Mercury Tower v Federation Tower

With the internal fitout of The Shard still underway I was surprised to read that our new iconic building has already been knocked into second place as Europe’s tallest building. Mercury City Tower in Moscow topped out this week at 339 metres tall, overtaking The Shard by 29 metres.

I previously thought the French would be the first to surpass Renzo Piano’s elegant structure with the Tour Hermitage at La Defense, however it appears Moscow is one place where the global recession has had little impact. Mercury Tower is one of five Russian skyscrapers in the list of ten tallest buildings in Europe, and Moscow is also the city with the most high-rise buildings on the continent. With all this investment in the area its reign as tallest building however will be short-lived, as under construction nearby is the planned 506-metre Federation Tower, which is set to complete next year.

Experts say the two reasons for the property boom in Moscow are the many Russian and foreign investors who focus on prestigious building projects, and the fact that there are less building regulations in Moscow than in any other European city. This may help with the size and speed at which these buildings are going up, however it doesn’t seem to be helping with the final design. I would rather have a shorter Shard in London than a taller Mercury in Moscow !

 

Mercury Tower

Federation Tower

Images courtesy of Google images
Skyscrapers - Architecture - Moscow

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