6 major architectural wonders in Moscow to look out for in the future

In July Tyufeleva Roshcha park designed by Jerry van Eyck from the New York architectural practice !melk opened in southern Moscow. A "blue lagoon" - an artificial pond with turquoise water - and a promenade zone covered by a wooden canopy have appeared in the former industrial zone of the ZIL automobile works. The park has pedestrian and cycle lanes, a stage, a sports zone with fitness equipment, as well as pavilions and a cafe.

And this is just one of many Moscow urban projects expected to appear in the capital. If you have already been to the Russian capital, it is time to plan your next visit. In the near future the city is to undergo a series of transformations.

1. V-A-C Foundation arts center on the site of the former GES-2 power station

This is another former industrial zone that has been given a new lease of life. The GES-2 power plant was built in the early 1900s and was in operation for exactly a century. The enormous building in the center of Moscow drew the attention of well-known Italian architect Renzo Piano and his design practice.

Now the island on Bolotnaya Embankment in the center will once again have the chance to become a Moscow version of SoHo (once it was thought that the redevelopment of the neighboring Krasny Oktyabr factory would have that impact, but that zone ended up being dedicated to the leisure and entertainment sector). The new art space will be given over to galleries, workshops, art events, and artists’ studios. GES-2 will partly open in September 2019 and the site is to be fully in operation by spring 2020.

2. Silhouette Tower in central Moscow

The bright red skyscraper called The Silhouette is designed by Rotterdam’s the MVRDV architectural practice. In Europe and Asia the renowned practice has previously made a big splash thanks to its futurist designs: "Green" and "pink" roofs, shifting rooms, and a library that looks like the Space Shuttle or an enormous eye.

In Moscow, MVRDV is working on the 78-meter residential block on the corner of Sadovoye Koltso (the Garden Ring) and Academician Sakharov Avenue. It is envisioned that the block will go well with the Narkomzem building, a listed monument of architecture designed by Alexei Shchusev, and the two buildings will become a symbolic gateway to Moscow.

3. Moscow embankments

The Moscow River crosses the whole city and boasts 220 km of embankments. But only 25 percent of them are used by Muscovites as a public space where you can go for a walk, drive, or have a cup of coffee.

The Russian architectural practice Project Meganom has proposed a plan for the total redevelopment of Moscow’s embankments, with bridges, viewing platforms, and recreational places. And this is how they are going to look. The large-scale makeover is to be fully completed by 2035.

4. ‘Hanging’ buildings on stilts

Swiss practice Herzog & de Meuron (which designed Tate Modern in London) is responsible for a "hanging" apartment block that will soon appear in Moscow. The future luxury accommodation will be "suspended" on 35-meter pylons paying homage to the Soviet architectural avant-garde and "horizontal" skyscrapers.

The building will "hover" over a former brewery that will be transformed into public spaces: Coworking facilities, a farmers’ market, a park, and - to honor the site - a small new brewery.

5. Pushkin Museum to go underground

The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts is to occupy a whole neighborhood. Under the large-scale expansion and reconstruction of one of the country's major museums, a whole "museum city" is to appear with spaces for lectures, street displays, shops and a restaurant with an amazing view of the Kremlin.

The main building of the museum on Volkhonka street will be connected to the other buildings by underground passages. The architectural design envisions the main part of the Pushkin Museum building to end up underground (owing to height restrictions in this area). The "museum city" is to open in 2020.

6. ‘Dream Island’

In the south of Moscow, in the area of the Nagatinskaya floodplain, Russia is building its very own Disneyland. The designers promise that it will be one of the world's biggest covered amusement parks and that it will open at the end of 2018. Each zone of "Dream Island" will be age-orientated. The youngest guests will be directed towards the Smurfs and teenagers towards the Ninja Turtles to learn karate.

In addition, the project also envisages creating a landscaped park, which is the responsibility of the Italian architects who designed the famous "Vertical Forest" in Milan's Porta Nuova district. It will occupy 70 percent of the site.