Western building standards and eastern expectations: Moscow Exhibition Centre

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View of the MEC from the highway.

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KZA’s initial sketch of the MEC.

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AutoCAD aerial images of the MEC.

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AutoCAD aerial images of the MEC.

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Surrounded by an environmentally-protected forest and situated beside a main thoroughfare just outside the Muscovite cityscape, the Moscow Exhibition Centre (MEC) was designed to meld sleek fluidity with shimmering mystery.

A concept created by Axel Koschany and Mathias Kampmann of the German firm Koschany + Zimmer Architects (KZA), the complex will incorporate the Vadim Sadoroschny Museum of Technology - housing classic cars, tanks, planes and trains - a five-star hotel, a conference centre and a wellness/spa area.

Client brief

After the Russian Automobile Club of Roadsters and Cabriolets (RACRC) was unable to locate Russian architects that could create a suitable design to match its vision, KZA was contacted through a business acquaintance, commissioned for the project and given a shortlist of guidelines.

First, it was to design a futuristic building that contrasts with the mundane concept of a traditional exhibition centre. "The client wanted a very sharp and clear kind of ‘spaceship' style of building to house its wonderful collection of old cars with all their baroque forms and shapes," says Axel Koschany, head architect, partner and managing director of KZA.

Another request from the client was to ensure both the hotel and museum were protected from the noise and traffic of the highway. To do this, KZA bent its concept design to situate the conference centre in front of these two sections, thereby creating the requisite noise buffer.

The third request from the RACRC presented a structural challenge for KZA. It was asked to connect the three functional buildings - all of differing sizes, shapes and functions - via one main foyer. So, instead of a composition of three different buildings, KZA was to create one building with various sections to serve myriad functions and a hotel oriented toward the peacefulness of the forest.

"The courtyard in the centre of the complex becomes the central entrance to the exhibition centre and makes for perfect orientation," says Koschany. "The cantilevered museum offers a view into the courtyard from the outside. From here every section of the MEC can be reached easily."

Architectural form

The entire MEC complex is informed and driven by the shape of the roof. Following one fluid line, the roof of the museum, conference centre, hotel and the wellness/spa area, have kept the same materials, architectural line and sleek design.

Depending on the standards met and the overall quality of the materials, both interior and exterior materials will be sourced from Western Europe and Russia. In accordance with the original concept brief, different materials will be used for different sections of the façade.

The northeastern face is set back from the street and houses the office block. It is a section that is tranquil and professional to mimic the attributes of the inhabitants. For this section, KZA chose a simple, yet elegant façade of glass and steel panels that alternate to create a subtle pattern.

The section that runs parallel to the northwestern highway houses the Vadim Sadoroschny Museum of Technology and its baroque shapes and forms.

The museum building, with its unique shape and orientation serves as the viewer's first impression of the structure, and was designed to be eye-catching and thus, utilises the sleek double-skin façade.

"Like a second skin, a layer of woven metal mesh lies over the glass façade. With its different mesh size, changing with every sector of the façade, the museum shows its ‘treasures' as if through a veil - retracted in only small sections to allow a direct view," says Koschany.

Extending around the backside of the structure, the double-skin glass and mesh material also serves as the façade of the entire conference centre. However, the three ‘fingers' that make up the hotel break the skin and use several varieties of concrete, glass and timber. They were specifically designed with the materials to react to their orientation to the forest.

The roof is the signature element of the MEC; it is the concept through which every other design decision on the project was made. With its cantilevered shape, double-skin cladding made of glass and woven metal mesh, the roof offers a streamlined, ‘spaceship'-like, design from the outside and shimmers mysteriously from the inside.

"The roof connects all the materials and sections of the MEC and creates the feeling that the complex is actually just one sculpture with a fluent change from the roof into the façades," says Koschany.

Architectural challenges

Less architectural than geographic, the biggest challenge faced by KZA in the MEC project was working in Russia for the first time and being restricted by unfamiliar laws, regulations and standards. "We were not used to all the new and different rules, laws and the way the authorities work and act," says Koschany.

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