The winners of the Triumfalnaya and Khodynka competitions announced

The chief architect of Moscow, Sergey Kuznetsov announced the winners of the competitions on the redevelopment concepts of Triumfalnaya Square and the Park at Khodynskoe Pole — the winners are Buromoscow and LAND Milano Srl.

Out of the three finalists of the contest to determine the concept of Triumfalnaya Square redevelopment, which was decided by a two-day jury meeting in March 2014, first place was awarded to Buromoscow, which was in second place in the ranking.

According to Sergey Kuznetsov, the leaders of the ranking, the German bureau ST raum A, had a clear architectural concept. However, from the point of view of developing the area for the presence of a large number of people, the Moscow team’s option was the best. Recall that Buromoscow’s concept was based on separating from the currently spread out space a proper square and a mini park in front of the Beijing hotel, leveling the surface using a belvedere with a water surface, and strengthening the classical composition with wings of slender rows of trees.

In announcing the ranking, the jury immediately noted that, whichever project is chosen, it will require some work. And since the redevelopment works are planned to begin in May, certain changes have already been made to the winner’s concept.

The content of the area has become more functional: for example, the three canopy swings were transformed into three pavilions, and on the other side of the monument three more were symmetrically added, in order to accommodate year-round cafes, ticket offices and city information for tourists. However, as noted by Sergey Kuznetsov, the content of these structures and their architectural appearance will be further refined.

Along the front of the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall another row of trees was added, thus forming a symmetrical square of linden and ash trees; symmetrical garden beds also appeared around the Mayakovsky monument, and in place of the belvedere with a water surface a lawn was formed.

Sergei Kapkov, the Head of the Department of Culture, noted that the Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning eventually chose the most sparing reconstruction concept. Actually, apart from elements of landscaping there is no major construction in the reconstruction: the only object in the area in question is underground parking, which can be built in a second phase in the section opposite the Beijing hotel. Parking spaces in the project are also provided on the perimeter of the square.

The transport scheme, as clarified by Kuznetsov, will be considered further, but it is already known that the exit into 2nd Brestskaya Street, as well as the width of Tverskaya Street near the square will remain unchanged. The passage from the Garden Ring to Tverskaya Street is already closed now: the project only makes provisions for a fire turnout along Tchaikovsky Hall, and a lane along the building of the Ministry of Regional Development.

Sergei Kapkov stressed that it was especially important to preserve tactful engagement of the square with the surrounding cultural institutions. Here extra content is not necessarily needed, said the Head of the Department of Culture, as the Tchaikovsky Hall, two theaters and a metro station already form a complex space that lives according to its own rules; “I would like to make it more tactile, lively, to inhabit this area on the principles of a pedestrian zone, so that over time the area was perceived as Mayakovsky Square,” concluded Sergei Kapkov.

However, the speakers noted that for now only a concept is represented, the final version of which, according to Sergei Kuznetsov, presumably will still change. In the end, what it will look like in real life, this will be answered by the client of the competition, the Department for Major Housing Repairs: and there is not long to wait — the redevelopment is planned to be completed before the end of the year.

Making a square in a historical context is harder of course than starting a park from scratch, but the concept of Khodynka Park, as shown by the competition, was also quite challenging in content. Meanwhile the outcome of this competition was more predictable — LAND Milano Srl won, which the jury placed first in the ranking from the beginning.

As repeatedly emphasized by the speakers, Khodynka Park has primarily a local, rather than a citywide value, so its main task is not to attract additional people here (which already are attracted by a large shopping center and sports facilities), but rather serve as a recreational area for thousands of residents of the nearby district.

From this perspective LAND Milano Srl were the most persuasive, offering a wide variety of scenarios of recreation in the park, from hiking and biking routes to planting tree-like structures and setting up art installations.

In addition, in contrast to the others, the Italian architects integrated into their project landscape elements that already exist at Khodynka — for example, the Soviet boulevard will not be removed, but merely denser landscaping will be created in this place. Oleg Larin, a member of the jury and the leader of the social movement “For the Park,” said that fragments of the partially implemented redevelopment concept of 2005 will be included into the project.

Sergey Kuznetsov mentioned another advantage of the winning project is the authors’ attention to year-round operation of the park, for example by means of the high allotment of evergreens and intensive work with the terrain.

Sergei Kapkov said the park project at Khodynka will be implemented before 2016. Thanks to phasing that is worked into the concept by LAND Milano Srl, work can begin as early as this year, in parallel with the construction of a new metro station.

Implementation of the park, Kapkov said will cost 536 million rubles, plus another 45 million will be spent on adapting the Italian project to Russian Construction Rules and Regulations.

The contest was conducted by GC INTEKO with the support of the Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning, but who will build the park will soon be decided by the appropriate tender.