This consortium was initially formed "on a parity basis." “We have already worked with the Maxwan bureau and we know that we are able to cooperate constructively and fruitfully, but our two teams were not enough to develop the concept of Zaryadye Park, so the most important issue was the search for strong landscape planners,” says Vladimir Plotkin. - The company Latz und Partner was offered by Maxwan, since they were already well acquainted with each other on several joint projects, and only after we secured their consent, we decided to participate in the competition. All together, the consortium members met three times - in Russia, in Germany and in Holland. The first workshop took place in Moscow shortly after the competition's shortlist was announced."
The architect recalls that the most difficult task of the first two workshops in Moscow and Munich was, before starting drawing, to decide on the main thing: what kind of park could be in the center of Moscow. “We considered three possible solutions. The first is a park as a symbol worthy of a better place in Moscow, a breakthrough into the future, with an incredible “wow-effect” (I confess that I gave preference to this idea at first). The second is a park with an interestingly invented and elegant spatial and landscape intrigue based either on a historical background or on some other intellectual game. And finally, the third solution is a park in the form of a park, a park for all times, enhancing and emphasizing the dignity of the historical environment and natural landscape. And it was the latter idea that captivated us with its simplicity and convincing relevance in this area, tired of experiments and seething passions. And the choice was made. True, the wow effects in the form of an unprecedented variety of tree and vegetation species creating unexpected color schemes throughout the year, and the intrigue of various multifunctional spaces formed by trees along an endless spiral path, should also play an important role in the project."
After the joint adoption of the main idea and the main conceptual decisions, the areas of responsibility of each of the teams were determined: TPO "Reserve" in this project was responsible for architecture, Latz und Partner - for landscape design and dendrology, and Maxwan - for urban planning sections, graphics, and together with "Reserve" coordinated and managed the project.
In fact, the architects are recreating the topography of this place in the form that preceded the historical development of Zaryadye. Instead of through passages and strict division into sections and sectors, smooth lines dominate here, following the logic of a gradual lowering of the relief. It can be said that the existing drop (about 16 meters from Varvarka to the Moskva River embankment) became the main theme of the project - the park was interpreted as a system of terraces gradually descending to the water. With their help, architects achieve the desired effect - the green space favorably sets off the most famous sights of Moscow, emphasizing their importance, and all the functions that make the park a self-sufficient place for leisure are hidden inside the green steps.
Such a planning scheme allows us to solve another major problem - to create a varied and, most importantly, a sufficiently long route. After all, Zaryadye is not Gorky Park or Hyde Park, its area is more than modest by park standards, and if you perceive it only as a space connecting Red Square, Ilyinsky Square and the Moskva River, pedestrians risk not noticing it at all. The circular route will force visitors to involuntarily slow down and switch to the pace of the walk. Throughout its entire length, architects place cafes, exhibition halls, training centers, trade facilities - a similar "necklace" of buildings and pavilions in the Russian climate is especially indispensable in winter, when walks become shorter and the need to go somewhere to warm up is more acute. The authors of the project, by the way, are sure that in winter this park could be in demand no less than in summer: the transparency of the views and large snow-covered spaces would emphasize the beauty of the Russian winter and form a "place of peace and quiet" so rare for modern Moscow. However, no one cancels more active winter fun: the project provides for snow fortresses, ice sculptures, and, of course, sleigh rides from the Pskov Hill.
There are four levels of terraces in this park. The upper level of Varvarka is a "belvedere" with views of the Moskva River, the terrace below is a historical one with monuments and churches. The new functions are concentrated mainly on the third level (they are precisely united by the pedestrian ring), and the fourth, lowest terrace is a kind of open-air stage, the main public space of the park, intended for large events. At the same level, at the maximum distance from the Kremlin, the Philharmonic building is located (as expected, a separate competition will be announced for it, therefore, in the current projects it is indicated by a conditional volume), and here you can also leave the underground parking. The latter is a subject of special pride for the authors: while designing the storage space for cars, they managed not to turn it into a traditional stone bag hidden under the ground. Here, too, the difference in relief is beaten one hundred percent: in fact, the parking lot is such a hood, facing directly to the greenery and "collecting" daylight.
The connection between the park and the Moskvoretskaya embankment, into which the Zaryadye project is supposed to breathe new social life, has been solved in an equally unconventional way. According to the TOR, the contestants had to connect the park with the Moskva River with a kind of bridge or overhead crossing, and only the TPO "Reserve" + Maxwan + LatzundPartner team decided to radically rethink this requirement. In order not to cross the six-lane road from above, the architects make a wide passage under it. Least of all it looks like an underground passage - rather, a passage or one more, the lowest terrace, to which a small but spectacular tunnel leads. The latter, by the way, coincides with the historical gates to the Kitaygorodskaya wall, the archaeological elements of which will become its main decoration. An additional lower level also appears at the embankment itself - the Moskva River makes a slight bend in this place, which the architects straighten with the help of two smooth ramps, leading to the main sidewalk. And although pedestrians will still be able to walk along the carriageway, the cozy space near the water with bicycle paths and a dock for river trams is not visually connected with the flow of cars. Thanks to the underground passage, Zaryadye Park gets not only the desired connection with the river, but also an effective additional entrance - the jury of the competition highly appreciated this proposal of TPO Reserve and its partners, and later the chief architect of Moscow Sergey Kuznetsov even
informed that it can be used in the winning project.
As mentioned above, the main "building material" from which the park space is formed is green spaces. Flower walls, hedges, lawns, flower beds, reed canvases and, of course, trees, which are presented in the park in a variety unique for Moscow. “The richness of vegetation species, according to our plan, symbolizes the diversity of the inhabitants of Moscow and Russia, and also guarantees the park a rich color palette throughout almost the entire year,” explains Anton Yegerev, head of the Fifth Architectural Workshop of TPO Reserve. The park also has its own water body - the symbolic connection with the river is emphasized with the help of an artificial lake, a wide horseshoe stretched out in front of the Philharmonic, as well as a stream running down the slope and turning into a water surface that flows thinly over the main square. This "thin film of water", like the lake, will reflect the richness of the surrounding historical buildings, and at night, together with the rest of the park, will serve as a background for a variety of light scenarios.
Designing the park as a work, first of all, of landscape art, the TPO + Maxwan + Latz und Partner consortium creates a space in Zaryadye that is as comfortable and natural as possible and thus “timeless” - the 21st century here reminds of itself not by technological innovations, but by such a rare idea for modern Russia of proportionality and respect for the immediate environment.
