Architecture for Human Well-Being: Finalists Announced in the Competition to Design the New Main Building of the Centre for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies

At DOM.RF, the names of the finalist companies were announced for the All-Russian competition to develop the architectural concept for the new central building and the adjacent territory of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “Federal Research Centre for Original and Promising Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies.” The competition participants are tasked not only with creating the image of a complex intended to expand the institution’s material and technical base, but also with delivering an architectural symbol of the development of Russian science.

The Federal Research Centre is one of the country’s leading scientific organisations in the fields of biomedicine, pharmacy, and the assessment of the quality, efficacy, and safety of medicines. The Centre’s building complex is located in the north of Moscow, in the Sokol district (8 Baltiyskaya Street). As a result of the competition, it is expected to acquire a striking architectural image that embodies progress and meets the most advanced contemporary requirements. The new building will house, among other facilities, dozens of laboratories specialising in the development of medicines for the treatment of oncological, cardiovascular, and rare genetic diseases; the study of ageing and tissue and organ regeneration processes; research into human–environment interaction under modern technological conditions; as well as pilot-scale pharmaceutical production. The competition is curated by the state development institution DOM.RF, with the operator being the International Urban Laboratory CENTER Lab. The project partner is EVOCORP Management Company LLC.

Following expert selection, six teams were named as finalists. These include four individual participants (IND, Wowhaus, TPO Reserve, and MUZA Group) and two consortia (Architectural Bureau PASP + ROST Design Workshop, and AI-architects + TOLK). They are to develop proposals defining the architectural image of the facility, the interior design code, spatial planning solutions, and landscaping concepts.

“Several generations of Russian architects are taking part in the competition at once. The balance between bold vision and professional execution will determine the best works. We expect comprehensive solutions and in-depth elaboration from the finalists, contributing to the development of Russian architecture,” noted Denis Filippov, Deputy Director General of DOM.RF.

An introductory seminar was also held for the finalists, during which jury members and experts involved in the project implementation spoke about the specific features of the competition site. In particular, Airat Gatiyatov, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, emphasised the needs of the main users of the new building: “It is important to understand that our facility is not a medical, but a research institution, and the project is primarily aimed at those who will work there. The key objective is to attract young people. In addition, it is necessary to analyse how the surrounding urban space can be transformed in terms of transport accessibility.”

Pavel Volchkov, Deputy Director General of the Federal Research Centre for Original and Promising Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies, highlighted the importance of the relationship between the complex and its environment: “The city’s involvement in the process is crucial, so that the complex is integrated into the surrounding infrastructure, rather than being isolated behind a high reinforced concrete wall, as many research institutes are. It should form a single, cohesive ensemble within a living city.”

In turn, the representative of the competition operator, Co-founder and Executive Director of CENTER Lab Sergei Georgievskii, drew attention to the scale and complexity of the task: “The facility has a specific function and many particular regulatory features that the finalists will need to take into account. The building must be integrated into a highly complex urban context. It is equally important to create a unique image. Every era has its own embodiments of science, such as the Sternberg Astronomical Institute of Moscow State University, the buildings of the Kurchatov Institute ensemble, the Central Research Institute of Robotics and Technical Cybernetics, the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Atom Pavilion at VDNH. The new building of the Federal Research Centre should become an equally outstanding architectural example.”

Two interim presentations of the projects will take place in late January and early March 2026, enabling feedback from representatives of the Federal Research Centre and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and supporting the development of the strongest possible proposals. The results of the competition will be announced in mid-April.

The total prize fund amounts to 14.5 million roubles. The winner will receive five million roubles; the second-place finalist, three million; the third-place finalist, two million; and the fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-place finalists, 1.5 million roubles each.

Photo: Nikolai Sokolov