearby streets. The other cut edge is vertical and points toward the center of Moscow."

To put the skyscraper's height into perspective, it'll be somewhere around the 32nd tallest building in the world once finished, and significantly taller than both the Empire State Building and Eiffel Tower, for example. It's also less than half the height of the majestic Burj Khalifa.

Sergey Skuratov Architects says that the project has been officially approved and construction will begin sometime in 2019. It's expected to be completed in 2024.

Source: Sergey Skuratov Architects