According to Alexander Kolontai, deputy director of the Research Institute for General Planning and Design, in contrast to the third workshop, where all the participants made a colossal leap forward, this time most of the teams made little progress. This is probably why the results of the second reporting workshop differ significantly from the previous one. Then the leadership was firmly taken by foreign teams, but now the palm was confidently taken over by domestic designers. So, the team of Andrey Chernikhov, having gained 7.6 points out of 10 possible, bypassed the leaders of the last stage of the OMA Bureau by 0.2 points. And "Ostozhenka" with a score of 7.3 points just barely reached the second place. Ricardo Bofill and Antoine Grumbach, who took third and third places at the first stage, respectively, this time stopped at the fourth and fifth positions, and Antoine Grumbach et Associes were 0.2 points ahead of Ricardo Bofill's bureau.
According to Andrey Chernikhov, against the background of the country's declining population, the polycentric model of agglomeration looks the most viable. Chernikhov's group proposes to surround Moscow with zones of activity. They are supposed to be created on the annexed territories in Kommunarka and Troitsk, in the area of the Central Ring Road, Vnukovo and Domodedovo. The development of centers of activity is also planned within the former borders of the capital. For example, it is proposed to build City-2. A no less significant role is assigned to agglomerations of the second order - the so-called small agglomerations, as well as to nearby regional centers - such as Ryazan or Kaluga. Now all migration flows are directed to Moscow - according to the Chernikhov group, this trend must be reversed in such a way that not the regions, but the capital, begins to export labor resources.
Among the primary tasks are the "reformatting" of housing taking into account the requirements of the new generation, the modernization of the industry and active post-industrial development, as well as the transformation of the transport system: an upgrade of the inner ring railway, then - the construction of the next metro ring, which will pass through the industrial zones of Moscow, part requires redevelopment.
The layout of the new planning zones offers 10 start programs or 10 policies - each with its own functional load. So, Demopolis is intended for the executive and legislative branches, Marketpolis becomes the center of business life and the entertainment industry, Academpolis, Vitapolis and Sociopolis solve the problems of education, medicine and housing. There is also Aeropolis based on the Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports, Aquapolis, which designates the Moscow River as an urban dominant, as well as policies with the self-explanatory names Techno, Eco and Art.
The stumbling block in the concept was the new Federal Center. Deviating from the competition specification, Andrey Chernikhov's team, like Ostozhenka, decided not to release the officials from Moscow, but only to move them closer to the Moscow River. For this, both teams received a reprimand from the organizers, which, however, did not prevent both from entering the top three.
According to a representative of the Dutch-Russian group (OMA, Project Meganom, etc.), Moscow should not be guided by other agglomeration models, but should remain Moscow. The designers carried out a serious study of the historical changes in the Russian capital, which for centuries has grown and condensed almost uncontrollably, displacing the natural zone, low-rise and private buildings. The Dutch asked themselves the question: is it possible today to streamline the anarchic structure of Moscow and, mainly, the Moscow region? The most frightening factor for them was the dacha formations, which occupy territories that are four times the area of an average European city. The authors hope to reduce and streamline the zoning of the territory. As an option, zoning in the form of a Russian tricolor is proposed.
One of the reasons for the transport collapse is the lack of jobs in the periphery, which is why people have to constantly move from the region to the center and back. The authors of the OMA / Meganom concept propose to evenly distribute the population, and give people the opportunity to live and work in one place.
The main idea of the OMA / Meganom concept remains the creation of four large centers in the area of existing airports. The authors propose to close them in a ring using the existing transport system. An additional network of roads, high-speed trains, an express train system and its duplicate conventional highway, the development of public transport - all this, according to the architects, should, in aggregate, lead to the fact that Moscow in 2020 will look like Moscow in 1971 in terms of traffic congestion. For clarity, the authors even showed a slide depicting a green and car-free Moscow in the 1970s.
Alexander Skokan sees the prospects for the development of the Moscow agglomeration in its uniform expansion in all directions. The development of territories around Moscow will help to significantly relieve the city. The southwestern sector - conditionally 8th - is only the first step in this direction. In its present form, Moscow with the annexed lands, according to the architect, forms an ugly and anomalous figure, which in time will certainly expand to a rounded shape of 12 sectors. Taking into account such a long-term forecast, the whole concept is being built.
In his report, Alexander Skokan paid special attention to a comprehensive study of Greater Moscow. Schemes, fixing numerous protected and natural zones, areas of pollution, archaeological, cultural, battle-memorial and other values of the landscape, give the most complete picture of the territories being developed.
Taking into account the identified features, it is proposed to divide the new territories into three functional parts or belts. In this case, the border of the first zone is shifted closer to the Moscow Ring Road. This part is called the zone of stabilization with dense buildings surrounded by greenery. The next belt assumes active urban development - the construction of university campuses, medical institutions, etc. And, finally, in the third, marginal, part, a protective agrarian belt should be formed.
The river in this project is named the treasure of Moscow. 15 building plots have been allocated along its bed, including for the construction of the Federal Center. The transport development project is focused on the existing infrastructure, which, according to the authors, should be significantly modernized and expanded. The project of Alexander Skokan's group closes the top three conditional leaders, identified by voting by experts of the fourth seminar devoted to the concept of the development of the Moscow agglomeration.
Antoine Grumbach's French bureau focused on identifying Moscow's DNA. As a result, the architects saw the main feature of the megalopolis in the interconnection of the city with nature, metaphorically presenting the plan of Moscow in the form of a tree firmly rooted into the ground with mighty roots. After all, a tree, like Moscow, develops in rings.
It is planned to create linear parks and develop the space along the river. The reserve areas around the three Moscow railway stations are to be turned into centers of mixed use. The authors found empty areas in the Moscow Ring Road area and designed the so-called New Moscow Gate: a connecting link between the historical core and the southwestern sector. In the annexed territories, the architects of the Grumbach group propose to create 5 large hubs, braided by green corridors and a dense transport network.
In the Spanish interpretation of Ricardo Bofill, Moscow is a garden city, which corresponds to the general plan of 1935, which, according to the architect, was an example of the ideal planning of the Russian capital. The scheme, designed by Spanish architects, consists of three petals spread out towards Europe, the North and Siberia.
According to Ricardo Bofill, the development of Moscow is like a medical history, and its most problematic area is the Moscow Ring Road, where there has long been a pre-infarction state. In order for the city to proceed to the recovery phase, it is necessary to “patch up” the historical core, to link station by station, region by region. And only after that to direct efforts to the periphery. In this part, Bofill's concept hasn't changed much from earlier versions. Architects are also on the need to create a capillary grid of streets. Inside the city, two transport rings offset from each other are drawn. Public transport remains an uncompromising priority.
The next version of the development of Greater Moscow was proposed by the Anglo-American association Urban Design Associates. In their opinion, the three whales of New Moscow are the Federal Center, removed from the historical part, educational institutions and business. The implementation is supposed to be carried out in phases with a prospect of at least 150 years ahead.
It is necessary to maintain activity within the old boundaries. By significantly increasing the share of public transport in relation to automobile transport, it is possible to restore the lost public spaces - boulevards, pedestrian routes, squares. The Moscow River must be integrated into the city. Another important point is the improvement of Soviet residential buildings for the sake of improving the quality of the environment.
The concept of the Central Research Institute for Urban Planning develops the theme of polycentricity by means of numerous “counter-magnets” cities located at a distance of no more than 50 km between each other. Eight sub-centers are marked inside Moscow. At the same time, according to the speaker, it is necessary to partially take out of it not only industry and power structures, but also business and culture. It is proposed to combine the scattered green fragments into a single green corridor. The central streets can be turned into comfortable boulevards, and Tverskaya, for example, into the “main shopping street”. The federal center, according to the project, will be located between two airports near the Moscow Ring Road. Zoning of new territories will be carried out on the principle of decreasing density from the center to the periphery.
L'AUC has set itself the task of creating an urban skeleton that will evolve gradually, taking into account the changing needs of citizens. New Moscow is seen as an addition to the historic city. According to experts' forecasts, population growth in Moscow will not be so intense in the near future. At the same time, the need for mobility is unlikely to decrease. Today, one Muscovite has an average of 15 trips a day. By 2030, it is planned to reduce the figure to 3 trips.
The authors propose to solve the problem of public transport congestion by increasing the capacity. For example, to start up 2-storey trains with a minimum interval, or an automated high-speed metro. In addition to the existing infrastructure, an additional axis is proposed between Podolsk, Troitsk and Vnukovo, as well as a circular railway. A linear city is projected between the two airports.
Studio Associato Secchi-Vigano sees the success of the Moscow metropolitan area in strengthening and distributing the central function. According to Italian architects, there are too many peripheral zones in Moscow. The project is based on the historical and even more landscape features of the region. As a result, the authors continue to develop the idea of creating a park on the Teplostan Upland, in which a square acts as a structure-forming element. At the same time, the historical structure of Moscow is carefully preserved, enriched with new spatial connections and high-speed communications.
I must say that against the background of experts' reports on the economic prerequisites for the development of the Moscow agglomeration, the competition projects look slightly utopian. But here, perhaps, it is worth recalling the manifesto of the winner of the current stage, Andrei Chernikhov, which reads: “The goals we set will not be achieved next month. But this does not mean that we will abandon them and take up the solution of momentary problems. It would be a sign of helplessness … Utopia is always relevant!"
Let us remind you that the final summing up of the results of the competition is scheduled for the end of August.
