The Vremena Goda pavilion, transformed by OMA into the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art — one of Russia’s leading cultural institutions — became the centrepiece of a wider commission from Project Meganom to develop a planting strategy for the entire Gorky Park. The landscape surrounding the museum formed a key part of this project.
OMA and Inside Outside envisioned a “forest” in which the museum and the nearby Hexagon pavilion would appear to dissolve into the surrounding greenery. The Forest references the species-rich forests of the Russian Far East, reinterpreted through layered plantings suited to the Moscow climate.
The forest effect was achieved through multi-level planting composed of black alders, Japanese larches, oaks, and maples, underplanted with crab apples, hawthorns, and river maples forming the secondary canopy. Black alder — chosen for the graphic structure of its branches and its natural affinity with the terraces of the Moscow River — anchors the composition, while the bright fruits of crab apples and hawthorns bring seasonal colour and interest during the colder months.
The forest-based landscaping concept for the area around the Hexagon and the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art involves planting trees and shrubs of different ages to create the natural effect of a growing forest, rather than a tree nursery.
The forest is predominantly broadleaf and consists of several tiers. To enhance the picturesqueness and the feeling of a "recognizable" forest, the plantings include European alder / Alnus glutinosa — a tree with the most beautiful branch structure in the central region. Alder typically grows in waterlogged areas, but this species is adaptable enough to thrive in these conditions as well.
All trees in front of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (MSCI "Garage") have a clear trunk (standard) of 2-2.5 meters and are intended not to block the view from the museum's lower floor.
35-40% of the trees are planted as large-sized specimens (5-7 meters), while the remaining trees are planted as saplings and young plants up to 2 meters in height.
When planting the trees, it is important to vary not so much the height of the planting material, but rather the trunk volume, so that the trees appear more natural.
The "Four Seasons" concept ensures that the new plantings are decorative not only in summer but also in other seasons. For instance, in winter, the distinct branching patterns of the European alder and larch will be visible, along with the fruits of apple and hawthorn trees. In spring, we will see the blooming of red maple, apple, and hawthorn trees. Bright autumn colors will be provided by the maples and the red oak.
European alder / Alnus glutinosa
Hawthorn on a trunk
The forest-based landscaping concept for the area around the Hexagon and the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art involves planting trees and shrubs of different ages to create the natural effect of a growing forest, rather than a tree nursery.
Along the border of the park, the plantings are quite dense—their task is to hide the less-than-pleasant views of the neighboring areas.
The forest is predominantly broadleaf and consists of several tiers.
The trees and shrubs are represented by the following species:
- Norway maple and Red maple / Acer platanoides and A. Rubrum
- Sugar maple and Silver maple / A. Saccharum, A. Saccharinum
- English Oak / Quercus Robur
- Northern Red Oak / Quercus Rubra
- Japanese Elm / Ulmus Propinqua — a Far Eastern species, not susceptible to Dutch elm disease
- Littleleaf linden / Tilia cordata and Large-leaved linden / Tilia platyphyllos
- Wild cherry / Prunus avium—young seedlings transplanted from another part of the park
- European alder / Alnus glutinosa
- Japanese larch / Larix kaempferi
- European beech / Fagus sylvatica
- Siberian crab apple and apple 'Evereste' / Malus baccata / M. 'Evereste'
- Manchurian striped maple / Acer tegmentosum
- Amur maple / Acer ginnala
- Hawthorns / Crataegus ssp.
Low shrubs (up to 1.5 m):
- Willow of Ural selection 'Mayak' / Salix 'Majak'.
PIONEER POND | CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND
The area around Pioneer Pond is framed on two sides by plantings of mature poplars on one side and Blue Spruce on the other. The landscaping concept for this area involves planting not very tall trees and shrubby willows with silvery foliage.
A green strip of Silver White Willow and the shrubby Salix kurilensis with its delicate branches appears along the pond, very decorative in the cold season due to the white coating on its intricate branches. The gaps between the shrubby willows and trees are filled with flower beds of perennials and ornamental grasses. Along the pond, we propose planting Silver White Willow / Salix alba 'Argentea', whose height will be controlled by forming a trunk and pruning the tree at the trunk level every 2-3 years.
Willows of the same variety along the beach are planted in groups. These are not pruned and will be able to reach a greater height.
LANDSCAPING SCHEME | TREES
The new functional zoning requires the allocation of new areas in the park, each with its own distinctive planting character.
Flower beds with ornamental plants, shrubs, and trees are being added to the embankment area. The park's "green rooms" are enclosed by linear plantings on the embankment side, and new shrub lines are laid out to provide necessary wind protection for the park.
Separate zones are designated: the children's park, and the area of the "Garage" Museum, which is being transformed into a woodland section. The mass field is outlined along its perimeter with tall shrubs to enhance protection from wind and noise. The two areas within the mass field are also delineated by a scenic border of trees planted in groups. The sports zone is being planted with new greenery that frames the wide open space. The area behind the "Kavkaz" restaurant is being cleared to create an open forest edge, and the Linear Park zone is also undergoing clearing.
Open Spaces
Enclosed Spaces / Existing Plantings
Structures in the Park (Proposed Location)
New Plantings
LANDSCAPING SCHEME | LANDSCAPE PARK
The new landscaping in Gorky Park primarily affects the non-formal park area. In contrast to the regular Parterre, a Landscape Park with group and specimen plantings of trees is being created.
1. MASS FIELD
Picturesque groups of Ural selection willow
Salix 'Pamyati Bazhova'.
2. PIONEER POND
Group landscape plantings, predominantly willows: Silver White Willow
Salix alba 'Argentea', Kuril Willow /
Salix ledebouriana f. kuraica.
3. CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND
The existing landscape plantings of birches, chestnuts, and spruces are unified with a layer of shrubs - lilacs / Syringa ssp., mock oranges / Philadelphus ssp. A hedge appears, fencing the area off from the road.
4. MULTI-TIERED "FOUR SEASONS" FOREST
Norway maple and Red maple / Acer platanoides and A. rubrum, Northern red oak / Quercus rubra, Japanese elm / Ulmus propinqua, Littleleaf linden / Tilia cordata, Wild cherry / Prunus avium, European alder / Alnus glutinosa, Japanese larch / Larix kaempferi, Siberian crab apple and apple 'Evereste' / Malus baccata / M. 'Evereste', Manchurian striped maple / Acer tegmentosum, Amur maple / Acer ginnala, Hawthorns / Crataegus ssp.
5. GROVE OF NORTHERN RED OAK
A grove of Northern Red Oak /
Quercus rubra contrasts with the new "forest" plantings around the Garage and "responds" to the building and the new alley plantings of maples.
6. GREEN BUFFER
Trees and shrubs decorative in the cold season: pines / Pinus ssp., firs / Abies ssp., hawthorns / Crataegus ssp., ornamental apples / Malus ssp., varieties of White Willow with bright red bark / Salix alba 'Sanguinea'.
7. CLEARING OF GOLITSYN HOSPITAL
Mostly trees of the third size — hawthorns / Crataegus ssp., ornamental apples / Malus ssp.
8. LINEAR SQUARE PLANTINGS
New plantings inside Linear Square: trees of the third size - hawthorns / Crataegus ssp., ornamental apples / Malus ssp.
The entrance is decorated with plantings of White locust - Black locust / Robinia pseudoacacia.
Titovsky Proyezd is separated by a line of pyramidal poplars / Populus tremula 'Erecta'.
9. LANDSCAPE PLANTINGS
Landscape plantings of shrubs and multi-stemmed trees: Amur lilac and Preston lilac / Syringa amurensis, Syringa prestoniae.
