By Lucy Wang, Source: Inhabitat

New York architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro just scooped first place in the international Zaryadye Park competition, beating out a superb shortlist to design Moscow’s first public park in 50 years. Located next to Red Square in downtown Moscow, the 32-acre park is part of President Vladimir Putin’s plans to “project a new image of Moscow and Russia to the world.”

The multifunctional Zaryadye Park will replace the former site of Hotel Rossiya, a striking glass-and-metal relic of the Soviet era. As a sign of respect for the landscape’s history, Zaryadye derives its name from the neighborhood that was bulldozed under Stalin’s reign. To revitalize the congested heart of Moscow, the $200 million park will feature a lush and spacious pedestrian friendly design.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro, who also authored the High Line, have designed a hybrid landscape using the design principles of “wild urbanism.” Divided into the four major Russian climate zones–tundra, steppe, forest, and marsh–the park’s overlapping sections will be terraced from the northeast to the southwest corner. Combining historic artifacts such as Kremlin-style gardens with modern sustainable technologies including artificial microclimate systems, Zaryadye Park will capture the growing nexus between Moscow’s culture, history, and landscape in the urban fabric.

Construction for the Zaryadye Park is expected to start by the end of 2014.