MOSCOW GAINING HEIGHT

October 22-24, 2008, Ararat Park Hyatt, Moscow, Russia

At the turn of the 21st century Moscow, witnessed the advent of a new era of Russian skyscrapers. Office towers are already looming against the skyline. Developers are working for their reputation, investing huge funds to create modern office buildings for their clients.
    High-rise construction resumed in Moscow after a break of 30 years. The most remarkable examples of the first wave of skyscraper development in the Russian capital are the office buildings on Novy Arbat, former COMECON headquarters now occupied by the Moscow City Mayor office, Belyi Dom (the seat of the federal government), and the complex of bank buildings on Sakharov Prospekt.
    The vast majority of the completed high-rises are mixed-use, and most of the ones planned or under construction combine several functions - residential space, offices, hotels. The highest and best-known among them are part of two vast projects - Moscow City and the New Ring of Moscow--both extremely important for the city's image. 
    Given the limited land resources and the necessity of complex development of city areas, the Moscow City Government has adopted the “New Ring of Moscow” investment program for construction of 60 mixed-use (residential, hotel and office) high-rise developments in the city’s medium belt before 2015.
    Also, under the Moscow Development Program adopted for 15 years, the authorities plan to build up to 200 high-rise buildings by 2020 with an approximate total area of 7-8 mln. square meters.
    Foreign experience - in particular, that of the American and German specialists - is also vastly utilized. Joint ventures - International Center of Skylines Construction and BRT RUS - have been established for design and construction of high-rise buildings. Currently foreign experts act mainly as advisers. However, in course of time the participation of professionals from abroad may be expanded.
    Moscow is growing upward, and the program of high-rise construction is one of the most promising directions in today's urban planning.
    The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat – the world’s leading international body in the field of tall buildings - is at the forefront of this aspiration towards new heights. The Moscow International High-Rise Conference will focus on the most important issues of high-rise construction in order to share experience and find solutions to the existing problems.