Participants of the winning consortium of the competition for the concept of Zaryadye Park:
Architecture and Team Leader: Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Landscape Architecture: Hargreaves Associates
Master Planning: Citymakers
Transport: Mobility in chain
Design and engineering: Buro Happold
Climate Engineering: Transsolar
Park Management: Central Park Conservancy
Local landscape: Dmitry Onishchenko
Archeology: Vladimir Dukelsky
Estimate: Davis Langdon / AECOM
Legal aspects: Sergey Fokin
Diller Scofidio + Renfro
About the idea of the project
“The project is based on the principle of wild urbanism, a hybrid landscape where natural and built environments coexist, forming a new type of public space. Inspired by the imaginary picture of the paving stones of Red Square, overgrown with grass, natural urbanism creates a park that is both natural and man-made from the unity of architecture and landscape. We sought to find a way to connect the iconic city of Moscow with the iconic landscapes of Russia in a park that is both familiar and unexpected. Accordingly, the park includes four types of Russian landscape: tundra, steppe, forest and wetland. Covered spaces are incorporated into the landscape in a series of terraces: architecture and landscape form a synthetic whole. By creating a new programmable space under the landscape, the size of the public space was maximized, which was an important goal of the project. Also, a unique paving system was developed that organically connects the landscape and pavement areas, making the park "roadless": people can move there as they wish."
Energy efficiency
“According to the instructions of the competition, it was necessary to create an innovative park of the 21st century for Zaryadye. Our project meets this requirement, since, among other things, it clearly demonstrates the amount of energy that can be generated even on a small part of its site, and also allows people to clearly feel the distribution of this energy over its territory. In the future, all the energy that is needed to create climatic effects there should be generated in the park itself. Instead of hiding these processes, individual points of the park will be turned into a spatial demonstration of different stages of energy exchange.
While we believe our design is a more modern attitude towards nature, the simple idea of a comfortable outdoor space is as old as the motif of a fountain in a wind-sheltered market square or in a garden like the Alhambra in Granada. Using such simple techniques is purely an engineering task that only needs to be adapted to a specific context. We have assembled an international team of Transsolar, Buro Happold, Hargreaves Associates and Arteza, who will work together to fuse the natural and the artificial in completely innovative ways that push the boundaries of what has been achieved today.
We have set ourselves a goal based on a technical study of various climatic zones of Russia and climatic conditions of the territory of the future park, the energy that we plan to obtain there from the environment, and the energy required for tangible changes in this environment."
About the swamp
“The perception of the swamp is now undergoing slow changes: from the image of a harmful, difficult for living area - to understanding its biodiversity and importance as a habitat and ecosystem, as well as its unusual beauty. The swamp planned in Zaryadye not only plays an important functional role, controlling the runoff of rainwater and its purification in the park, but also brings one of the most important natural landscapes for Russia closer to Muscovites, inspiring them to reappraise this amazing landscape. Part of the climate modification in this zone of the park will be to heat part of the water to generate steam: as a result, warm and attractive indoor and semi-open spaces will be obtained, reminiscent of the popular Moscow form of recreation - visiting a bathhouse."
About historical monuments
“We learned about the historical significance of Zaryadye during the competition: it is a complex territory, where the new park forms only one of many - and very rich - cultural layers. We hope to write in the history of Zaryadye a chapter of the 21st century, equal to the past strata in attractiveness. But we also really want to better understand and study the monuments in and around the site. According to the project, the landscape of the park should at times hide the familiar structures located around it - as if a visitor, wandering through the park, has completely lost his way. However, at key points, the park frames the most famous Moscow monuments in a new way: for example, at the top of the hill, a glass canopy surrounds a "postcard" view of the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral. As we continue to cooperate with Muscovites, we believe that the feeling of 'Moscow lost and found' will become even more nuanced."
About archeology
“The foundation of the Stalinist skyscraper and the Rossiya hotel occupies about 40% of the site. Our project seeks to use it as much as possible to arrange the parking lot required for the competition for 505 cars. Another idea that we would like to look at in more detail is the use of this foundation in our energy efficiency strategy. The water tanks located there can be used to store and distribute heat throughout the site - to provide zones of "augmented climate".
30% of the territory is a protected archaeological area, where the historical remains remain undiscovered. Our project involves the uncovering of individual sections of the foundation of the historic fortress wall along the river. We also strive to learn more about other archaeological sites in the park, although, of course, some of them will be preserved for future generations underground."
Peter Kudryavtsev,
Citymakers LLC
“The competition for the development of the concept of Zaryadye Park is probably the first competition held in our country at such a high level. This applies to both the level of the participants and the level of judging, which includes a wide variety of specialists and experts. I believe that the level was demonstrated here, to which all our competitions should be brought in in the future. After summing up the results, I talked with many members of the jury - both foreign and Russian - and they were all very pleased with the preparation and organization of this competition. In my opinion, the choice of the six finalists was quite obvious.
The success of our project was that, firstly, we had the most international team with a large participation of Russian specialists, and secondly, the consortium included professionals from various fields.
The history of the formation of the consortium began even when the decision to create a park on the site of the demolished hotel "Russia" was not made. Together with my partner Andrei Grinev, we began to think about the Zaryadye site and unanimously came to the idea of creating a park there. And after the same idea was voiced by the President of the Russian Federation himself, we organized the Friends of Zaryadye movement, which is a kind of research laboratory and discussion platform at the same time. The point was to study and analyze the place, as well as to collect expert opinions. As part of this activity, an interesting project "Moscow - a city for people" was prepared, presented at the "ArchMoscow" festival in 2012. These were four meters of exhibition space, demonstrating a conditional symbolic park near the walls of the Kremlin with a stage, a discussion area, sports and playgrounds. In addition, we showed the entire history of Zaryadye, as well as the best examples of parks created over the past 20 years in the world. Douglas Blonsky, the director of New York's Central Park, Edward Uhlir, the author of the Millenium Park idea in Chicago, Evert Verhagen, the head of such iconic projects as the creation of the Westergasfabriek park and Noorderpark in Amsterdam, and others came to us with lectures. As a result, the result of our activity was formed recommendations, which we sent to the Moscow government.
In parallel with this work, a search was carried out for a designer capable of correctly solving the space of such a significant place for Moscow. And, of course, I remembered Diller Scofidio + Renfro - a company that is very different from traditional architectural workshops, and is not just a landscape bureau either. This is a company that thinks outside the box, comes up with and implements unique ideas - this is evidenced by their entire track record: park-overpass
High Line, Lincoln Center or Aberdeen's unique urban garden space. By this time, Douglas Blonsky had already joined our Friends of Zaryadye team, advising us on fleet management, financial models and operations. Federico Parolotto was in charge of transport, and sustainability was the responsibility of Transsolar. Dmitry Onishchenko from the Arteza company helped with the selection of plants. We also consulted with Danish architect and urbanist Oliver Schulze. We then brought in the team at Hargreaves Associates, the creators of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, as landscape designers. Our company Citymakers LLC became the main Russian representative. Thus, by the time the competition was announced, we already had an established consortium, and we knew that we must definitely participate in this most important event for the city.
Initially, we had only certain input data: we understood the significance of the place, the uniqueness of the site itself, which cannot be regarded as a standard park, we took into account the need to form a chain of public spaces and links between the park and other public spaces of the city. It was clear that it was impossible to design only within the inner boundaries of the park, so the park smoothly enters the city, spreading a “green virus” along neighboring streets and squares, creating convenient routes for pedestrians and cyclists, reducing the size of pavements and car lanes. Thus, the pedestrian Varvarka and the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky bridge appeared, which the Moscow government immediately liked.
Our main idea was to create a year-round park that would function in any weather. To do this, it was necessary to carefully consider the climate control system - inexpensive in terms of energy consumption, but high-tech with the use of "green" technologies.
We understood that we had no right to follow the traditional path. Therefore, several interesting finds appeared. For example, the principle of natural urbanism is the formation of a kind of hybrid space, in which the landscape turns into a city, and the city back into a landscape.
The project has identified four landscape zones - tundra, swamp, forest and steppe. It is fundamentally important here that the appearance of each zone is justified by its location, historical and town planning features. So, the swamp becomes the zone of interaction of the park with water, the forest is the wildest environment, the steppe is open, and the appearance of the tundra is due to the proximity to the monuments on Varvarka, which is why tall trees and objects cannot be placed in this place. All zones intersect; various pavilions and program objects are hidden inside them. They are almost invisible, the relief forms a single landscape. There is only one pavilion, which looks like a glass bark from above. The amphitheater and the philharmonic are located here. Inside this pavilion, built on a mound, a comfortable temperature is maintained even in winter. In addition, amazing views of the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral and the Moscow River open up from there.
The principle of landscape urbanism invented by us also did not imply a clear boundary between the paths and the lawn. It is an intersecting, continuous natural canvas, not crossed by predetermined routes. Paving in different places is used with different intensities, you can see the transition from an urbanized environment to an absolutely discharged, natural one.
As for participation in the Citymakers LLC project, we had several tasks. Firstly, we were researching the features of the place, its history, and we tried to convey all this to other members of the consortium. Secondly, it was our responsibility to adapt and interpret the proposed design solutions, check them for compliance with the current rules and regulations. Thirdly, we were engaged in master planning, connecting the park with public areas located in the adjacent territories. Therefore, we actively worked with transport workers and urbanists, realizing that changes within the site would somehow affect the city as a whole. A separate story is the financial model and management. It is not enough just to come up with a park, it is important to sharpen the project for the specific needs of the city. Zaryadye Park, according to our plan, should become as financially independent as possible. As a basis for his financial model, we took the model of Central Park in New York, where 85% of the park's budget is donations. There is a whole charity program, a large number of volunteers are involved - more than three thousand. For many parks in the world, this model is exemplary. In addition, we have come up with a system of twin parks that will help Zaryadye gain experience, train staff, and so on. These are Central Park in New York, and Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam, and London Olympic Park, etc."
Oliver Schulze
Citymakers LLC
“The Citymakers Bureau played an important role in the work on the Zaryadye Park project. The implementation of a complex project always requires a strong team, including on-site partners to help turn the concept into a real structure. We really appreciate the opportunity given to us to become the partner who helps the international team to attract the customer, key players and, over time, the public, as we move from concept to project and then to implementation.
Citymakers is still a young company, so a project as important from a cultural point of view and attracting so much attention as Zaryadye Park is very important for our development. The design of public spaces and the associated renewal of urban areas is our key specialization, and we are pleased to take responsibility for the implementation of the most important public space project in Russia.
My personal goal in this project is to connect Zaryadye Park with the surrounding Kitai-Gorod district through well-designed, pedestrian-friendly streets and spaces. If this can be done, I believe the new park will be a driving force for the broader urban redevelopment effect that will be felt throughout Kitai-Gorod for years to come.”
Dmitry Onishchenko
Landscape design workshop Arteza
“Pyotr Kudryavtsev and Citymakers LLC, with which we have been cooperating very closely for a long time, attracted us to participate in the creation of the Zaryadye park project. Of course, we really wanted to contribute to such an important project for the city. And the composition of the consortium, which we were supposed to enter, left us no doubts. For me, the maximum indicator of the level of professionalism is the presence of unique completed works. Diller Scofidio + Renfro - the company that led our team - are landscape architecture stars, the authors of the High Line in New York, Hargreaves Associates are also known for their outstanding solutions.
Russian designers represented by Citymakers LLC were supposed to take on the task of adapting the project. I am convinced that it is imperative to involve Russian designers who are well acquainted with the requirements and design features in our country in the projects of foreign specialists. In this case, the Arteza company worked on the selection of planting material. With the help of correctly selected plants, we had to display the main idea of the project most vividly, to form four different landscape zones that characterize the whole of Russia. At the same time, it was necessary to take into account the fact that we work in the center of a megalopolis with a poor ecology and a high level of gas pollution. In such conditions, not all plants are able to survive.
As for the competition itself, then, perhaps, it was the brightest and most interesting competition held in our country in recent years. All six finalist teams are serious, highly professional people. But I fully support the final choice of the jury, everyone took the place they deserved. And the winner was the participant who most fully answered the assigned tasks and was not afraid to offer the most daring and ambitious solutions. Initially, it seemed to me, there were two main visions for the further development of the Zaryadye territory: the creation of a classic, traditional park in support of the architecture of old Moscow, or the formation of an ultra-modern, high-tech space - a project at the state level. Personally, I was most definitely leaning towards the second scenario. The project developed by our consortium corresponds exactly to it. If the winning project can be implemented at the level at which it was conceived, then, I am sure, in its importance it will be on a par with the High Line and Central Park in New York."
Federico Parolotto
Mobility in chain
“We suppose that the changes in the field of transport will affect not only the area of the park in Zaryadye. We have changed the transport paradigm and reoriented the surrounding streets towards pedestrians and cyclists. Our goal is to find a solution that is, first of all, convenient for people. We will restructure the network of streets immediately adjacent to the park, reduce vehicle speeds, widen sidewalks and provide a traffic light system that will allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross the road comfortably. By reducing the density of traffic along the river, it is possible to connect the park with the embankment. We will also focus on changing the transport system outside the area to make the entire center of Moscow pedestrian and cyclist friendly."
Matthias Schuler
Transsolar
“Guests of the park will be able to experience the effects of various artificial microclimates. In rooms hidden from the wind and exposed to solar thermal radiation, the temperature will be higher in winter. Naturally heated underfloor heating will be used to heat these premises. The required heat will come from the Ice Cave, which is partially exposed to natural light. The ice cave is designed to create a super-climatic environment in winter and a comfortable cool environment in summer. The interior spaces of the park act as buffer zones with wide temperature ranges. They will also be heated using low temperature surfaces. Energy transfer from cold rooms to heated rooms will take place with the help of highly efficient
heat pumps that will be powered by electricity generated by solar panels. These panels will be integrated into the "glass crust" mesh structure above the new Philharmonic, and will work even in cloudy weather. Thanks to its construction, the mesh "crust" accumulates the warm convection flow emanating from the heated floor surfaces."
Rod Manson
Buro happold
“To create a holistic, sustainable and energy efficient park project in Zaryadye, infrastructure and engineering systems were fully integrated into the park and urban environment. The main challenge of the project can be considered the creation of a "glass crust" covering the volume of the new Philharmonic, a key element of the park. The bark design emerged from the desire to combine the environment and ideal energy consumption, in particular the use of solar energy. Two additional features of the project are the integration of architecture and landscape, and the maximum use of natural light and its energy. The project provides for the creation of a new energy center that will meet the needs of the park. Its technical premises will be integrated into the hybrid landscape and will ensure the production and distribution of electricity and heat throughout its territory."
