Moscow’s Monorail Transport System Revitalisation

Moscow’s Monorail Transport System Revitalisation. Wowhaus Bureau Directors of the bureau: Oleg Shapiro and Dmitry Likin Project curator: Irina Golovitskaya Chief project architect: Anastasia Izmakova Development team: Yanina Smagina, Zhanna Galut, Fyodor Naumov, Konstantin Andreyev, Tatyana Chernomashentseva, Daria Golubeva, Sofia Yestrina, Yekaterina Anikina. Consultants: Maxim Lyubavin, Konstantin Palivoda, Ilya Petrasov, Denis Romodin, Alexandra Boyarskaya, Dmitry Stepchkov, Vladimir Muravyev, Vadim Kokhtev. The Moscow Monorail is a 4.7 km long overground transport system that connects two branches of the Metro and passes through several districts of the capital. Built in 2003 it is currently operating in “excursion mode” (making one journey per half hour), and faces imminent closure due to its unprofitability, arising from the way it partly duplicates existing tram routes. All the monorail stations, depots and support structures will soon be rendered obsolete. WOWHAUS has thus proposed that, instead of dismantling, the system be reconstructed and filled with new functions, inscribing it into the life of the district and the city as a whole. The monorail is located in close proximity to the Agricultural Academy, a large park, a television centre, the Ostankino Tower, the VDNKh Exhibition Park, the Cosmos Hotel and the Cosmonautics Museum. In the proposed concept, the monorail connects areas that are physically close to, but otherwise isolated from each other, while becoming a zone for sporting activities without parallel in contemporary Moscow. The territory has a dual aspect – though it will remain a linear feature, the monorail is to be divided up into several distinct functional zones, each of which meets the needs of its local setting in as complete a manner as possible. The route begins with an orangery, located as close to the Academy as possible to encourage use of the feature by its students and teachers. Next there begins a zone for the popularisation of active leisure, with open-air sporting areas for all demographics, interactive installations that respond to movement, and further public orangeries acting as a link with the previous zone. The continuation of the elevated roadway will be used for a tram line and cycling, walking and jogging lanes. A transit zone will lead into a garden area, an amphitheatre with a panoramic view of the pond, stately home and church, as well as an outdoor viewing pool. Moving on from the pool, which should become a city-wide point of attraction in its own right, the visitor then enters a family recreation zone with playgrounds catering to different ages, cafés and a 'green tunnel'. The 'tunnel' leads into a zone with hanging gardens and an experimental orangery. The former monorail depot will house an independent theatrical venue, as well as the city transport museum, which is currently awaiting suitable premises. Alongside its existing collection, the museum will feature unique displays of components of the former monorail. The territory and infrastructure will thus acquire a new function and not be left in an abandoned and dangerous state. The local urban fabric will take on a new density and the city will gain several new points of attraction.