Finalists of the competition to develop Triumfalnaya Square announced

On March 3, 2014, the rating of finalists was announced following an open competition for the development of the architectural concept of the comprehensive improvement and future development of Triumfalnaya Square.

The contest and resulting public discussion were a response to a request from society for the improvement of Triumfalnaya Square, a main square in the center of Moscow. Serving as mechanisms for active competitive practices, competitions are one of the key initiatives of Sergey Kuznetsov, Chief Architect of Moscow, to encourage the creation of a quality urban environment.

Final press conference

“Competitions are not only a way to select the best project, but also make it public and widely discussed, allowing for transparency in the decision-making process. The quality of the work is very high. Architects have worked intensively and showed that results can be made in this type of time frame, and the jury recognized this today,” concluded Sergey Kuznetsov.

The Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning of Moscow received 45 proposals from 127 registered participants which included institutes and architectural bureaus, as well as up and coming architects, young professionals, and students.

“Despite the short period of time, we found a way to hold a contest fairly quickly and get quite strong results,” stated the chief architect of Moscow at the final press conference. The contest was announced on January 22, 2014, works were accepted through February 23, and reviewed by a jury on February 28.

ST raum a. Landschaftsarchitektur

The scope of the competition involved the development of the architectural concept of Triumfalnaya Square, which should take into account the particularities of historical development, the conservation status and functional characteristics of the territory, the intensity of pedestrian traffic, and provide a comfortable stay for visitors of all age groups.

“ST raum a. Landschaftsarchitektur”, “Buromoscow”, and “Wowhaus” received the majority of votes.

Buromoscow

“Two relatively ’easy-going’ projects received the highest rankings. The jury was very determined that redevelopment of the existing ensemble does not disrupt the achievements of Soviet architecture. Triumfalnaya Square needs zoning, distribution of traffic and pedestrian flows, lighting, interesting pavement, and options where people can spend their leisure time,” explained the chief architect of the city. The jury worked with the consideration of a preliminary expert evaluation, which was carried out from the standpoint of the feasibility of the projects submitted.

Wowhaus

“None of the concepts can not be realized in the form that they are represented in the competition materials. They need some work. We chose the ones that are the closest to possible implementation,” added Kuznetsov.

In addition, members of the jury also mentioned the work of the “Kosmos” and “Magly Project” architectural bureaus as interesting in terms of proposed concepts, which can be considered as additional options.

Magly Project

The compiled concept rankings will be discussed by a commission composed of the heads of Moscow’s Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning, Department for Major Housing Repairs, Department of Cultural Heritage, and Department of Culture. After that the final decision will be made. The competition was commissioned by the Major Repairs Directorate and organized by the Department for Major Housing Repairs and the Committee on Architecture and Urban Planning.

Kosmos

“Special thanks to the architects who participated and executed tremendous professional work, despite the short time to prepare concepts. Outstanding young bureaus and already well-known architects participated in the competition,” emphasized Evgeniya Murinets, Head of the Directorate for the Architecture Council.