OMA selected as finalist for Skolkovo Centre for Innovation

OMA/AMO is selected as finalist for the Skolkovo Centre for Innovation masterplan, also called "Russian Silicon Valley". This Centre is located near Moscow.
As written in OMA's website, the announcement for the winner is imminent.

Skolkovo Centre for Innovation — Aerial view, looking south, OMA, Moscow, Russia, © OMA

OMA's proposal aims at offering a new prototype for a sustainable city, efficiently integrating urban planning, state of the art energy-saving techniques and renewable energy provision, even (and especially) in a cold climate.

Skolkovo in winter, © OMA

OMA presents his proposal as follows:

The masterplan covers six square kilometers, and is composed of two compact quarters embedded in an extensive natural landscape. One quarter provides for the Research, Industry and University programs to ensure maximum exchange within, while the other houses the expected 30,000 residents, along with commercial facilities. The division into these two distinct parts allows the city to foster innovation while simultaneously responding to market forces. The shared cultural programs are locate in the anchor point - the city's vibrant centre — which is hinge between the two quarters, serving serve the city's residents, visitors and tourists alike.

To execute this project, OMA combines its expertise in masterplanning with AMO's body of cork in sustainable design and large-scale renewable energy planning. In order to ensure maximum innovation also at an urban level, in OMA's masterplan Skolkovo will also serve as a test bed for technologies developed within. OMA's proposal seeks the participation of resident companies in the development of innovative solutions for energy saving, recycling, transport and communications systems. These solutions, having been successfully implemented in Skolkovo, can subsequently be exported to other parts of Russia and the world.

The design, led by Partner Reiner de Graaf and Associate Laura Baird, was presented to a jury of Pritzker Prize winning architects, international curators and established academics on 20 December, 2010, and selected as one of the two final proposals. The finalists presented their projects in a public gathering on Thursday, 20 January at The Garage in Moscow.

Reiner de Graaf, said: "OMA's urban proposal for Skolkovo Innovation Centre is a flexible framework within which other architects are given the opportunity to design and execute individual buildings, plots, and spaces.But it is precisely the integration of these ideas that will add value to our plan. As such, we are looking forward to all forms of collaboration, both with international as well as Russian colleagues."

The proposal was planned in collaboration with WSP Engineering and RWDI Energy/Sustainability Consultants.

I will go back to this news when the winner will be announced.

Project facts
Project: Skolkovo Centre for Innovation
Architects: OMA/AMO
Structural Engineer: WSP Engineering and RWDI Energy/Sustainability
Location: Near Moscow, Russia
Status: Competition
Year: 2011

Source: OMA