Press / Public spaces
“Vedomosti” published an article “Urban space: transit, not public”. According to the authors, for most residents, urban space is limited to home and place of work, and parks, streets and courtyards simply serve to move from point A to point B. Since these spaces are not equipped and filled with nothing, they are not seen. The authors believe that the transit space will be able to function as a public one if the townspeople have the opportunity to influence its structure. This requires new forms of interaction between residents and the authorities: for example, the city administration can allocate funds from the budget every year, and a commission consisting of citizens drawn by lot can decide how these funds should be spent.
Alexander Shumsky told the Moscow Archcouncil portal about how Pyatnitskaya Street, Maroseyka and Pokrovka will change. They are being reconstructed according to concepts developed by the Probok.net expert center. The city authorities have approved the projects, the contractors will become known on May 13, and the work is scheduled to be completed in September.
The portal continues a series of materials about courtyards without cars. This time we are talking about parking lots near municipal buildings and economy class houses. The construction of a parking lot is expensive, so the developer cannot sell a parking space for a pittance, and a home buyer is often unable to bear the additional costs of paying for parking, so the courtyards are “overgrown” with cars. The article discusses in detail the pros and cons of underground, surface multi-storey parking and parking on the ground floors of houses. Also, on the occasion of the opening of the information pavilion of the future Zaryadye Park, the portal tells about the most interesting temporary buildings from around the world.
Heritage
"City 812" analyzes the message of the Governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko that work on amendments to the main city protection law - "On the boundaries of protection zones" (Law 820) has been completed, and to replenish the budget, "urban planning projects in the city center will be reactivated." Experts are trying to understand what these words can mean and explain what the essence of the changes in the law is. Now there will be no legal obstacle to the issuance of building permits, but there are positive aspects as well. Thus, incomplete demolition of an emergency historical building will be allowed, but only the dismantling of individual emergency structures, which theoretically should make it impossible to completely demolish the building, since modern technologies allow even the emergency foundation to be repaired. The appendix to the law will list "discordant" objects in the historical center that can be demolished. Also, the concept of the appearance of a historical building has been concretized, which must be preserved: now it is not only facades, but also dimensions with the front slope of the roof. In addition, if the investor keeps the building in the existing dimensions, he may not provide parking (often buildings are demolished precisely because of the need to make parking).
SmartNews write that the famous estate of Vladimir Khrapovitsky, which contemporaries often compared to Versailles, will be restored near Vladimir. It is transferred to the balance of the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve, and funds from investors for restoration have already begun to flow. In the near future, Vnesheconombank is ready to allocate about 3 million rubles for the feasibility study of subsequent works. The archives have already found folders with project documentation almost half a century ago, but before the restoration begins, it is necessary to understand some legal nuances.
Vesti reports that a major restoration is also being prepared in Voronezh. In the castle of the Princess of Oldenburg, stoves and fireplaces are dismantled in order to recreate their appearance with maximum accuracy. The subsequent restoration will affect not only the palace, but also its territory. The nearest plans include restoration of the palace park. Also, minor buildings of the palace ensemble will be put in order, including the Svitsky building that burned down last year.
Kommersant has prepared one more good news: the list of documents for obtaining building permits will be cut in half, to 134 pieces. According to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, this will help fulfill one of the presidential decrees in May 2012 - on providing citizens with affordable housing.
Blogs
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin replaced the head of the Moscow Committee for Architecture and Construction: the place of Andrei Antipov was taken by lawyer Yuliana Knyazhevskaya. The RUPA planner community generally received a positive response to the appointment. Yaroslav Kovalchuk believes that hardly anything will change, and Alexander Antonov sees in this a signal that an architect is not needed at all to perform the duties of the head of the architecture department. This seems quite natural to Dmitry Narinsky: the tasks of the department head do not include designing or drawing facades. He is supported by Olga Danilovtseva: worries about the budget, procurement and timely reporting do not leave time for architecture. Alexander Lozhkin believes that the legal competence of the head of the Moskomarkhitektura today is much more important for Moscow than the architectural one. Perhaps this is a signal that the capital has turned to the legal regulation of urban planning activities.
More than once in the community of planners there was a link to a video dedicated to the Forum of Living Cities URBANFEST, which will be held in Izhevsk at the end of May. The organizer of the event, Lev Gordon, explains that it will be a congress of passionaries who are already engaged in practical projects and gather in order to develop a "box" of ready-made urban solutions during the discussion. Irina Irbitskaya spoke about the uniqueness of the event: this is the first forum organized by civil activists; three key players will be united on one site: government, citizens and professionals. After the forum, a scientific and educational expedition to small towns will take place.
In a matter of days, Urban Projects raised the money needed to translate and publish the Urban Street Design Guide, which shows many examples of how to rethink the meaning of a street of any size, how to combine safety, social activities and a pleasant time on the street. which should be more than just a "guide" from one place to another. 100 copies will be sent to mayors of large cities, another 30 - to the largest libraries in the country. The book is expected to be released at the end of August.
Ilya Varlamov in his blog describes in detail the process of 3D printing of houses that is of interest to everyone today. The Dutch company Dus Architects built a huge printer, on which blocks are printed from recycled plastic, from which a full-fledged house is then assembled, ready to move in. Now the construction site is more like a laboratory in which new technology is being honed. Perhaps, in this way, a solution will be found to the problem of building affordable housing for overcrowded areas of the third world countries.
Yuri Krupnov presented the concept of Russia's first town of demographic future in Volgodonsk (Rostov Region). The concept was developed by the Institute of Demography, Migration and Regional Development within the framework of the Project State program. The project is intended to become a model for the creation of a federal network of towns of the demographic future, forming a new resettlement policy in Russia. The main goal is to make large families a new elite and prevent a demographic catastrophe.
The community "Russian estates" wrote about the fire in the Dugino estate and published the corresponding photographs. According to firefighters, the manor house was set on fire with gasoline along the entire perimeter of the roof. Yevgeny Sosedov on Facebook transmits information from local activists: the territory of the estate is given for construction, and the park is planned to be cut down. The estate, which means no less to Russian culture than Abramtsevo, has been systematically destroyed in recent years and turned into a dump. Also Sosedov reports that the trial "Arkhangelskoye - Leroy Merlin" was postponed for the eleventh time, on June 9. A year and a half has passed since the filing of the claim, and the court has not begun to consider it, since it is impossible to do this without reliable information from the cadastre. During this time, Leroy Merlin managed to obtain a building permit and fully build their facility, affecting part of the security zone.
"Living City" and "ERA" report that in St. Petersburg, on the former territory of the Varshavsky railway station, another warehouse was demolished - the so-called "western", which was located closest to the building of the station itself. In 2001, it was included in the list of newly identified objects of cultural heritage, and in 2007 it was removed from protection. To date, out of five warehouses, only one, belonging to the Russian Post, has survived. User alert-dog posts demolition footage.
