In the famous Palace of Festivals, a variety of large-scale projects in large Russian cities were presented, most of which were authored by Western architects.
Norman Foster showed his New Holland development project, awarded in Cannes by The Architectural Review - MIPIM AR Future Project Awards 2007, which honors not buildings, but projects. If the quarter in the center of St. Petersburg won in the category "Trade and leisure establishments", then in the section "High-rise buildings" the International Center "Kutuzovsky" in Moscow was awarded by the workshop Eller + Eller from Dusseldorf.
Foster also presented the already familiar project of the new Zaryadye complex, which should appear on the site of the former Rossiya Hotel, and also showed for the first time a business center on Moskovsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg.
Zaha Hadid demonstrated to the participants and visitors of the exhibition her project of a villa, which is planned to be built in a forest near Moscow near Barvikha; its living quarters are raised 22 meters above the ground so that the owners can admire the scenery.
The exposition also included the project of the Akademichesky microdistrict in Yekaterinburg by the French bureau Valode & Pistre.
The activity of domestic developers in Cannes this year made a great impression on both their foreign colleagues and architects. Both are attracted by the scale of the Russian market, ample opportunities for joint projects of various types. On the other hand, some architects expressed concerns that working for Russian customers is not the most reliable option, which could result in the collapse of the project, and also that the active acquisition of real estate outside Russia by Russian companies and individuals often disturbs the stability of local markets.
