This event was announced as a discussion of the broadest sense. In particular, the organizers promised to discuss why developers find it necessary to involve several architects in the development of a large-scale project and to what extent this increases the consumer properties of the objects being created. But in the end, some of these issues were touched on only in passing, and the central theme was the development of "Garden Quarters" - perhaps the only successful example of a "group" approach to design so far in Russian practice. By the way, those who are directly involved in the implementation of this project were invited to the round table: architects Sergey Skuratov (Sergey Skuratov Architects, general designer), Yuri Grigoryan (Project Meganom), Ivan Shchepetkov (Bureau 500) and Sergey Nikolsky "(Bureau" AB "), as well as Arkady Volovnik, Vice President for Development of Development Projects at Unicor Management Company (which is building Sadovye Kvartaly), and Dmitry Kuznetsov, Director of the Elite Real Estate Department of the investment and real estate company Est-a -Tet (who sells apartments there).
Actually, it was not even about all the "Garden Quarters" (11 hectares of territory, 450 thousand square meters of building), but about their first stage, which is now being built with might and main and should be commissioned next year. However, both Arkady Volovnik and Sergey Skuratov briefly reminded the audience of the history of the project: in particular, the developer admitted that he first ordered the development of the concept of the complex by a foreign architect, and the architect said that the design team was recruited on the basis of the ability to conduct a dialogue and work in the genre of “smart modern architecture ". The design code developed by "Sergey Skuratov Architects" helped to maintain the purity of this genre, which clearly regulates the height, dimensions and functional purpose of future buildings of "Garden Quarters", as well as the main finishing material - brick. After this message, the moderator of the discussion, Valeria Mozganova, asked the other architects how comfortable it was for them to work with such strict regulations. Yuri Grigoryan replied that he had not noticed any restrictions, Ivan Shchepetkov thanked Sergei Skuratov for the interesting cooperation, and Sergei Nikolsky said that the AB Bureau abandoned all canons and designed the building that was not rectangular and non-brick. This house - all glass and "very convex" - promises to be one of the most unusual landmarks in the new quarter.
Taking the floor again, Sergei Skuratov emphasized the uniqueness of the project, which creates a holistic habitat, and its exceptional importance for the city. “In fact, on 11 hectares taken separately, an attempt has been made to solve all those urban planning and social problems that are so acute in modern Moscow,” the architect is sure. We are talking about the lack of green spaces (and the neighborhoods are not without reason called "Garden" - squares, parks and other comfortable pedestrian spaces are promised as much for 6 hectares), and about the lack of parking spaces (underground multi-level parking is being created under the entire complex), and about the solution of transport question (the developed master plan provides that the 3rd Frunzenskaya Street will be extended to Bolshaya Pirogovskaya, and the streets of Efremov and Usacheva will be reconstructed). “What is being done in Garden Quarters is a heroic attempt to overcome inattention to the problem of the city, to the problem of balance between public and private space. In “Garden Quarters” the city interests are pursued by the chief architect and developer, because they understand this value,”Yuri Grigoryan noted.
However, it is too early to say that these plans will actually be implemented, although although the construction is in a “non-stop” mode, and the fact that all 11 hectares are owned by the developer (and not in a long-term lease) make one believe that the intentions of the developer are more than serious. “We could make the simplest inexpressive courtyards here and save a lot,” admitted Arkady Volovnik, “but we decided that the integrity of the future complex is more important to us and we strive to ensure it through architectural and landscape solutions.” In other words, what has long been the norm in the West - concern for the environment, the convenience of the environment and the thoughtfulness of the architectural appearance of a large-scale project - is still presented in our country as a personal feat of the developer and, in fact, is exactly what it is. The end consumer, as it turned out, very much welcomes this approach, voting for "Garden Quarters" with a ruble, as for the city, the megalopolis, apparently, will appreciate it only after the project is implemented.
Architectural critic Nikolai Malinin asked a reasonable question: do we really have to wait until 2017 to understand how effective and successful projects like the Garden Quarters are? Those gathered as an example cited first Ostozhenka, where the experiment to create a holistic habitat obviously failed, and then Skolkovo, where they still promise to build a garden city, but it will be designed not for permanent, but for temporary residents and therefore, most likely, it will be able to digest any experiments. Sadovye kvartaly, however, do not really have analogues yet - and, perhaps, will remain a completely unique territory for Moscow, where the long-awaited balance between elitism and openness will be observed.
