The journalists were informed about this on Tuesday at a press conference held immediately after the meeting of the Moscow government, at which Deputy Mayor Marat Khusnullin approved the report of Sergei Kuznetsov on the opening of the competition.
According to the organizers, one of the reasons that prompted the launch of this international project was the great attention paid to the river two years earlier, in 2012, by the participants of the competition for the concept of the development of the Moscow agglomeration ("Greater Moscow"): then several teams used the waterway as the axis of the planning project, which showed its importance for the city. So the idea of holding the competition came up two years ago.
The organizer of the competition, which is now starting, was the Institute of the General Plan of Moscow. During the preparation of the terms of reference, a large-scale study of the territories adjacent to the Moscow River was carried out; spatial, functional and historical analysis of areas falling under the definition of coastal. The full results of the study will be released to the public this week.
The result of the "inspection" carried out could be predicted: the Moskva River and its coastal territories have very great potential. The length of the river in the city is 83 km, which is 10% of the city's territory within the “old” borders. Of the 10,400 hectares of the territory belonging to the river, 18% is a water surface, that is, the river itself, 25% are industrial, to a large extent - former industrial, territories that are often inaccessible to the townspeople. 12% of the land is classified as undeveloped and 14% is green space, which is also largely underutilized or uncomfortable. Residential development occupies 10% of the "competitive site"; approximately 2% of Moscow's population lives here.
The main goal of the competition, according to Marat Khusnullin, is to “rethink” the river as the central street of the city; a street, the architectural appearance of which will become the same property of the capital as the granite embankments designed and built in the 30s of the XX century. Sergei Kuznetsov noted the importance of rethinking the river facade of the city: impressive views of the center of the metropolis open from the Moskva River, and based on the results of the competition, an action plan should be formed - how to achieve the same on the periphery.
The new concept should provide pedestrian connectivity of urban areas and open access to the river, even in such problem areas as the South port or Nagatinskaya floodplain. The issue of bridges is acute: Moscow is inferior in terms of the provision of connecting structures to other large cities, and Marat Khusnullin announced the proposed construction of at least two new bridges, one of which will appear on the territory of ZIL.
The contestants are also expected to offer proposals on the development of the transport role of the river. Today, 1.2 million passengers and 9 million tons of cargo are transported along the Moskva River per year. According to the head of the General Planning Institute Karima Nigmatullina, this cargo flow today is significantly lower than the carrying capacity of the river, but so far no concrete bar has been set for programming this flow. The conversation about water transport is being updated taking into account the plans for the year-round use of certain sections of the river: the contestants will need to arrange access to the berths and landing stages and present ideas for using this infrastructure not only in summer, but also in winter.
Participants of the competition will have to deeply familiarize themselves not only with the architectural urban structure of Moscow, but also deal with a variety of regulatory and strategic documents. The development of a competitive project involves the study and critical analysis of existing urban development programs. According to Karima Nigmatullina, the final concepts for the development of the Moskva River and adjacent territories should correlate with existing plans for socio-economic and urban development or offer more effective solutions.
The competition officially starts on August 1, 2014: this Friday it will already be possible to register on the website
themoscowriver.com. The organizers of the competition are waiting for applications from the most reputable planning and architectural firms from around the world. One of the important conditions for participation in the competition is the experience of planning territories in a megalopolis. According to Marat Khusnullin, “the fundamental difference between an ordinary city and a metropolis is also in the complexity of engineering solutions necessary to ensure the lives of people. Beautiful pictures alone are not enough here."
In total, the participants will have to go through two stages: the first - the collection of applications for participation and the portfolio competition - will end on September 12, 2014. Then the jury will select 6 finalist teams who will receive a full technical assignment and 4 million rubles each to work on their project. Of the six concepts presented for the final attestation, the best one will be selected. The winner will be announced on December 14, 2014, and his team will receive another 6 million rubles.
However, this, of course, will not end the work. From December to April 2015, the concept of the winner will be finalized in accordance with the urban planning legislation of Moscow and will undergo economic and technical expertise at the General Planning Institute. The plans are to finalize the competition project in order to put it in the basis of city documentation for the territory covered by the competition.
The composition of the jury has not yet been announced, but it is known that the owners of large objects in the coastal areas showed interest in participating in the judging process, since the plans for the development of the Moscow River affect many recently commissioned structures and promising construction projects.
Moscow's chief architect Sergei Kuznetsov said that, in parallel with the competition, the Moscow government will launch monitoring of public opinion on the Active Citizen platform. In addition, Muscovites will be asked, following the results of the competition, which works on the river should begin first.
