Foster's plans for the Crystal Island in Moscow are granted preliminary planning permission

A Foster + Partners design for the world’s largest ever building has been granted preliminary planning permission in Moscow

The Crystal Island will tower 450m over the Russian capital and have a total floor area of 2.5m square metres.


The mega-structure is located on the Nagatino Peninsula on the Moscow River and is 7.5 km from the Kremlin.

The city within a city will contain museums, theatres and cinemas as well as 3000 hotel rooms and 900 apartments.

A series of wintergardens will form a thermal buffer between the exterior and the main building, protecting Muscovites from the extreme Russian winters and high summer temperatures.

A Foster statement said there would be on-site renewable and low-carbon energy generation and said that openable panels would provide natural ventilation in the summer.