Construction of the new Mercury-City Tower, presently Europe’s tallest building, has been completed. Due to this achievement the title of the tallest building in Europe is now solidly back to Russia’s capital.
With its roof mark at 338.8m, Mercury-City takes the lead again. The Shard, a 308-meter high obelisk-shaped glass icon in London, designed by Italian star architect Renzo Piano, recently took the title to the English capital. Before that the Muscovites were proud to host Europe’s tallest building: 301.6-m high twin towers Capital-City were not just Europe’s tallest buildings, but also provided living spaces on the highest level in Europe. By now this title has been passed on as well. The apartments at the top of Mercury-City have unquestionably overthrown this achievement, surpassing it by 40m. Both Europe’s tallest towers in Moscow, Capital-City and the top of Mercury-City are designed by the architect Erick van Egeraat. Construction of Mercury-City started in 2008 and it will be ready for occupation in 2013.
The design of Mercury-City originates from the American architect Frank Williams, who died in February 2010, before the project was completed. Mercury-City will surpass Capital-City in height by almost 40m. The tower is part of the international business area Moscow-City located on the Eastern bank of the Moskva-river, 5 km away from the Kremlin. Besides residential part designed by Erick van Egeraat, it will accommodate offices, garages, shops and restaurants.