Zaha Hadid Architects, partnering with Russian firm TPO Pride Architects, has been selected as one of the consortiums in developing the Rublyovo-Arkhangelskoye neighbourhood, west of Moscow, into a global benchmark for smart, sustainable cities.

The neighbourhood will be home of 66,500 residents, supported by new schools, medical clinics, transport infrastructure, shopping districts and new civic and cultural institutions. Additionally, 800,000 square metres of office space will be available for accommodating Moscow’s growing financial, consulting, legal and auditing sectors, while 4 million square metres of new buildings will be developed in total. A new 19km metro line is scheduled for construction in 2020, connecting the area with the Shelepikha interchange station of Moscow’s Metro system.

Zaha Hadid Architects envision a city that enhances residents’ interactions with each other, with nature and with new technologies, since there are research and studies linking people’s well-being and happiness with interactions with local communities. The project will optimise the consumption and production of sustainable local energy sources. The jury also selected two further consortiums to develop the project: Nikken Sekkei from Japan with UNK Project from Russia; and Archea Associati from Italy with ABD Architects from Russia.

Christos Passas, project director at Zaha Hadid Architects, explained: “Working with specialist teams in Russia and Europe, we developed a people-centric design for a smart interconnected city that brings people together not only through innovative technology but also through organising the public realm; building a community that integrates the natural aspects of the site with principles of openness and inclusivity in high quality architecture suited for the 21st century.”