Sergei Kuznetsov: Work on the Zaryadye Park project continues

During a meeting of the Moscow Public Chamber Commission for Urban Development, Transport and Communications, Chief Moscow Architect and First Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Development Sergei Kuznetsov spoke about the results of the Zaryadye Park international competition. Work on the selected park project will continue, and the design work will be conducted throughout 2014.

Sergei Kuznetsov recalled that when developing the project of the future park, it is necessary to take into account the features of the location, and that both Muscovites and tourists will visit this park. The park should be open all year round and should have an extensive visitor capacity. “This is an absolutely new task. The Moscow authorities have never before created such spaces from scratch,” he said.

The project by US team Diller Scofidio won the contest. The jury decided that this project takes into account the tasks that need to be fulfilled by the new public space better than the other projects. Sergei Kuznetsov highlighted the advantages of the winning project, including some interesting proposals on using the Moskva River embankment and the possible creation of a pedestrian zone on Varvarka Street and part of the Moskvoretsky Bridge. He said that the proximity of the river is an additional advantage of the Zaryadye territory, as compared with the famous High Line public park in New York, which was designed by the same team of architects.

Sergei Kuznetsov also said that the project includes the unusual idea of paving with tiles that gradually turn into lawns in various parts of the park. The project also includes some proposals on illumination of the park, he said.

The commission also asked questions about the central concept of the park: creating various ecosystems by artificial temperature regulation and planting bushes and trees that abound in Russia’s four natural zones: the tundra, the steppe, forests and swamps. Sergei Kuznetsov said that not all of the ideas promoted by urban architects will be implemented. Most probably, he said, we will create different landscapes in the park and plant bushes and trees that can adapt to the Moscow climate without artificial temperature control.

The creation of a concert hall in Zaryadye, which was proposed by the US architects, is still under consideration. There are already plans on opening a music centre in the park, and the federal authorities will oversee its construction, he said.

The development of the final project of the park will take a lot of time. The aim is to create a territory that will be in harmony with the surrounding historic buildings. “The key player on this location is the urban environment,” he said.