Federation Tower

Federation Tower is a pair of glass skyscrapers in Moscow-City, the business district of Moscow, Russia. The two towers, called Vostok (East) and Zapad (West), share one base. Vostok is 374 metres tall and was finished in December 2017, and it is the second tallest skyscraper in Europe after the Lakhta Center. Zapad is shorter, at 242 metres.

The idea came from the German-Russian engineer Sergei Tchoban and the German professor Peter Schweger. Work started in 2005, and Zapad was finished first, in 2008. Then the global financial crisis stopped construction until August 2011. A tall spire was supposed to join the two towers and reach 450 metres, but it was never completed and was dismantled.

What is the story of the missing spire?

The first plan put a spire between the towers. It would have raised the complex to 450 metres and given it an observation deck. The spire was never completed, and the part that had been built was later taken down. That is why the two roofs now slope toward an empty gap in the middle, where the spire would have stood, which gives the complex its unusual shape.

How tall are the towers?

Vostok has 97 floors and Zapad has 63 floors, with both built together on a single podium, a wide platform at the bottom. In late 2014 Vostok became the tallest skyscraper in Russia and Europe, passing the South Tower of the OKO complex. It later lost the European title to the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. It is the 55th tallest building in the world, and the Federation complex is owned by the AEON Corporation.

On the globe

The model shows two glass towers on a shared podium, with both roofs sloping toward the gap where a central spire was planned.