Vote Determines Scroll-Shaped Skyscraper to Replace Historic Novy Arbat Building in Moscow

On Monday, the Moscow city government announced that a skyscraper designed in the shape of a scroll has been selected through an online poll to replace one of the city’s iconic book-shaped structures located on Novy Arbat, which was declared unsafe last year.

In February, reports indicated that the Mayor’s Office had enlisted the commercial developer Kievskaya Ploshchad, established by Russian-Azerbaijani billionaires God Nisanov and Zarakh Iliev, to invest in this new project.

The online voting commenced on August 15, allowing residents to choose among three high-rise designs intended to replace the Soviet-era building formerly used by the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon). This 26-story building, renowned for its resemblance to a book, was found to be structurally unsound in October.

Ultimately, 46% of participants favored a design that maintains the current tower while introducing a new skyscraper that features a scroll shape and rises twice as high.

The mayor’s office stated, “Given the state of the structure, experts will undertake the necessary reconstruction work.” They referred to the scroll tower as a “symbol of upward movement, aspirations for the future, and openness to new ideas, innovation, and creativity.”

The city authorities have yet to announce a timeline for the construction.

Kievskaya Ploshchad has mentioned that the redevelopment will establish a 600,000-square-meter “social and cultural cluster,” comprising 450,000 square meters dedicated to cultural, recreational, and business purposes, along with 150,000 square meters for residential and technical facilities.