This publication records the innovative approach that led to the creation of City Palace, a new type of building combining civic functions with offices and retail space within a 45 storey tower in the rapidly developing Moscow City business district. What is special about this project is the singular - some might say provocative - collaboration between architect (Tony Kettle and Philip Nikandrov of international architects RMJM) and artist (Karen Forbes) which has resulted in the construction of this striking structure. The approach is highly unusual as it combines architect with artist in a real partnership from the very first pencil sketch through to the final construction.The resulting design is a marriage between symbolic wedding palace functions and the commercial reality of office and retail space.
Charting the evolution of the project, this book also explores the real creative value of in-depth collaboration at this scale, a method which could be set to become increasingly familiar.