The public space of Moscow, the city cultural and educational center “Zaryadye,” is an object in the historical district of Moscow of the same name, created on the site of the Rossiya Hotel, demolished in 2006. It is located on an area of 13 hectares between Red Square, Kitaygorodsky Proyezd, Varvarka Street and Moskvoretskaya Embankment (Moscow river).
Built between 2014 and 2017 according to the project of a consortium led by the New York architectural bureau Diller Scofidio + Renfro with landscape architects Hargreaves Associates, also from New York, and Moscow urbanists Citymakers, who won in 2013 an international competition for the development of landscape – the architectural concept of the territory. The project was fully financed from the city budget and, according to 2017 data, was estimated at 22–27 billion rubles. The park was inaugurated on City Day on September 9, 2017, with the participation of President Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
Time magazine included Zaryadye Park, the only site from Russia, in the list of the best places in the world in 2018.
In 2018, the Zaryadye complex was recognized as the “project of the year” according to the world’s leading architectural publication Archdaily in the “Public Architecture” nomination.
In March 2019, the park received the main jury prize at the international MIPIM Awards in Cannes.
Main attractions
Concert Hall Zaryadye
The Zaryadye Concert Hall opened on September 8, 2018, is a unique architectural object.
From the side of Kitaigorodsky Proyezd, the building features glass to its full height, while the opposite part of the facade from the side of Zaryadye Park seems to be built into the hill, which has become part of the open Grand Amphitheater for 1.6 thousand spectators.
The shape of the concert hall creates ideal acoustics from any place. The floor covering of the stage is assembled from a special breed of cedar, which provides high-quality acoustics and the necessary reverberation –the process of gradually reducing the intensity of sound during its multiple reflections.
Concerts, balls, and receptions can be held in the concert hall – all thanks to the transforming hall. With the help of mechanization, it is possible to transform the stalls, the orchestra pit and the stage. For example, the seats in the auditorium rise to a height of up to 2.5 meters and retract into the floor, creating a flat space. It takes only 40 minutes to complete the transformation.
All equipment in the hall is hidden behind the ceiling. Mechanisms for hanging the necessary elements are lowered from more than 200 hatches if necessary.
The hall is notable for its unique organ – it is the largest in Russia and Europe regarding the number of registers. A total of 85 registers are rows of organ pipes of a specific diameter, forming a chromatic scale. The wind organ is assembled by hand according to ancient technologies and designed individually for the Zaryadye Grand Concert Hall by specialists from the Muhleisen company (France). Sound testing was led by Yasuhisa Toyota, president of the American division of the Japanese company Nagata Acoustics.
The Zaryadye Concert Hall is one of the few halls in Russia and the world with its recording studio.
Ice cave
All surfaces of the structure are covered with frost and ice, which will be illuminated from the inside with built-in LEDs. The air temperature in the ice tunnels never rises above minus five degrees and falls below minus 12.”
Since May 17, 2018, the ice cave has been open to the public. To obtain an ice relief with an area of 750 m², about 70 tons of water were frozen for 14 km of curved metal pipes. The authors of the project are artist Alexander Ponomarev and architect Alexei Kozyr.
Historic part
30% of the park is a protected historical area. On the park’s territory, nine churches are monuments of federal significance. Restoration work took place in the Church of Varvara, in the complex of the former Znamensky Monastery, in the Old English Court Museum, the Chambers of the Romanov Boyars (a branch of the State Historical Museum), the Church of the Holy Trinity in Nikitniki, the churches of Blessed Maxim and George the Victorious.
The Church of the Conception of the Righteous Anna on Moskvoretskaya Embankment, one of the oldest in Moscow, was also restored. It was planned to return to the historical appearance of the ancient church of the Nativity of John the Baptist.
Transport
The nearest metro station to the park is Kitay-Gorod, one of the southern exits of the station is almost on the northeast corner of the park. Also within walking distance (from 5 to 10 minutes on foot) are the stations “Lubyanka,” “Okhotny Ryad,” “Teatralnaya,” and “Revolution Square.” There are several public transport stops near the park and three bus routes pass along the border.
On Slavyanskaya Square (Metro Kitai-Gorod), there is a large transport interchange hub where more than a dozen bus routes converge. Slavyanskaya Square to the park can be reached in 5 minutes. Zaryadye Park has paid for one-level underground parking with an area of 20,000 square meters for 430 cars.
See also all parks in Moscow
