An artist’s impression of the 1,500-foot high point of ‘Crystal Island’ in Moscow

By 2013, what is claimed to be the largest building in the world, ‘Crystal Island’, will open in Moscow, Russia.

The 27 million-square foot building, designed by Foster and Partners, will be tipi-shaped with a point reaching nearly 1,500 feet high.

Costing £2.06 billion, the building will be large enough to house 3,000 hotel rooms, 900 apartments, multiple cinemas, a theatre, a sports complex, shops, offices and even an international school to accommodate up to 500 pupils.

To resist the harsh Russian climate, the building will feature two layers, with the outermost able to act as insulation in winter and allow easy ventilation in summer. The site will also use numerous renewable energy sources such as wind turbines to minimise its carbon footprint.

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