Large-scale urban development programs are being actively implemented in Moscow. Each project begins with the laborious work of specialists of the Moscow Architecture Department, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. What actual tasks are being solved by architects and designers, what are they working on today, how are high-quality architectural projects being born? Our conversation with the chairman of the Moscow Architecture Department, Juliana Knyazhevskaya, is about this and much more.
– Juliana Vladimirovna, what role does the committee you head play in the structure of the capital’s Construction Complex?
– The Committee regulates urban planning and architectural activities on the territory of Moscow and actively works on rule-making. Moskomarchitecture forms a unified policy that is based on reasonable planning of spaces and maximum convenience of living in Moscow. Today, the activities of the committee are very extensive. Our specialists are engaged in territorial planning, pre-project preparation and design of objects of city programs in the field of capital construction, projects from the Targeted investment program and of course, the creation of the architectural and artistic appearance of the capital.
– What public services does Moskomarchitecture provide?
– Today we provide seven services ranging from the creation of an urban planning plan to the approval of a signboard design project. The agency works with documents for the Consolidated Plan of underground utilities and structures, issues an architectural and urban planning solution and other documents and provides services involved in the construction process. Each of them is very important in the construction cycle, and the faster and better we do our work, the easier the process becomes at all future stages. For the convenience of recipients, these services have been converted to electronic form. This format greatly simplifies and speeds up the provision of services on time, which is a priority for us.
Moskomarchitecture celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The decree on the establishment of the Committee on Architecture and Urban Planning of the City of Moscow was signed by the Government of Moscow on November 28, 1991. And the beginning of the department was laid in 1951, when the Architectural and Planning Department was organized by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in the Moscow City Executive Committee.
Thanks to the high professionalism of our team, a developed information technology system, a progressive and bold management system, we were able to effectively adapt to the new reality in the conditions of a pandemic. We continue to develop artificial intelligence and robotize routine processes, which allows us to significantly save resources, thereby directly affecting the speed of work and freeing up time for more important tasks. By supporting modern views and introducing them into processes, we become innovators who implement modern trends, and move away from complex and lengthy approval processes.
– Which of the projects in the development of which Moskomarchitecture is involved, would you highlight as a priority?
– We are preparing a lot of projects, and all of them are not ordinary, because each of them has been given the closest attention and a lot of work has been invested in them. Transport projects are a separate block: the development of the metro, the recent launch of the first lines of the MCD(Moscow Central Diameters) the active construction of new complex road interchanges, the modernization of old ones… Thanks to such projects, Moscow, as the largest metropolis, can dynamically live and develop.
It is also worth noting the objects from the Targeted Investment Program that the city is building at the expense of its budget. For the most part, these are high-quality social facilities that allow you to supplement the districts with the necessary infrastructure and keep up with the times in all spheres of life.
Moskomarchitecture forms a unified policy that is based on reasonable planning of spaces and maximum convenience of living in the city.
Our specialists are closely working on urban planning projects for the integrated development of territories. These include, for example, the redevelopment of the former industrial zones “ZIL”, “Southern Port”, “Oktyabrskoe Pole”.
In addition, now the Moscow Architecture is actively involved in the work on the renovation program. Territorial planning projects have been approved for all areas covered by the program, and work has begun with architects who have won a competition for the design of specific houses. I am sure that as a result we will be able to bring all these areas to a new level of development, make life in them even more comfortable.
– Perhaps the most discussed topic of recent years is the renovation of the housing stock, which is not surprising: the program affects the interests of many Muscovites. What principles of building modern neighborhoods do you take into account when designing houses for renovation?
– This is really the most important city program. After its announcement and the vote of the residents of specific houses, we began to develop projects for the planning of territories (PPT) of the districts included in the program. It was here that we had to answer a number of questions: how people will live in these areas, which schools they will take their children to, where they will seek medical help, how they will get to work, where they will be able to walk and where they will go for cultural leisure.
Each district has its own situation, and, accordingly, there were optimal solutions. The designers managed to solve all these issues, relying on the main principles of the program as a whole: the priority is always the comfort of Muscovites and the creation of a new lifestyle for them. We have now approved 88 PPTs. Project proposals were available online for everyone, voting on the Active Citizen portal was active, and we processed each of the appeals and comments of residents without fail. The electronic format of public discussions, of course, helped both to give greater publicity and to collect more complete information about the opinions of the participants of the renovation and the residents of the houses.
The first swallows of the program were start-up houses – now more than 300 houses are being designed, which will allow starting resettlement in certain areas. 130 houses have already been built, more than a hundred of them have been given over for resettlement.
– How, in your opinion, will urban transport change in the conditions of increasing digitalization? Will modern vehicles remain relevant or will there be radically new ways of delivering people and goods? Will the development of technologies and transport have an impact on the planning of future projects in the capital?
– We live in very interesting times: today changes are happening faster than at any time in the history of mankind. The pace of modern life is so great that it requires radical, rapid and even provocative changes that are necessary now to create a better future. However, both today and in the future, we must take care that residents can move around the city as quickly and comfortably as possible.
The development of public urban transport is a global trend. An important direction for the development of the transport system of the capital is the construction of the metro, as well as the transition to electric transport.
– Today there is a trend in attracting experts for future large-scale projects. And will there be an opportunity for ordinary citizens to be involved in projects? Will they be able to convey their opinion about how the capital should look like?
– If we talk about urban planning, then, obviously, we will increasingly focus on the needs of the population, which means that we cannot do without participatory design. The participation of residents in urban development issues has long become a reality, and this trend will continue in the future. We have done a lot of work to translate public hearings into an online format. As a result, at the moment, six times more citizens have participated in electronic public discussions than in face-to-face hearings. This indicates the effectiveness of the interaction of Muscovites with urban planners in the online format, which means that it will continue and become even more active.
– How do you see the architecture of the future?
– Today we are faced with the task of getting away from the faceless typical development, helping Moscow districts to become recognizable, to find a memorable, attractive face.
In addition, the pandemic has shown that many of us can effectively work remotely, and this practice will only develop in the future. The placement of coworking spaces and business objects in residential areas is becoming a popular function. From an urban planning point of view, this means that the urban environment will have new functions that will need to be taken into account as part of the development.
AIP facilities are high-quality social facilities that allow you to supplement the districts with the necessary infrastructure and keep up with the times in all spheres of life.
We also see that more and more citizens are realizing the benefits of walking and outdoor entertainment, and the demand for urban recreation areas and outdoor sports grounds is becoming more noticeable. This means that the city will actively work towards their development.
The participation of residents in urban development issues has long become a reality, and this trend will continue in the future.
The pace of modern life is so great that it requires drastic and quick decisions that are necessary now to create a better future. However, we must always take care that residents can feel as comfortable as possible in the city.
– An employee of the Moscow Architecture Department – what should he be like?
– First of all, he must be a professional, the owner of versatile knowledge, including from related fields. In our industry, there is an active informatization of all processes. The design is based on BIM technologies, which are used to create digital three-dimensional models of future buildings. The use of modern technologies allows not only to design a building, but also to calculate all the operation processes even before the construction begins.
A modern urban planner must also have competencies in the IT field, physics and chemistry, in the field of material resistance, and so on. And, of course, our specialists should understand legal issues, because urban planning inevitably intersects with jurisprudence: civil, land, administrative law.
In addition, our employees simply love Moscow, take care of it, are able to work in a team, and most importantly, they are aware of the huge responsibility that lies on them and on the committee itself. And I am proud to say that we are all not only high professionals in our field, but also a truly friendly team with our own traditions.
From Newsletter of the Moscow Construction Complex