Moscow has chosen a design for its first new public park in half a century. Zaryadye Park will sit on a 13-acre site that’s been host to some colourful history: The homes of 16th century aristocrats, 18th century peasants, a Stalin-ordered redevelopment, a failed plan to build the city’s tallest skyscraper, and finally, the world’s largest hotel — demolished in 2006.
Next up, it’ll host a park designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the New York architects of the super-successful High Line in Manhattan. According to DS+R, the park will be made up of four “microclimates”, each representing a different Russian landscape — tundra, steppe, forest and marsh. It’ll also include some lookout points, like the one you see above, similar to those built along the High Line.
It’s unclear how these microclimates are actually going to be built — after all, Moscow isn’t an ideal spot to build what amounts to an artificial nature reserve — but so far, the architects cite “temperature regulation, wind control and natural light stimulation”. More details are sure to come over the next few months.
It was actually Putin who proposed the park, originally, back in 2012 — it seems that even Russia can’t resist the lure of High Line-style urban renewal.
