Metrogiprotrans is one of the most important architectural companies in Russia. It was founded in 1933. Company’s architects created a unique and wonderful world of underground architecture.

New Architecture
of Transport Structures in Moscow

Nikolay Shumakov,
Chief Architect of the OAO METROGIPROTRANS, Ltd.

Recently, a whole series of interesting projects has appeared in transport architecture of Moscow. First of all, those are the new metro stations, automobile bridges and underground railway terminals. All the projects were designed by a transport design institute “OAO METROGIPROTRANS”, Ltd. – the oldest specialized company in Russia.

The architecture of the Moscow subway has more than 70-years old history. On May 15th of 1935 the first stage of the Moscow metro was opened – the line from “Sokolniki” station to “Park Kultury” with a branch from “Okhotnyy Riad” to “Smolenskaya” station.

Among the traditional Moscow stations built lately we should mark “Vorobyevy Gory” located on the Luzhnetskiy Bridge, which was put into operation after the reconstruction.

The architecture of the station looks like a sort of realized dream about “radiant future” – such a fantastic and at the same time a pragmatic world, where a simple and clear idea is domineering – everything for a passenger, everything for the welfare of the Metro – starting from the latest technological filling and concluding with small forms design. The volumetric-planning concept, interiors, façades – everything is reasonable and expedient. The scale is appropriate for the Capital of the country.

The swing of the structure impresses: the length is more than a half of the kilometer, width – about 40 meters, maximal height is the same, and the intertrack space – 23 meters. The total area of marble and granite lining is more than 30 thousand square meters. The area of hung ceilings and different decoration elements made of aluminium is about 10 thousand square meters. But in spite of gigantic volumes the structure looks surprisingly integral and light. It seems to soar in the sky as if trying to speed away – to hazy expanse.

After the reconstruction of “Vorobyevy Gory” a complex of stations titled “Park Pobedy” was built. It includes two stations belonging to Mitio – Strogino and Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya metro lines. The stations are the deepest ones in Moscow, their depth is 80 meters.

At these stations the authors have put and solved not a simple problem – they built not just a transport facility that decides an issue of conveyance of passengers but with architectural and artistic means they created a structure answering to its location in the city and to its solemn and triumphal title – “Park Pobedy”/”Victory Park”.

The atmosphere of the stations is formed by classical architectural methods – big and austere halls, precise rhythms of pylons, geometry of floors and decorative panneaux.

The station complex constitutes a complicated multilevel volumetric-planning structure including a pedestrian crossing, a vestibule, two stations, service units and rooms for technological equipment.
The constant shortage of money for metro-building has perhaps just one merit: it stimulates searches for new and more efficient solutions. In particular, among them are the so called light (overland) metro and mini-metro.

In 2004 the first light metro in Moscow – the Butovo line – was put into operation. It has total length of 5.5 kilometers, four overland stations and an underground one. The estacade part is 4 km long. All the platforms of the overland stations are placed on estacades and the vestibules – on the surface, so the passengers are lifted to the platform by escalators and elevators. The cost of a light metro line is half of that in the case of traditional underground metro.

And here is another type of subway – mini-metro. The tracks of mini-metro are provided with new rolling-stocks that are more manoeuvrable and mobile. It allows laying the metro tracks in the complicated urban conditions of the Moscow city and permits to save expenses for the main structures by having reduced overall dimensions.

The first mini-metro line will be three kilometers long. The line has three stations on the way from Kievskiy railway terminal to the business center “Moskva-City”. In 2005 the first station “Delovoy Centre” was already opened.

The interchange junction of the “Delovoy Centre” station is placed at the two lower floors of the underground space in the multifunctional complex “Park-City” and consists of three parallel stations.

The platform is meant for receiving the trains consisting of 4 two-sectional carriages. The platform width is 11.8 m and the length – 118 m. In a cross-section the space of platforms has a form of multiple-bay frame supported by a net of columns with a bay 7.8 m. In the central zone of space the ceiling has an aperture in a form of segment, so the station is 7 meters high and has two sources of light.

Among the units of traditional (heavy) metro we should mention the second exit from “Mayakovskaya” station that was built in 2005. At bottom of fact the mighty architecture of “Mayakovskaya” station has determined the main principles of forming the space of the new complex. All the architects’ ideas, all the complications of their creative solutions were directed to the formation of a united complex with the station itself. From this, followed the classical basis of the new exit with its compositional precision and clear tectonic scheme.

The bridge crossing built across the Moskva river is a unique structure. Its originality is obvious in many parameters. This is the first Moscow guyed bridge with a total length nearly one and a half kilometers. It passes over the river not in a crosswise but in a lengthwise way crossing the river at an acute angle. Its geometry is not simple – it has a double winding with radii of 620 m each in order to follow the trace of Zvenigorodskoye chaussée. The width of the road permits to have eight traffic lanes, that is: four lanes in each direction, and two pedestrian sidewalks. The central bridge span is 409 meters long and at a height of 30 meters over the water it is hanging on 72 guys fastened to the bearing arched pylon. The metal arch of the pylon is 100 meters high and has a span 148 meters. It is installed crosswise the river on the two piers placed directly in the water near the banks. In the upper part of the arch there is an unusual establishment – a unique restaurant with a viewing site.

The first underground railway station in Russia called “Vnukovo Airport” was put into operation in 2005. In that way the connection between the Kievskiy railway terminal and the Vnukovo airport was realized. The “Vnukovo Airport” railway terminal constitutes an underground space 304 m long, 21 m wide and 15.5 m in height. The terminal includes two vestibules and an island platform between them. The island platform is 160 m long and 8.7 m wide and it is divided by escalators and an elevator into two zones: a passengers’ zone and a luggage one. The luggage part of the platform is near the dead-end siding and is connected with the luggage space of the airport building.

Metrogiprotrans on ArchInfo.Ru