Evolution Tower

Evolution Tower
Башня Эволюция
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Office
Architectural style	Neo-futuristic
Location	Moscow International Business Center, Moscow, Russia
Construction started	2011
Completed	6 October 2014
Owner	Transneft [1]
Height
Architectural	246 m (807 ft)
Tip	246 m (807 ft)
Top floor	220 m (722 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	55
Floor area	82,000 m2 (882,641 sq ft) (tower) 169,000 m2 (1,819,101 sq ft) (development)
Lifts/elevators	17
Design and construction
Architect	Lead Architect Tony Kettle (whilst at RMJM) and local architect Gorproject as development architect
Developer	Snegiri Development
Structural engineer	GK-Techstroy, GORPROJECT
Main contractor	Renaissance Construction
References
[2]

The Evolution Tower (Russian: Эволюция) is a skyscraper on plots 2 and 3 as part of the Moscow International Business Center in Moscow, Russia. In 2016 Transneft bought the Evolution Tower for $1 Billion.

Design[edit]

The spiraling 246m high Evolution Tower, designed by award winning British Architect Tony Kettle (Kettle Collective) is located on plots 2-3 of Moscow-City high-rise business district on Presnenskaya Embankment of Moscow river, the multi-function center occupies the territory of 2.5ha in area, 2ha of which is a landscaped terraced civic plaza, the integral part of the new city piazza, the central open public space of Moscow-City business downtown. Civic plaza includes 10m high ceremonial stairs (leading from embankment and pedestrian Bagration Bridge to the higher terraced levels) as well as landscaped areas with green lawns, trees, water features, travelators and feature lightboxes. Under the piazza levels the 2-storey retail mall connects the Evolution Tower with metro station and pedestrian bridge over Moscow river, thus integrating the new development into the large Moscow-City district, the 82,000m2 office tower has 52 levels rotated 3 degrees each floor with overall twist reaching 156 degrees clockwise. With world’s largest innovative cold-bent glazing the tower façade provides seamless floating reflection that rotates the panoramas of Moscow skyline vertically, where the reflected clouds moving up enhance the dynamic visual impact of the twisted tower, an unprecedented optical effect in the world architecture, the Crown with supporting steel structure made of two twisted arches provides the helipad at the very top as well as an open observation roof deck at Level 52 featuring the best panoramas of Moscow riverside with views towards the historical center. The Evolution Gallery mall within the podium (Phase 1 of the project) houses a food court and 6,000m2 family entertainment and educational center Masterslavl (http://www.masterslavl.ru/ ). From the very beginning the developer and architects had set an ambitious task to create a recognizable and symbolic building, the new icon of contemporary Moscow, from spiraling onion domes of St.Basil to the iconic Tatlin Tower concept the Russian architecture was obsessed with an idea of spiral, the sculptural DNA-shaped twisting tower symbolizes the evolution spiral, however the original concept of the spiral tower (City Palace Tower, 2005-2008) was inspired by quite a different metaphor. In 2004 the Moscow city authorities planned here the construction of the Wedding Palace : the registry office and wedding ceremonial spaces within multi-function complex on 2.5ha civic plaza with the shopping center and car-parking underneath. The winning entry (concept by Russian architect Philipp Nikandrov and RMJM Scotland Ltd team) of the international completion held by the developer Snegiri Group in 2004 proposed the balanced composition of two ‘twisting crystals’ and through the series of iterations and the dialogue between the city authorities, developer Alexander Tchigirinsky and architect Philipp Nikandrov by 2005 the idea transformed into two twisted ribbons symbolizing groom and bride embracing each other in a dance. The 2,000m2 Wedding Palace housed under the curved atrium glazing of symbolical skirt of the bride was a ‘socially orientated’ locomotive , hiding behind its atrium glazing the 80,000m2 business uses of the office tower rising above it; in 2006 the updated concept by RMJM Scotland Ltd team received a planning permission , and in 2008 the tower construction permit was finally granted, though the actual commencement of construction works on Phase 1 podium structure started earlier in 2005-2006 , and the perimeter diaphragm wall was built back in 1997 for completely different project on the same plot, so there was a certain heritage to deal with, including the obligations imposed by municipality to provide the link between the metro station and pedestrian bridge over Moscow-river, which was done with temporary status before the finally developed and coordinated construction documentation got officially approved by State Building Control. However, in the late 2008 on receipt of construction permit for 47-storey City Palace Tower and appointment of Turkish main contractor under Bovis site management the entire investment plan collapsed under the wave of the world economic crisis, the construction works have been frozen, and the project got suspended until the new market resurrection in 2011, when the developer (Snegiri Group) managed to change the pool of investors and reconsidered the scheme of financing, the credit line provided by Gazprombank required extremely fast construction speed, so the scheme underwent a number of optimizations aiming to build such a unique and complex tower at the cost and within the construction programme of a conventional tower. In 2011 the project changed its main contractor, Renaissance Construction , Russian/Turkish company was already in the list of 100 leading construction companies of the world, however this tower was the first high-rise building of such complexity for the firm, and to their credit , the contractor demonstrated great ability for experiment and quality.

In 2011 drastic design changes followed the new functional program and the revised design brief which was undertaken by local architect Philip Nikandrov and GORPROJECT. City authorities have lost their interest in developing the Wedding Palace in the middle of a business downtown, where traffic jams can ruin the sequence of wedding ceremonies, and the City Palace Tower subsequently lost its title/core function; in 2011 the 100% office building was rebranded as Evolution Tower together with elimination of the Wedding Palace component and top spaces for post ceremonial celebrations. The lower atrium-skirt and the Crown have been lost, the faceted façade has been totally redesigned as cold-bent, decentralized services engineering concept has been reconsidered in favour of a more conventional centralized system with additional 3 plant levels, and the vertical transportation system based on double-deckers has been replaced by an innovative TWIN system by ThyssenKrupp with completely redesigned core layout. All of that resulted in addition of 5 more levels (from 47 to 52), and at the end none of RMJM original concept has been left except for the spiraling shape and structural scheme with gridlines, the fully reconsidered design concept based on a metaphor of evolution spiral features the white façade ribbon wrapping over the roof in a form of 90-degree twisted infinity symbol, that speaks of philosophical concept of evolution and celebrates the development of human civilization.

Structural solutions[edit]

The simple and innovative design was based on principles of twisting square-shaped floor plates with vertical structural RC frame supported by a central core and 8 columns in the octagon arrangement with continuous beams and 4 spiraling columns at the corners, the proposed structural scheme with cantilevered continuous RC beams and cantilevered floor slabs, picking up the overhangs from the twisted floor plates, appeared to be simple, efficient and economical, so after the first presentations and publications since 2006 this structural scheme was immediately copied by few twisting towers that are now under construction, though some other twisters have much more complex structures including the famous truss-supported Turning Torso tower in Malmo, Sweden, that was a first of that kind. In Evolution Tower case the simplicity of a fully RC tower structure with no outrigger levels saved a lot of time and money for the construction budget. However, with the floor slab layout changing 52 times (52 floors twisting by 3 degrees each level) pouring the concrete presented a certain logistical challenge. Nevertheless the solution was found: the innovative formwork system by PERI provided that core walls and floor slabs are concreted in one pour with each floor divided into three sections. Four hydraulic self-climbing (ACS) units have been used to make large working platforms, where the top three floors under construction are tightly enclosed with a rail-climbing protection panel also providing the wind protection and formwork for the 4 twisting corner columns, the units climb the constant twist of the building in an inclined position, propelled by hydraulics, where the installed rail-guided system (with inclined rails connected to the building frame by slab shoes) ensured a fast and safe climb in inclined positions. Landing platforms climb on rails hydraulically with the help of mobile climbing devices (without a crane), on the sides of the building, rail-climbing landing platforms (RCS) provide temporary storage areas and move loads. This bespoke self-climbing formwork system allowed to achieve the impressive maximum speed of RC frame construction of 6 days per floor with 7 days per floor as an average speed.

12 concrete columns and central core are supported by the 3.5m thick raft over piled foundations. It took 48 hours to pour 8,000m3 of concrete for the raft. 8 circular columns at 15m spacing are varying in diameter from 2.1m at the bottom to 1.2m at the top. All columns and the core walls are provided with fire protection of 4hrs to comply with very conservative fire safety requirements.

Building Services[edit]

The tower has an outstanding overall safety level against potential fire or terrorist attacks; in addition to passive protection (4hrs fire rating of all bearing structures and staircases walls, that significantly exceeds the evacuation time) the fire engineering equipment includes sprinkler system throughout as well as local powder and gas fire suppression systems, mechanical smoke extract from the core, pressurized stairwells, public address and egress management systems, fire and smoke detectors and the permanent monitoring of the structural frame elements and monitoring of building services as part of BMS. Category 1 electrical supply from 2 independent sources is supported additionally by diesel generators and UPS batteries, the water supply and district heating are also provided from two incoming mains each. Ventilation and air-conditioning (fan coils by Carrier) are designed based on a generous ratio of 60m3 per person. Most engineering systems and telecommunications specifications comply with class A standards or even exceed them.

Facade solutions[edit]

Unique tower envelope made of cold-bent glass emphasizes the lightness and dynamic of the form visually denying the gravity force. Two hundred meters high sculpture, crafted of materials traditionally believed to be fragile and inflexible, symbolizes the idea of evolution spiral as the pinnacle of progress and the power of human intellect, challenging the forces of nature and the laws of physics. Original façade concept and innovative construction technology allow to create visually organic and flowing 3D form. Double curved tower envelope is provided by the cold bending of reflective glass units, the innovative cold-bent glazing in the curtain wall uses flat double glazed units cold-formed in 3D within the aluminum frame to avoid stepping in geometry. This approach appeared to be both more energy-efficient and more cost-efficient solution in comparison to the stepped curtain wall units previously applied in some twisted unitized facades, during factory fabrication the glass unit is placed in the twisted aluminum frame horizontally and then takes curved shape by its own weight without any thermal treatment. Maximum corner deformation does not exceed 50 mm relative to the opposite corner of the unit. Finally façade looks like continuously twisted spiral glass surface. Currently this curtain wall is the world’s largest cold bent façade in terms of the area in one building. Organic cold-bent glazed ribbon with constant leaning angle at the corners (approx. 14 degrees vertically) creates a stunning optical illusion reflecting the surrounding cityscape vertically with 90-degree twist. Evolution tower total façade area is 40,500 sq m, including 34,500 sq m of the typical facade areas from 3-rd to 51-st level, on each floor the curtain wall consists of 108 parallelogram façade panels 4.3 m high and 1.5m wide. 27 of them have 2 types of different sizes that vary with twist angle from +14 to -14 that largely complicated the construction logistics. However the implementation of this façade structure was successful due to involvement of German façade company Joseph Gartner (Permasteelisa Group) in design and production of tower curtain wall, atrium glazing and canopies /entrances, the company was selected through the tender with 30 façade manufacturers competing for a prestigious contract. The aluminum profiles were extruded in Russia at a specially arranged production line, despite glass units fabrication in Germany with all associated delivery and customs duties the overall façade cost per m2 remained within the budget of a ‘standard’ benchmark high-rise tower, that was an achievement of German logistics. Double glazed units with energy-efficient multi-functional glass (manufactured by Guardian) provide the energy efficiency and thermal insulation parameters (U-Value) similar to those of standard triple glazed units but with less weight in panoramic floor to ceiling application, the units themselves were assembled in Germany by BGT, who provided long-time warranty for cold bent heat-strengthened glass in a result of multiple tests. Transparent double glazed units consist of triplex 8+6mm from heat-strengthened glass from the outside and 8mm Guardian Standard HP Neutral 60/40 tempered glass on the inside with application of energy efficient coating, significantly reducing the solar gain whilst providing the double glazed unit thermal performance equal to a standard triple glazed unit normally used in Moscow to withstand harsh winter conditions. Guardian SunGuard production technology allows to create almost perfect combination of transparent and spandrel façade areas. Guardian magnetron coating has a special feature - it is colored outside and transparent on the inside, which does not distort the view color unlike tinted glass in mass, with no color filter (color is from the coating, not from coloured glass) the high color quality provides comfortable environment inside the building given that the glass panel is 3m high (floor to ceiling) the perfect daylighting is provided in the office spaces. Glass unit formula with heat-strengthened triplex outside and tempered glass inside allows bending of the unit in installation position to achieve required façade geometry providing additional safety of envelope structure , as in case of destruction the tempered glass (5 times stronger than usual) is fractured in small pieces and triplex lamination film protects it from falling out. Heat strengthened glass triplex gains additional strength and reduces the risk of glass destruction via associated heat soak tests as part of the production process.

Crown[edit]

The Tower crown representing the bent of a striped ribbon façade consists of two big 41m span twisted steel arches with interim steel supports cantilevered from the central cylindrical RC core walls and 4 smaller arches-props supporting the white steel ribbons-stripes (tubular frames filled with perforated steel sheets), the twisted steel arches were designed and manufactured in Piedmont, Italy , and then delivered to Moscow in pieces by trucks and then finally assembled on the roof (bolted from inside).

The parapet glazing surrounding roof open observation deck on Level 52 is made of cold bent (tempered triplex) glass with motorized foldable top elements for easy access of the BMU cradle over the parapet. The bespoke BMU system with three articulated arms crane and 300 kg auxiliary hoist follows the complex twisting form of the façade in order to guarantee the proper access for maintenance and cleaning of the curtain wall, the special cradle has been designed to reach all the positions along the façade without physical impact on the curtain wall with support of safety straps, push locks and sockets incorporated in each curtain wall unit, special sticks and soft rubber rollers preventing any scratches or other damage from cradle contacts with fragile envelope of glass, pressure caps and soft aluminum cladding.

Podium[edit]

Podium terraced and landscaped roof (part of a new civic plaza of Moscow City business downtown) serves as open public space for recreation activities, plants, greenery, fountains/water features, open outdoor cafes etc, the podium retail mall skylights and entrance porticos/canopies rising above the plaza as accents also serve as light boxes for the plaza architectural lighting (fritted glazing captures the light from LED wallwashers changing colours). Glass skylights and entrance canopies are built as whole glass structures – planar glazing on spiders with the bearing structures (beams-fins and vertical mullion fins) made of triplex glass with stainless steel fittings and spiders. Skylights and canopy roofs are made of triplex glass with electrical heating (preventing ice and snow cover on the outer side and water condensation on the internal side of the glass) The glass is covered with energy saving frit pattern, decreasing solar radiation gain while preserving transparence and sufficient light penetration. Vast usage of planar glazing in the interiors of Evolution Gallery shopping mall also included the LED media walls and LED backlit columns cladding with tempered hot-bent glass with gradient silk printed frit.

Vertical Transportation[edit]

The original tower Vertical Transportation concept had 12 lift shafts with standard double-decker elevators, however during the construction stage tender the VT scheme was replaced by an innovative TWIN system by ThyssenKrupp , the first elevator system to have two cabs running independently one above the other in the same shaft. This technology has many advantages over conventional elevator systems, including the fact that waiting and travel times are reduced to a minimum due to intelligent destination selection control system monitored by computer optimizing the travel logistics between calls, the use of innovative TWIN elevators saved 2 shafts within the core (10 TWINs up to 7m/sec speed instead of 12 double-deckers in the original concept with 12 double-decker elevators), freeing up an additional useful space in the building across all floors for MEP shafts. TWIN technology also contributed to the overall project sustainability with lesser power consumption per passenger (the ‘separated’ cabs in TWIN system are much lighter than double-decker cab, hence less starting currents and resulting power consumption, the cabs are in fact similar to a single elevator production line , so the maintenance cost is less too due to availability of cheaper standard spare parts unlike in the bespoke double-deckers.

Sustainable design==

Other sustainable design features include vegetated green roofs over the retail mall and integrated coil floor heating under landscaped civic piazza levels using the return water in winter to melt the snow and ice for the safety of pedestrians. ThyssenKrupp also installed 4 outdoor travelators at the piazza, that move people between terrace levels of the civic plaza(10m height difference in levels) and can work in rain and snow through extreme winter conditions. All innovative design solutions and optimizations with perfect site logistics by main contractor secured the delivery of this fairly unique skyscraper within the project plan and almost within the budget of the standard ‘benchmark’ 50-storey high-rise building, this turned out to be a major achievement of the design and construction teams.

Icon of Modern Moscow[edit]

The organic twisting silhouette dominates on its background of extruded glass towers greatly contributing into the overall composition of the high-rise Moscow-City cluster, the development delivered a significant open public space on the landscaped roof of the retail mall, thus providing the perfect mix of business uses with public and social activities of the civic plaza and the mall with its food court and core family entertainment function. The synergy of that mix with large underground car-park complemented by the direct link to the metro station and pedestrian bridge as means of main public transportation secured the successful project completion with the recent entire tower acquisition. Bold shape and timeless aesthetics as added values brought by its unique architecture materialized in a commercial success of this project with the tower being fully acquired for corporate headquarters even in the context of poor demand in the Moscow office market, the outstanding quality of architecture and its fine detailing, state of the art building services and communications of Class A office Tower together with the highest level of transport accessibility (direct access to metro station from the lobby, large car-parking, proximity to boat pier and helipads) make this property very attractive for tenants and visitors. The beautiful riverside panoramas from offices are complemented by green roof and water features of the large 2ha terraced civic piazza as the main recreational outdoor space with direct link from the office tower lobby, the highest quality of façade cladding, glazing, vertical transportation and MEP equipment from leading European and international suppliers provided the truly Class-A office environment with the luxury of minimalist spirit in the architecture of the new landmark on the Moscow skyline. Even before its completion the sculptural spiral of Evolution Tower, more often appearing in commercials, posters and magazines, became a new icon for modern Moscow as the symbol of its business ambitions and fast development, the Evolution Tower also became the monument to the courage of its developer (Snegiri Group) and investors, who built the great deal of trust with architects, engineers and contractors by investing their efforts and funds in a challenging adventure of designing and building the unique and innovative skyscraper for the capital of Russia.

Construction of the tower began in 2011, and was completed in late 2014.

Nominations[edit]

In 2016 the Evolution Tower was nominated 2nd world’s best skyscraper in Emporis Skyscraper Award 2015, it become a Finalist of 2016 MIPIM Awards and a Finalist of 2015 CTBUH Best Tall Building Awards (Finalist for European region), it was voted Best Moscow office building of 2015, received the gran-prix and national award in the 2015 Glass in Architecture competition and first prize of 2015 national NOPRIZ Awards competition, 2016 CRE Award Moscow as Moscow best class A office building , in 2014 the Evolution Gallery mall (phase 1 of development) was awarded by the city authorities as Moscow best multi-use building. A member of the CTBUH jury responsible for selecting the finalists, Anthony Wood, executive director of CTBUH, was quoted as saying: "The world has seen an increasing number of twisting towers in the last decade or so, but Evolution Tower takes the record for the most extreme twist."^[3]

Evolution Tower is the second place runner-up in Emporis Skyscraper Award 2015, it was recognized by the award jury for its expressive design.^[4]

See also[edit]

• List of tallest buildings in Moscow
• List of tallest buildings in Russia
• List of tallest buildings in Europe
• List of twisted buildings

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Evolution Tower.

• animation evolution tower

Coordinates: 55°44′54″N 37°32′31″E / 55.74833°N 37.54194°E / 55.74833; 37.54194