OKO ( rus, ОКО, r=, literally means

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

, also an abbreviation for Ob'yedinonnyye Kristallom Osnovaniya ( rus, Oбъединённые Кристаллом Oснования, r=, literally means Foundations Bound by a Crystal)) is a complex of two

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

s located on plot 16 in the Moscow International Business Center (MIBC) in Moscow, Russia. Occupying a total area of about , the mixed-use complex houses

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

s, office space, a 5-star hotel, and other commodities. The two skyscrapers, North Tower and South Tower, are among the tallest skyscrapers in Russia, with the latter being the taller of the two. Rising , the 85-story South Tower, also known as the OKO Apartment Tower or 16a IBC Tower 1, was the tallest building in Russia and Europe when constructed, until it was surpassed by Federation Tower a few months later. The 49-story North Tower, also known as the OKO Office Tower or 16a IBC Tower 2, is tall and the 11th tallest building in Russia. The complex also has a large car park, rising 12 stories with a height of .

History

Construction of the OKO complex started in 2011. In the summer of 2014, the South Tower of the OKO complex surpassed the height of the neighboring

Mercury City Tower Mercury City Tower ( rus, Меркурий Сити Тауэр, r=Merkuriy Siti Tauer) is a supertall skyscraper located on plot 14 in the Moscow International Business Center (MIBC), in Moscow, Russia. Occupying a total area of , the mixed-us ...

(also in the MIBC) as the tallest building in Russia and Europe, only to be surpassed by the neighboring Vostok/East Tower of the Federation Towers (also in the MIBC) in November 2014, only a few months later. It was also during this period the OKO was the tallest building made of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

. On 28 November 2015, the OKO complex was completed and put into operation. On 27 July 2016, the Government of Moscow purchased from the owner of OKO, Capital Group, 55,000 m² of space in one of the towers of the OKO complex at a cost estimated at 14.3 billion rubles. On 16 December 2016, the tallest skating rink in Europe opened on the roof of the South Tower of the OKO complex at a height of .

Design

Overview

The facades of the complex are connected with diagonal folds and are linked by a faceted base, giving a noticeable shard effect that defines the towers' appearance. In addition, the towers' canted folds allow each other to recede from one another as they rise. The complex forms an L-shaped composition at the ground plane that is pulled to perimeter of the site. This placement and the facade folds both allow the building to lean over the nearby Third Ring Road. A landscaped plaza sits at the base of the buildings and creates a sheltered, private garden that guides occupants to separate lobbies, in addition to give public space to pedestrians to rest. The building’s all-glass facade offers several features that benefit its occupants. Ventilated mullions can be opened manually to allow natural air flow into the interior. These mullions also help to mitigate stack effect. These features also allow the complex to give out a dynamic and shifting exterior. In addition, the 28th and 49th floors of the North Tower and the 7th, 27th, 46th, 65th and 83rd floors of the South Tower have

entresol A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped w ...

, so it can be counted 51 and 90 floors in those buildings accordingly.

Features

The South Tower is used as a

residential building A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...

and a hotel. The building also has a skating rink on its roof, the tallest in Europe at a height of . The North Tower is used as an office. The complex also has a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

and a fitness center.

Construction gallery

File:North OKO 12th September 2012.JPG, North Tower on 12 September 2012 File:South OKO 12th 12th September 2012.JPG, South Tower on 12 September 2012 File:OKO Tower, Sep2014.jpg, 2 November 2014 File:OKO Towers 2016.jpg, 22 March 2016

References

External links

* {{Moscow-City Moscow International Business Center Residential skyscrapers in Moscow