Completed 1953 Floor count 27 Floors 27 Construction started 1948 | Roof 172 m (564 ft) Height 172 m Opened 1953 Lifts/elevators 28 | |
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Location 32/34 Smolenskaya-Sennaya pl, Moscow, Russia Architect V.G.Gelfreih, A.B.Minkus Similar Kudrinskaya Square Building, Kotelnicheskaya Naberezhnaya, Red Gate Building, Main building of Moscow, Hilton Moscow Leningra | ||
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia main building is one of seven Stalinist skyscrapers, designed and overseen by V.G.Gelfreih and A.B.Minkus.
Contents
Features
The skyscraper has 27 levels and is 172 metres (564 ft) tall. It's covered by a light external stone wall with projecting pilasters and pylons. The interior is decorated with stones and metals. A metal spire tops the tower's roof, assimilating its silhouette with those of the other six Sisters.
History
The skyscraper was laid down in 1948 and completed in 1953. According to the biography of the architect Minkus (published in 1982), draft plans were first drawn up in 1946 and ranged from 9 to 40 stories. In 1947 two designs were proposed: one utilized layered setbacks while the other called for a more streamlined construction which culminated into a blunt rectangular top. In the second and approved design a metal spire, presumably ordered by Joseph Stalin, was hastily added to tower's roof. Currently the building houses the offices for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.