The first day of the international seminar was devoted to presentations by invited experts. Thus, President of the Metropolis Foundation Alfonso Vegara spoke about the progress of research work on the study of the largest cities in the world. Vincent Fouchier shared his experience in planning the Ile-de-France region. According to Vincent Fouchier, the main tasks in creating an agglomeration are overcoming the housing shortage, creating jobs and developing transport infrastructure. In France, 160 km of new metro lines were built for this and a high-speed TGV rail link was created.
Similar tasks were set for the designers who presented their concepts for the development of the Moscow agglomeration on the second day of the seminar.
The first planning strategy for Greater Moscow was shared by the OMA team and Project Meganom. Not satisfied with the initial data provided, the architects studied the existing situation in detail, flying around the surroundings by helicopter. During the presentation, aerial photographs of the Moscow environs were shown, which, according to the architects, clearly show a lot of problems in this area, the main of which is the shortage of land suitable for construction.
OMA's planning model assumes the creation of four local metropolitan areas based on airports.
Yuri Grigoryan presented a detailed analysis of the Moscow road network, where, as is known, 28% of roads are concentrated within the Garden Ring, between the Garden Ring and the Moscow Ring Road their density decreases to 14%, outside the Moscow Ring Road - to 6%. Thus, there is nowhere to create new streets in the center (the potential is not great); moreover, the grid of streets in the Sadovyh ring itself is of historical value. A reserve of territory that could be used to create new streets and increase the permeability of the urban environment is being found in gigantic blocks of the Moscow suburbs. The main reserves of unused land are kept by industrial zones. On the territory of ZIL alone, according to Yuri Grigoryan, an entire city can fit.
In the OMA project, the existing infrastructure is taken as a basis for solving Moscow's transport problems. Mobility is ensured by separating two types of roads: expressways and public transport routes. As for the lands annexed to Moscow, here the architects made it a priority to preserve and even restore the green belt, which has been partially lost today.
The designers of the FSBI TsNIIP Urban Development are confident that the Greater Moscow project can contribute to Russia's entry into a high trajectory of development. They propose to create six satellite cities, which will take over a number of metropolitan functions and will be able to compete with Moscow in the future. The prepared forecast for the development of the Moscow agglomeration until 2062 indicates a gradual decrease in density in the old borders of Moscow due to the outflow of the population to satellite cities. A speaker from Nikken Sekkei Ltd, which is working on the project together with TsNIIP Urban Development, spoke about the diversification of urban centers to create mixed-use centers - that is, spaces suitable for living, work and leisure at the same time.
Transport hubs, according to the project, should also be multifunctional. Airports are becoming logistics centers. Particular attention is paid to the development of a public transport system integrated into the city.
The French company Antoine Grumbach et Associes insists on the need for dialogue between new and existing territories. The connection between them is established by means of a linear green corridor along the Kaluga axis. According to the authors, Moscow could become a great ecological capital.
As Borina Andrew said, the main artery of the city's development is the Moskva River. The central points of development are highlighted in the northern and southeastern parts of the river. The desire to prevent the chaotic sprawl of the city resulted in the creation of Moscow's Manhattan - City II. The project focuses on ultra-high speeds - a high-speed backup for the Moscow Ring Road has been designed. The construction of three railway stations is envisaged. The high-speed metro system will allow you to get from Sheremetyevo to Domodedovo in just 30 minutes. A new metro line will connect City I and City II. Underground railway lines will cover distances of up to 500 km and more - for example, between St. Petersburg and Skolkovo.
Andrey Chernikhov in his report tried to dispel several myths about Moscow at once. First of all, the myth about the absence of free territories within the old borders. According to sliding statistics, Moscow has a reserve stock of land of about 8.7 thousand hectares. The redevelopment of industrial zones will allow the construction of 27 additional metro stations on the branches passing through the industrial zones. In addition, a huge land resource is the territory along the abandoned railways. Now all freight flows go through the center of the capital, arriving first at the stations, and from there they diverge in different directions. So - according to Andrei Chernikhov, the main problem of the Russian capital is not that it is a radial ring, but that it is not such, in fact, does not use the resource of bypass routes sufficiently.
Andrey Chernikhov's team proposes to create seven peripheral clusters around Moscow based on existing cities. Transfer hubs range from the simplest to multi-functional hubs, with two main hubs being located at Textile and City. The four-chord program remains in effect. The existing railway stations (at least partially) should be redesigned, say, for museums. And new stations are proposed to be built near the main transport hubs.
The project, titled Urban Splendor, by Italian architects from Studio Associato Secchi-Vigano emerged from a detailed study of the topography of the region. The architects focused their attention not only on the forest wealth of the Moscow region, but mainly on flat areas and numerous reservoirs. As a result, they identified one of the highest points of the Moscow region - the Teplostan Upland (about 200 m above sea level). As conceived by the authors, the entire space should be occupied by a large park.
Combining the ideas laid down in the general plans of Moscow and the Moscow region, with their own developments in the field of valorization of flat territories, the architects identified the main development zones both within the city and in the surrounding satellite cities. The architects propose a high-speed communication system with a radius of up to 900 km. This ensures communication not only with nearby cities (Tula, Tver), but also with remote ones (Petersburg, Sochi).
Designers from Urban Design Associates expressed fears that the old, that is, the current Moscow, will decline when all investments are directed to the builders of the new one. Something similar happened with Detroit at one time. So, according to American architects, it is important not only to build a new city, but also to revive the old one.
A polycentric urban planning structure will contribute to solving the transport problem. In this direction, a number of measures are proposed: from the construction of housing in close proximity to work and the development of public transport along the trajectory of the movement of people to the collection of fees for entry by private vehicles into especially overcrowded areas of the city. Of course, it will be necessary to build new parking lots, including intercepting ones.
The improvement of the metro is reduced to the appearance of three circumferential lines, the existing lines are extended towards the south. An underground railway network connects Kievsky and Leningradsky railway stations. But the most radical idea is to build a huge train station outside the Kremlin walls.
Government agencies are proposed to be relocated only partially. For example, the judiciary or foreign embassies will be able to move to the new Federal Center without difficulty. But the security structures, according to architects from Urban Design Associates, should remain in the Kremlin.
The abandoned government buildings will receive a new function of luxury residential apartments. The Moscow River, according to the authors, will become the main green belt and the central resting place for Muscovites. And it is planned to bring artificial water canals to the new Government Center.
Alexander Skokan develops his earlier idea of “100 Moscow cities”. After analyzing the historical development of the city, the architects of Ostozhenka drew attention to its genetic structure. As a result, the seminar participants were presented with a sectoral model of agglomeration, where the annexed lands are considered as one of 12 sectors - nothing more. And the very fact of its annexation allows us to hope that over time, the rest of the sectors will become part of the Moscow agglomeration.
According to Alexander Skokan, Moscow is a rather loose city with a large supply of free territories, which can be easily found along its main diagonal - the Moskva River. According to the proposed planning scheme, all significant urban objects are located along the green ray of the river, including government agencies. Architects abandon the idea of moving them to a new part of the city.
The transport scheme provides for the construction of a small railway ring, high-speed metro - express trains with three stops within the city. As for the new territory, a three-part zoning is proposed here. Three landscape zones are located horizontally along the rivers. The functional content of each of the zones is built according to the principle - the farther from the center, the more sparse the buildings and the transport network.
L'AUC architects identified the main functional centers - scientific, educational, financial, federal, etc., and then evenly dispersed them within the old and new Moscow, thus moving away from the idea of specialized clusters.
Infrastructure, building characteristics and transport network directly depend on the degree of population density. The highest density is observed along railway lines, as well as in activity centers such as Skolkovo. It provides for high-speed transport and powerful interchanges. Residential and office development will require the development of public transport, cycling and walking routes.
The lowest degree of density is typical for summer cottages, which, according to L'AUC, must certainly be preserved as part of Russian urban culture. The main idea of the concept of this team is the flexibility of the general plan, which should offer possible options for the development of the city, but not a fixed program.
The last one to present its project was Ricardo Bofill's bureau: it is called i-Moscow or “smart Moscow” - this is how the Spanish architect sees the Russian capital. Having listened to the opinions of experts at previous seminars, Ricardo Bofill concentrated on solving the most pressing problems of Moscow. So, he proposed to create distant strategic hubs: in St. Petersburg, in the Urals and in Asia. An autonomous customs town has been moved to the periphery of the southwestern extension of Moscow. Such measures will allow all freight flows to bypass Moscow - say, through Siberia, the seminar said. As a result - a significant relief of the historical center.
The concept of the project revolves around the idea of a linear city, which begins in the center of the capital and cuts through the entire territory of new Moscow in a smooth line. The main city facilities are located along the entire length. The Federal Center is designed closer to the Moscow Ring Road. Production is concentrated on the outskirts. Having made a curtsey towards the historical center, the designers settled on low-rise buildings. In the area of accumulation of reservoirs, the confident hand of Ricardo Bofill draws a lake town immersed in greenery. Transport development boils down to the creation of a high-speed transit system, but at the same time the need for "capillary" transport and street networks is emphasized.
Summing up the results of the third international seminar, the experts agreed that the large-scale high-speed and expensive transport systems proposed by all participants, without exception, turn Moscow into an immense and overly dominant megapolis over other Russian cities. It is interesting that the absolute majority adopted the “Greater Paris” model as the basis for the design. At the same time, foreign experts unanimously advise to take a closer look at the experience of Istanbul or Brasilia …
