The Results of the Competition for the Design of Prospekt Marshala Zhukova and Klenovy Bulvar 2 Stations
The winners of the international open competition for the design of two new stations of the Moscow metro have been chosen. The concept of the Moscow bureau ASADOV was chosen for the Prospekt Marshala Zhukova station; the project of a consortium with the participation of world stars Zaha Hadid Architects Ltd was chosen for the Klenovy Bulvar 2 station. They will both become interchanges to the Bolshaya Koltsevaya Metro Line (BKL). Separately, the jury noted the creative option from the Nowadays / Architects of Invention team.
The winners of the competition receive the right to conclude a contract for the development of the station booklet in order to obtain a Certificate of Approval of the Architectural and Urban Planning Solution of the Capital Construction Object, and for author’s supervision of design and construction work for the implementation of the tender proposal.
«We have already held five station design competitions, and each time we get most interesting results. For the architecture of the Moscow metro, these are iconic things that popularize both the metropolitan metro and the modern architecture of Moscow in general. The projects of the winners this year turned out to be bright, innovative, they prove that we are moving in the right direction. I have no doubt that the new stations will be included in the city’s tourist routes,» said Sergey Kuznetsov, Chief Architect of Moscow, deputy chairman of the jury.
According to him, the winning projects were selected according to a number of criteria, including: original and memorable design, compliance with the context of the area and the location of the stations, compliance with the requirements for comfortable and safe travel for all categories of passengers; economic feasibility and, of course, possibility of implementation, taking into account the technical requirements of the Moscow metro.
The concept of the Klenovy Bulvar 2 station was developed by a consortium led by Zaha Hadid Architects Ltd (UK, London), which also included A — project, Krost (Moscow); ArupLighting (UK, London); Systematicas.lr (Italy, Milan).
This shallow station will be located in the area of Nagatinsky Zaton, in alignment with Klenovy Bulvar at the intersection with Kolomenskaya Street. In addition to the obvious transport and logistics benefits for residents of the Nagatinsky Zaton area, the metro will provide the necessary integration of the Kuryanovo and Biryulyovo districts, as well as convenient access to the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve. According to the authors of the project, a new generation metro station should be elegant, light, modern, no frills and it should have clear navigation for user convenience, with clear lines, transparency and intuitive visual guidance for users.
«We consider this station as a modern addition to the Moscow metro network. The fact that Klenovy Bulvar 2 is located in the suburbs provides a unique opportunity to offer something new, as radical as old-style stations, something that will become a beacon for the stations of the future. This new generation of design solutions has been designed to make transport comfortable, enjoyable and safe. Modern software makes it possible to influence the user’s feelings by providing them with the necessary, well-structured information. One of the design elements is the lighting, which needs to be designed to enrich the environment and bring a much-needed sense of orientation and ease of navigation around the station itself. With the change in lighting, users are informed of the upcoming arrival of trains, which allows them to prepare for boarding, while the dynamic system of light temperatures provides guidance at the level of intuition and perception,» say the architects.
The theme of the lighting design of the Klenovy Bulvar 2 station is Future. The architects managed to create a memorable image by coming up with a lighting scheme for a space without visible light sources, and at the same time organizing a very ergonomic environment. The ground lobby is designed as a completely transparent structure. This way passengers will feel safe, and sufficient natural light will help save energy. Visitors will be able to observe the contrast in lighting, moving from bright daylight of the streets into a darkened lobby where electric lights create an immersive effect.
An opening in the ceiling illuminates the staircase and the lower level of the corridor leading to the ticket area. And at night, the soft light emanating from the two main dominants — the corporate logo of the Moscow Metro and the escalator — will immediately attract attention. During construction there will be used beige and dark gray limestone as well as gray granite and stainless-steel elements. Benches for rest will be installed along the perimeter of the pavilion both inside and outside.
The project is also distinguished by well-thought-out navigation. Entering the ticket area, passengers immediately get a clear and general idea of the space, the location of turnstiles, checkpoints, ticket offices, help and support services, and elevators. The general lighting of the hall and the turnstile area will be provided by a curved LED luminaire built into the ceiling. This lighting system will include a glass diffuser, the technology used by manufacturers of windshields for automobiles. This will allow it to follow complex architectural geometries and meet the required fire safety, maintenance and durability standards. It was decided to use dark gray polished granite as the flooring, while the walls and ceilings will be covered with glass fiber concrete.
In this case, the panels on the walls will have lines that will serve as indicators and add dynamic to the space. And on the ceiling, LED lamps will perform the same task. The platform part will be decorated with columns designed in the form of «arrows» to emphasize the direction of movement in space.
«These „arrows“ are both part of the column and part of the light lines that adorn the ceiling and floor, providing both functional lighting as needed and visual indication of the edges of the platform and the direction of movement along it. All signs in the space are carefully organized to provide short- and long-term visual information in a simple and minimal way,» noted the authors of the concept.
Each column will be slightly different in shape and it will be a lightweight steel structure to which pre-fabricated gray or beige limestone cladding panels will be anchored. This will make it possible to design and lay engineering networks for lighting and ventilation inside the columns in advance. The floor will be covered with dark gray polished granite, with built-in sealed lighting that literally «travels» along the floor, wall and ceiling.
The concept of the Prospect Marshala Zhukova station was developed by the Moscow bureau ASADOV.
This is a deep interchange station connecting two metro lines — the Bolshaya Koltsevaya Line and the Rublevo-Arkhangelsky radius. The station will be located at the intersection with Prospect Marshala Zhukova. It will become a key transit point for residents of the Horoshevo-Mnevniki district.
The Order of the Patriotic War is one of the most revered awards in the country and serves as a prototype for the station’s architectural design. The red star, white frame and golden rays are intertwined, turning into obelisks of glory. The victorious warriors are frozen in the parade line. Dark side walls, showing the tragedy of war, visually expand the space.
«Light plays an important role in the architecture of the station. General lighting is created by reflected light, the sources of which are hidden behind the side longitudinal cornices and the bases of the stars — the capitals of the columns. Subtle beams of golden light create a geometric light pattern on the ceiling. The ruby light of the glass sections of the columns gives a special solemnity to the interior. The entrance pavilions in the form of red wedges clearly mark the entrance zones to the station and, at the same time, bear a symbolic component, echoing the arrows of military maps,» the authors of the project comment.
The station’s ground lobbies will be rectangular glazed prisms with built-in volumes in the form of a rotated red pyramid resting on three points. They refer associatively to the signs showing of offensive operations on the maps of the Great Patriotic War. Underground passages also have elements in the form of arrows, and are made in a single-color scheme with the entrance pavilions and the platform. Bright red color is also well noticeable from a great distance, especially at night. And the location of the lamps in the passages is provided in such a way that they intuitively direct you to the entrances to the platform, while not blocking the navigation lightboxes. The pillars on the platform, with their bright white and red star elements, stand out against the neutral background of the track walls.
Again, there is a reference to the marshal’s shoulder boards, i.e. stripes on the floor and lamps on the ceiling in the shape of a diamond. The finishing materials are selected in accordance with the requirements of safety and operation, they are as durable as possible, do not require subsequent painting / impregnation / grinding. In addition, all elements have a flat surface without texture and slopes, where debris and dust often clog. Outdoor pavilions will be made of metal structures and impact-resistant glass, for the facing of the platform columns there will be used fire-resistant monolithic polycarbonate, natural stone panels, black porcelain stoneware.
In the passages there will be white porcelain stoneware and red glass mosaic on the walls, gray granite will cover the floor, the ceilings will be plastered. It should be noted that the competition for the Prospect Marshala Zhukova station of the Rublevo-Arkhangelskaya line and the Klenovy Bulvar 2 station of the Biryulyovskaya line of the Moscow metro started on April 15 2020 with support of the Moscow Government and participation of Chief Architect of Moscow Sergey Kuznetsov.
The initiator of the competition was Mosinzhproekt, the single operator of the Moscow metro development program. The operator of the competition is the Agency for Strategic Development CENTER.
One hundred and thirteen applications from twelve countries were submitted to participate in the competition, which is 50% more than the number of applications filed for a similar competition in 2018. At the first stage, a competent jury chaired by Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Urban Development Policy and Construction in the Moscow Government Andrey Bochkarev, based on a portfolio, relevant experience and two essays in each nomination, chose 5 finalists in each nomination. As part of the second stage, which lasted 1.5 months, the following 10 finalists developed their projects in accordance with the terms of reference, and then presented at the final jury meeting:
Klenovy Bulvar 2 nomination:
• KPLN (Moscow, Russia);
• Consortium led by Zaha Hadid Architects Ltd (London, UK), consortium members: A-project, Krost (Moscow); Arup Lighting (London, UK); Systematica s.l.r (Milan, Italy);
• ABTB (Moscow, Russia);
• Blank Architects (Moscow, Russia);
• Consortium led by Buro Vozduh (Moscow, Russia), consortium members: WPI ARC Plan GmbH (Hannover, Germany).
Prospekt Marshala Zhukova nomination:
• ABTB (Moscow, Russia);
• Blank Architects (Moscow, Russia);
• Asadov Architectural Bureau (Moscow, Russia);
• Consortium led by Nowadays (Moscow, Russia), consortium member: Architects of Invention (London, UK);
• MAParchitects (Moscow, Russia).
Among all projects which were admitted to the final of the competition, the jury members especially noted the project of Nowadays bureau (Moscow) and Architects of Invention (London, UK) as the most creative and elaborate one. Their concept had no reference to the territorial context of the Marshal Zhukov Prospect station and did not win in the end. However, it was decided to offer the architects a different metro station for work, without reference to the competition.
