Another Competition for Moscow’s Expanding Subway Network

 


Image © Zaha Hadid Architects

 

Even under Stalin, Moscow subway stations represented the crown jewels of the city’s projects when it came to design. In more recent years, the emphasis placed on modern design in the city’s expanding metro rail network has resulted in some major new projects, and this year’s competitions for two stations was no exception: the Klenoviy Boulevard Station 2 won by Zaha Hadid Architects (London), and the Prospect Marshala Zhukova station, won by the ASADOV Architectural Bureau (Moscow). 

 

According to Sergei Kuznetsov, Chief Architect of Moscow and Deputy President of the Jury, “We have already held five station design competitions, and each time we have had the most amazing results possible. These are always symbolic milestones for the architecture of the Moscow metro, as such things help improve the public image of both the metro itself and the modern architecture of Moscow in general. This year’s winners offered us vibrant innovations that showed that we’re moving in the right direction. I firmly believe that the new stations will make an excellent addition to the city’s tourist itinerary.”

 

The competition for development of the architectural appearance of the Prospekt Marshala Zhukova and Klenovy Bulvar 2 metro stations is the fifth such event. The number of applications broke all records and was 50% higher than the previous competition. As many as 330 potential contestants registered on the website, 113 of them (primarily from Russia) submitting applications. Italy led the foreign countries with 8 firms in the competition’s shortlisting stage, followed by Great Britain, with 6 companies submitting applications. The other international competitors were companies from Spain, Latvia, the Netherlands, Japan (2 from each country), Hungary, Germany, China, Poland, and Uzbekistan (1 from each country). The competition had two stages. At the first stage, the expert jury headed by Andrey Bochkarev, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Urban Policy and Construction, selected 5 finalists for each metro station based on their portfolios, relevant experience, and two essays (one per station). The shortlisted teams for the two metro stations was as follows:

 

For Klenoviy Boulevard 2:

Architectural Bureau KPLN LLC (Moscow, Russia);
Zaha Hadid Architects (London, UK) with A-project, Krost (Moscow, Russia);
  Arup Lighting (London, UK); Systematica s.l.r (Milan, Italy);
ABTB LLC (Moscow, Russia);
Blank Architects CJSC (Moscow, Russia);
Buro Vozduh (Moscow, Russia) with WP ARC Plan GmbH (Hannover, Germany).

 

For Prospekt Marshala Zhukova:

ABTB LLC (Moscow, Russia);
Blank Architects CJSC (Moscow, Russia);
ASADOV ARCHITECTURAL BUREAU LLC (Moscow, Russia);
MAParchitects LLC (Moscow, Russia)

NOWADAYS LLC (Moscow, Russia) with Architects of Invention (London, UK)

 

It is no surprise that the majority of the competitors selected in the shortlisting process were Russian, but remarkable that the lone foreign firm as a lead design member, Zaha Hadid Architects, was selected the winner above all the local competitors for the Klenovy station.. When viewing the entries for both competitions, it would appear that the Klenoviy Boulevard station probably had a more flexible budget than did that for the Prospect Marshala Zhukova station. Although this may be the result of the expansive nature of the Klenoviy Boulevard station as a hub, the designs of the Prospect Marshala Zhukova station gave a more modest impression. In terms of architectural expression, the main contenders for the Klenoviy Boulevard station exhibited more creativity, especially sculpturally, than was the case for Prospect Marshal Zhukova.

 

 

Klenoviy Boulevard 2 (5 Entries)

 

Winning design

Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
ZHA Design Director: Christos Passas 
ZHA Team: Anna Uborevic-Borovskaya, Mihai-Dragos Potra, Alex Turner, Liudmila Harrison-Jones
Consortium Members: Systematica, Krost, Metropolis Group, Rider Levett Bucknall
Lighting Design: ARUP Lighting (Giulio Antonutto, Pavlina Akritas)

 

 

 

 


Above “ticketing” and other images: © Zaha Hadid Architects

 

 

Second Place

Architectural Bureau KPLN LLC
Moscow, Russia

 

 

   

 


Images: © Architectural Bureau KPLN LLC

 

 

Third Place

Blank Architects CJSC
Moscow, Russia

 

 

  

 


Images: © Blank Architects CJSC

 

 

Fourth Place

Buro Vozduh with WP ARC Plan GmbH 
Moscow, Russia/Hanover, Germany

 

 

  

 


Images: © Buro Vozduh

 

 

 

Fifth Place

ABTB LLC
Moscow, Russia

 

 

 

  

 

Images: © ABTB LLC

 

 

 

Prospekt Marshala Zhukova (5 entries)

 


First Place

ASADOV ARCHITECTURAL BUREAU LLC
Moscow, Russia

 

 

 

Images: © ASADOV ARCHITECTURAL BUREAU LLC

 

 

Second Place
MAParchitects LLC
Moscow, Russia

 

 

 

  

 

  
Images: © MAParchitects LLC

 

 

Third Place
NOWADAYS LLC with Architects of Invention
Moscow, Russia/London, U.K.

 

 

 

  

 

Images: © NOWADAYS LLC

 

 

Fourth Place
ABTB LLC 
Moscow, Russia

 

 

 

 

Images: © ABTB LLC

 

 

Fifth Place
Blank Architects CJSC
Moscow, Russia

 

 

  

 

Images: © Blank Architects CJSC