National Centre for Contemporary Arts’ new building to be completed by 2017-2018

The new building of the National Centre for Contemporary Arts, located at the Khodynskoye Pole, is expected to be completed in 2017 or 2018, Chief Architect of Moscow Sergei Kuznetsov said. “Today we are announcing the results of the first stage of the international competition for the architectural concept of the new NCCA building. Ten participants have been selected, and they will continue their work,” said Mr Kuznetsov. The 10 successful applicants include architecture studios from Russia, China, Italy, Spain, United States, Belgium and Chile. Over 900 companies and private individuals have taken part in the competition.

At the second stage, participants will receive a technical design specification and begin designing concepts. Accompanied by a layout, the concepts are to be submitted for expert assessment by 29 November 2013, and the jury will select three finalists. The winner will be chosen by NCCA’s board of trustees in December 2013.

NCCA director Mikhail Mindlin told journalists that the area of the new building would total 46,500 sq m, with 10,000 sq m for a permanent exhibition and 5,000 sq m for temporary exhibitions. The new building will also house a cinema and concert hall, lecture, symposium and conference rooms and a souvenir and book shop. Preliminary estimates place the cost of construction at about 4 billion roubles.

Mr Kuznetsov also said that a new design for the Khodynskoye Pole area is currently being developed, featuring not only the new NCCA building but also a park, metro station and CSKA stadium. “Khodynskoye Pole is a difficult case in terms of how to make all the planned buildings fit,” the chief architect said, adding that the development of the Khodynskoye Pole area involved constructing a large pedestrian zone to connect the stadium and the metro station.