One of the world’s most ambitious building projects, Crystal Island will cost $4 billion and it is scheduled to be built within next 5 years in Moscow. It will be enclosed within a vast mega structure covering a total floor area of 2.5million square metres – floor area alone will be four times the size of Pentagon in Washington DC.

This 450m tall structure is conceived as a self-contained city within a city, it contains a rich mix of buildings including museums, theatres and cinemas.

Crystal Island will also have a range of cultural, exhibition and performance facilities, approximately 3000 hotel rooms and 900 serviced apartments, as well as offices and shops, designed to maintain a dynamic and animated public realm throughout the day.

Dynamic enclosure panels slotted into the structural framing allow daylight to penetrate deep into the heart of the scheme and can be controlled to modify the internal environment – closed in winter for extra warmth and opened in summer to allow natural ventilation.

Source: Times Online & Foster And Partners via Inhabitat