The project is located in the Khoroshevsky neighbourhood, situated beyond the third ring road on the outskirts of the city, an area which has been somewhat disregarded by its citizens, apart from those living in the neighbourhood.
However, the area has great potential for development. In terms of accessibility, it is very well connected to the city centre. Leningrad Avenue, one of the major thoroughfares of the city, bounds the site on one side, while the third ring road provides the limits on another. Additionally, six different subway stations surround the area within 15-20 minutes’ walking distances: Sokol, Airport, Dynamo, Begovaya, Polezhayevskaya and Octyabrskoye pole.
Identifying the green spaces and public zones within the neighbourhood reveals the Chapayevsky and Berezovaya rosha parks as the main open spaces, yet they constitute just 6% of the green areas of the neighbourhood, which is insufficient for the conception of Green Moscow.
The project approaches the proposed museum as a new landmark for the area, as well as a point of public interest for the whole of Moscow city. In the its materiality and the construction of its outer shell, the building innovates and expands expectations, existing as a built form with unique architectural and spatial qualities, and as such meets the brief for an architectural icon for the local area. The building must not look like any other.
However, the form finding of the project is in fact based on strict programmatic requirements and the division of the museum’s complex program into several different parts, depending on the functional content. These blocks are positioned around the perimeter of the site, therefore clearing the central space for use as part of the new park. Some of the units are raised above ground level to improve pedestrian permeability through the complex. Only 5 units are based on the ground as well as the main structural core of the complex, which also plays the role of the main entrance to the museum. Each of the blocks is connected with its closest neighbour, and together the entire group is bound into a single enclosed form, guaranteeing effective circulation within the building and through its various functional blocks.

Type: Open Competition
Date: 09.2013
Client: National Center for Contemporary Arts
Consultant: Strelka University
Location:  Moscow, Russia
Size: 46.500 square meters
Status: Basic scheme
Team: Giorgio Badalacchi
Ana Salazar, Diego Castro
Images: M.O.N.O.M.O