Zenith International Business Center, Unfinished office building in Troparyovo-Nikulino District, Russia.
The Zenith International Business Center is a 22-story office building with a glass exterior that stands unfinished along Vernadskogo Avenue. The modern structure marks the western Moscow skyline with its contemporary design, but construction halted before completion.
The idea came from Abel Aganbegyan, rector of the Academy of National Economy, after seeing Luciano Perini's glass-crystal model in Bologna. Yakov Belopolsky and Nikolai Lyutovsky redesigned it in a Suprematist vein, and the 19-storey limit was set by proximity to Vnukovo airport. In 1990 the Soviet government approved a 102 million ECU loan from European banks; the main contractor vanished in March 1995, when work stopped at 80–85% completion.
The building reflects how Moscow envisioned its business future in the early 1990s, when international investment and modern office concepts first arrived in the city. Its glass exterior represents the optimism of that era and the hope for global business activity.
The building is not open to visitors, but its location along Vernadskogo Avenue serves as a helpful landmark for navigation in the district. Public transportation nearby makes it easy to reach from other parts of the area.
The building's metal frame was designed on computers in Moscow, machined in Italy and assembled in Moscow, a condition of the Italian-backed loan. When work stopped in March 1995 the project was 80–85% complete, including a ten-storey atrium with panoramic lifts and escalators.
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