This May with the help of Dmitry Chistoprudov we came on the roof of the Capitals' City building complex. We were standing there at a height of 300 meters above Moscow and shooting several spherical panoramas from the highest tower in Europe.  

Moscow City is the most famous uncompleted construction project of Russian capital surrounded with the gossips, scandals, intrigues, bankrupts and events. However, undoubtedly, this pathos project will occupy its place in the architectural history and will become a new face of Moscow if not having eclipsed Stalin style architecture then at least will press it.

Having planned to build a modern business center in the beginning of 1990-s which would have met all the new city planning trends and ideas, Moscow authorities expected the participation of numerous interested investors.  However, the problems followed the project almost since it had begun. A record sum of money - one billion rubles - was stolen fast enough. Then the constant changes in the managing company membership began. As for the investors, taking in consideration this typically Russian reality they didn't want to invest in New Vasiuki at all.

The city authorities had to invest budget rubles in order "a construction of the century" to be realized, however, it didn't help and the preliminary plans to finish the construction by 1999 were destroyed. During 15 years only 2 objects were completely finished: the commercial and pedestrian bridge Bagration and the office complex Tower-2000.

Since the number of new buildings was going on growing, the unexpected problem, like a bolt from the blue, appeared.  It became clear that for those years nobody cared of transport and energy infrastructure. Neither interchanges nor two underground stations save the complex from a dense traffic jam and the power of the planned substations, according to the expert estimations, is not enough for the regular functioning of all the skyscrapers.

In spite of this, the construction is still going on and yearly the new buildings appear. And the delivery term of the last ones which are the Exhibition&Business Complex and the Evolution Tower is going to be 2014. 

In the course of construction the severe reality affected the ambitious plans of Moscow authorities. The saddest fate overtook Russia Tower which was the project of the famous architect Norman Foster who is the author of the Millennium Bridge in London and the Reichstag's Dome in Berlin as well as many other significant buildings all around the world.

For such megalopolis as Moscow Foster was lavish in size: the altitude of Russia Tower was planned at a level of one thousand meters.  He assured that the tower of pyramid form was considered to be steady, but they did not believe him and the final agreed project wasn't more than 612 meters height. Anyway, it would have been the highest in the world. For example, the altitude of the Empire State Building in the USA is 381 meters and the Thai Bay Tower - 101 in Taiwan is 508 meters. The realization of such a grandiose project even in stable time, before crisis, was estimated at more than one and a half billion dollars.  

Meanwhile, the crisis did its worst and, finally, on the place which had been planned for the 600-meter tower the ordinary parking for three thousand cars appeared.  But, for sure, there is no such foundation pit in the world which had such a pathos ideas and venerable architects!

At the same time, now there is the highest, if not in the world but in Europe, tower in Moscow City complex.  The matter is the Capitals' City complex by Capital Group, which consists of Moscow Building of 73 floors and 301.6 meters height and Saint Petersburg Building of 62 floors and 257 meters height.

Well, these panoramas were shot exactly from the roof of Moscow Tower.

We are grateful to Capital Group and Dmitry Chistoprudov for the assistance in this shooting's realization.

8 June 2011