Moscow, Russia
Designed by European Prize for Architecture Laureate Sergei Tchoban with SPEECH (Russia), HOK (USA), and FXFOWLE (USA) for Renaissance Development, the Neva Towers complex consists of the two rectangular towers that rise from a four-story podium, arranged to create an open plaza and green space surrounding the buildings that will be free from future development.
The two “Neva Towers” in Moscow provide additional residential and office space to the city’s skyscraper district, which includes many of Europe’s tallest structures.
For its dynamic design, Neva Towers has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Awards Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Two rectangular towers of 61 and 66 stories, the former containing offices and the latter apartments, stand on a five-story plinth.
The two towers are perpendicular to one another, creating a triangular open space from the direction of 1-y Krasnogvardeysky Proezd.
The configuration of the towers is emphatically laconic: their slab-like shape is complemented by small shifts of the central parts forming what might be termed the towers’ ‘backbone’ of the building.
The latter is clothed on two sides by tiers that progressively narrow towards the top of each building by means of a series of three setbacks.
The proportioning of the tiers, which grow in length as they extend upwards, has been determined in accordance with the classic ‘golden section’.
The stone-clad columns set the rhythm and emphasize the theme of the building’s upwards movement.
Their width varies from tier to tier, being 50 cm in the bottom tier, 40 cm in the middle tier, and 30 cm in the top tier.
The pylons in the central parts of the sides of the towers project to a constant length of 50 centimeters, further emphasizing the building’s verticality.
Taken together, these devices give the complex’s façades a unique structure that is strikingly modern and at the same time refers to legendary skyscrapers from the 20th century.
Project: Neva Towers
Architects: SPEECH
Lead Architect: Sergei Tchoban
Associate Architects: HOK and FXFOWLE
General Contractor: Renaissance Construction
Client: Renaissance Development
Photographers: Dmitry Chebanenko