Sergey Kuznetsov announced the launch of preparation for the Renovation Program Competition

Moskomarkhitektura announced the launch of competitive selection procedure for the priority areas under the Renovation Program in Moscow. The Chief Architect of Moscow Sergey Kuznetsov told us that there would be five pilot sites.

«An operational group headed by Mayor Sergey Sobyanin was designated in order to control the execution of the renovation program. Upon his instructions, we are beginning competition procedures for the priority sites, which will attract the best Russian and foreign architects to implement the program,» said Sergey Kuznetsov.

An expert panel will select 4 finalists for each site; they will be requested to develop the architectural and urban planning concept in accordance with the technical design specifications.

The competition period shall be 6 months beginning at the time of portfolio submission. Mr. Kuznetsov said that the call for applications will be launched at the next ARCH Moscow Exhibition in May, 2017. Conditions of the competition and exact requirements will be published later, after the sites are determined, which will be implemented following the outcome of the vote of the residents. According to Sergey Kuznetsov, first and foremost, these will be areas where the public is most favorable towards the resettlement program.

Nevertheless, architects should prepare their portfolios in advance. Site design projects will be developed on the basis of each concept. Winners and finalists are expected to work as project coordinators.

In the framework of the competition, a broad public discussion is planned to be organized with the participation of architects and experts —

urbanists, sociologists, economists, said Mr. Kuznetsov, having obtained the maximum possible expert evaluation even at the stage of preparation of technical design specifications. According to him, these are the leading specialized institutions such as Higher School of Economics, RANEPA, MArchI, Union of Architects of Russia and Union of Architects of Moscow, and others.

The concrete criteria for the future quarters, such as number of floors and urban density, will be established in the technical design specifications for each site. «We definitely want to switch to the principle of city block development, in contrast to the present urban planning situation with no clear territory division into yards, streets, public spaces, squares, and parks. Of course, there won’t be 5-storey buildings any more, but housing is going to have a comfortable number of floors and density. In Moscow there are many areas with good economical characteristics which are attractive for the population, despite having high building density,» said Sergey Kuznetsov.

Standards for parking spaces will also be specified later. According to Mr.Kuznetsov, parking lots will be definitely provided within the street-road network as well as additional parking spaces. Parking areas will be defined depending on the economical parameters of each site, said the Chief Architect.

According to him, the urban planning standards are to be refined, since many of them contradict creation of a comfortable environment. «The standards have been formed to fit the microdistrict planning scheme for many years. And using the example of such successful areas, as ZIL, I can say that these districts are very difficult to be developed because the guidelines for development are not aligned to this urban planning principle. We expect these regulations will be revised at least within the framework of Moscow,» said Mr.Kuznetsov.

For example, fire regulations, providing availability of streets with duplicate passages for fire engines, require serious revision, as they result in gigantic street width in residential areas. «And that goes for urban greening as well. Analytics shows that these inaccurate, cut into „pieces“ green spaces exist, but, in fact, people can’t use them as special recreation areas. We’re going to use the best international expertise to address these problems. The renovation also includes the issues of land use and civilized approach of the residents to the territory where they live.»

Kuznetsov added that the program envisages preservation and development of the existing framework of the social infrastructure in the districts.

Before the official website of the competition is opened, for more necessary information see the ArchCouncil of Moscow portal.