IFC – International Financial Centre in Rublyovo-Arkhangelskoye

The installation of the new Financial Centre in the Moscow Region, on virgin land and along a majestic bend of the Moscow River deserves a degree of excellence. MFC needs splendor in order to distinguish itself from the chaotic periphery, and in order to become an attractive brand of its own.
The surface of the required building program equals the surface of the site. A FAR of 1 does not allow for an attractive urbanity. 80% of the total program, is organized on 38% of the land around the different future access infrastructures at the North-Eastern part of the site, and shaped into a circular city that fits perfectly on the natural peninsula created by the river.
This concentration does not make the rest of the site into a hinterland. A number of clearly identified spots are programmed in a specific way.
The long-term success of the new Financial Centre depends to a large extent on the unpredictable future of the global and Russian economy and finance. Its master plan must therefore include a number of key qualities that are capable of embracing and transcending uncertainty. Together they constitute our plan proposal, ensuring an intense, diverse and complex, but adequate conurbation.
A Southwest oriented grid is laid out over almost the entire site, binding the different elements together. It makes the new development stand out from its surroundings, but above all it offers a wide range of possible built and programmatic infill.
Installing the new center in the bend of the both majestic and frivolous river offers immediate visibility and iconic presence to the Financial Centre and attractive addresses. Along the full length of the river a new promenade park is installed. New public landscape elements, such as a sunken, linear park in the center and a grid of trees along the streets are added to this basic figure.
Phasing will be dominated by the accumulation over time of new infrastructural elements. Thus, the first phase without any major infrastructural input will be grafted on the north access for cars, allowing for the immediate development of the northern business park and for a compact and mixed configuration of city programs, along with destinations like the shopping center at lake. Further phases will be linked to the consecutive installation of the metro line, new highway accesses, the train station, and a public transport line.