At the end of August, the architecture school "Evolution" held another practical course called "Immersion" - this time on-site - in the village of Sheksna, Vologda Oblast. The topic is the development of concepts for the first stage of the development of the Nikolskaya embankment of the project "Russian Shores". The results of the work of young architects and students from different cities can be seen here. Competitive works were shown in October at the Zodchestvo festival, where a discussion of the prospects for their implementation took place with the participation of the head of the Sheksninsky district Yevgeny Bogomazov and his chief architect Denis Pozdnyakov. We publish an interview prepared following the discussion.
Along with rural settlements, small towns have suffered the most over the last quarter of a century, having lost a significant part of the population, jobs, social infrastructure facilities, and many of them, in general, have any prospects. How did Sheksna survive this historical pressure?
Evgeny Bogomazov:
Head of the Sheksninsky District of the Vologda Region
- Any territory has at least four positions, in the presence of which the population will stay and live on it. To put it simply, what does any person need first of all, besides housing? The first is work. The second is medical services. The third is high-quality primary and secondary education, so that children do not have to be taken to kindergarten and school far away. Fourth - cultural institutions, and this also includes the presence of a given territory's historical component, historical and cultural potential. There will be no work - people will gradually move to another place. The same is with medicine, education, culture.
In 2015, the Vologda Oblast completely surpassed the indicators for the production of agricultural products of the 1982 model - for the production of meat, milk and cereals. Sheksninsky district is no exception. With a decrease in the number of people employed in agricultural production at the present time in comparison with 1982 by 6 times, production indicators have increased. We managed to stop the outflow of the population - there is already an increase. Unemployment - 0.6%, it's crumbs. At the same time, for 90-100 unemployed, we have about 200-243 jobs with an average salary of 17-18 thousand rubles. This is not bad for our territory.
When two years ago I came to the final classes of one of our schools, to my question: "Which of you will stay in Sheksna?" out of 63 people, only three raised their hand. Since that time, we have created a program that includes, among other things, patriotic education - we show young people that here, in their small homeland, you can offer yourself, and here life can be no worse than anywhere else - and you don't have to go anywhere …
Denis Pozdnyakov
chief architect of the Sheksninsky district of the Vologda region
- For the region to be promising, it is necessary to develop industrial sites. Example: they bring up young people at their factory for 3-4 years, they become professionals, after which this tech-savvy staff is lured away by our neighbors. And why? They can provide a more comfortable environment. Our enterprises have to re-educate the shift.
What to do in this case? We need to improve social conditions. Create an appropriate environment in our area. The density of events, the same school "Evolution", works for this, and it is necessary not only to draw pictures, but to make it clear that this is the beginning of implementation.
The next stage is that we are now starting to work with schoolchildren so that they try to imagine their embankment, and there, perhaps, take part in the next intensive, which has already acquired the name - "Flood".
Here is my house in a village near Sheksnaya. Why doesn't my family move to live with me from Vologda? Because there are not enough opportunities to get additional education. There are no higher education institutions. There is a cinema in Sheksna, but it is not enough - a media complex is needed. A cinema without accompanying functions will not be able to captivate people. A calendar of interesting events is needed that would accumulate public energy. And people would not leave.
We must use these tools, try to adapt them to our conditions. The embankment in Vologda was put in order, the people stopped drinking there out of habit, began to play sports, and a tourist flow appeared.
What gave life to the city during the Soviet period? Is there any continuity that has survived to this day?
E. B.: First of all, industry and agriculture. Industrial enterprises, agricultural production and now work and develop in the region. Further - cultural and recreational activity. A very important component of the area's appearance is the original folk culture and traditions, which are now the basis of the tourist attraction of the Sheksninsky district. We have 12-hour sightseeing tours - a museum show, acquaintance with local ritual practices, for example, such a craft as making dolls.
Sheksna is located at the crossroads of waterways, automobiles and airways. And the "Nord Stream" is very close. To take advantage of this circumstance, as they say, God himself ordered. Have you decided to start with the river facade, making it the hallmark of the city?
E. B.: An industrial park is located on the territory of the district. Three enterprises are represented there: a pipe-rolling plant, a plant for processing animal waste, and a plant for the production of gas equipment.
We would not like to dwell on this. Moreover, Cherepovets is now moving towards the Sheksninsky district. After all, it is only 30 km to Severstal, which is half an hour drive along a good road. So, housing for the company's employees in an ecologically clean place, on the banks of the Volgo-Balt, is a promising move that would allow us to retain highly qualified personnel. And here housing, by definition, is more affordable, cheaper than in Cherepovets itself. We have the most beautiful places, while the village is located along the river, which is 7-8 km - and there is not a single beach. The development potential is just in plain sight.
D. P.: The industrial area needs to be reconstructed and restored. But if you start from a village or from an industrial territory, it will be more difficult to promote the whole project. And here - at the exit of an apartment overlooking the Sheksna River, with a well-equipped embankment, some interesting story. Our proposals were included in the agenda of the State Council for the development of water resources. A cruise ship project is currently underway and is due to be launched in 2019. The first navigation is supposed from St. Petersburg to Moscow - this is a summer route, then - an autumn one - from Moscow to Sochi, and a winter one - from Sochi to Turkey and Egypt, already across the seas. In this perspective, our site is just in the middle of the first stage, and, as you know, the demand for travel by water is very high. Already today, during the summer navigation, more than 400 ships sail past Sheksna.
The territory, which is planned to be equipped, totals almost one hundred hectares. This is a significant scale for a small town. But you need to start from the foreseeable area. Why was this particular site chosen as a pilot?
E. B.: The entire sluice system was reconstructed two years ago - this is in the immediate vicinity of the pilot site. This can be considered the starting point of the entire program.
D. P.: There is a tenant of the territory of a former concrete plant - non-ecological production, on which an end has been put. Now he is engaged in construction in Cherepovets. This is our future investor, whom we are considering, that is, the owner who wants to realize this. But for everything to be correct, we need to work out scenarios for the development of the territory, we want various unique architectural structures to appear that we could be proud of, perhaps on a competitive basis. Hence - this idea of the Volgo-Balt museum with the accompanying recreational infrastructure.
The three projects received as a result of the summer intensive are united by the urbanistic pathos, although in the "Whirlpool" and "Metagorod" it is almost outrageous. It is unlikely that they can act in a complementary mode. How do you assess them from the point of view of: a) the starting point of the city's development, b) the prospects for implementation?
E. B.: As you can imagine, I am a pure practitioner, a pragmatist. One of our developers is now building housing with non-standard layouts at a price of 40 thousand rubles. per m2. Did not have time to finish building, everything was sold out cleanly.
Currently, the demand for housing is not momentary, people want to live not only comfortably, but also aesthetically. With views from the windows. With quality surroundings. Investors from Cherepovets refuse projects in the Moscow region, prefer us, feel the prospect. So the seminar work lay on the prepared ground.
The people who attended the defense of the projects had a culture shock. They saw a different perspective within our realities, Sheksna's everyday life. Perhaps some individual ideas will be accepted by investors. This is their prerogative. And there is a grain in each of the proposals.
D. P.: I love all three projects. But we have a goal - to represent the possibilities of the territory. Ordinary things are not capable of this. We need a strong application. Peter's idea with a whirlpool is very sonorous. In fact, this is a brand of the territory, a point of growth - and not only Sheksna. Arsenia's concept is more natural, cozy; blurring the boundaries. And our project is close to the construction conditions. Within the framework of the general concept, in principle, almost any architectural idea, including both the first and the second, can be realized. That is why we named our proposal "Metapolis".
It is unlikely that Sheksna will be able to receive the appropriate federal and regional funding for such an urban program in the context of the economic crisis. In this case, what to do? Probably, the development of the economic model and project activities should go in parallel?
E. B.: Why not? Federal funds have recently been allocated for the reconstruction of the embankment of the city of Cherepovets. So there is hope.
Still, the main thing is the investment component. It is necessary to launch the project through the efforts of an interested investor. And the rest will catch up. As soon as we entered the information field with the results of the on-site course of the Evolution school, a second potential investor appeared, and now we are already negotiating. And the support of the governor is, of course, extremely important. It exists, there are certain agreements. If you attract investments to your territory, they help you. If you sit back and do nothing, then why support you?
D. P.: The state has a bank protection program, including the Volgo-Balt. Basically, we fall under its influence: the coastline is an urban area, and it is being eroded. We must use this chance as well.
Recently, the President of the Russian Federation authorized the reassignment of chief architects to the heads of the subjects of the Federation. In fact, in Sheksna, this disposition has already taken shape. Was it an initiative of the city leadership itself? What does it do?
E. B.: When I was forming the administrative structure two years ago, Denis Ivanovich was not yet on the horizon, and there was no question of who he would be the chief architect of the district. This happened a little later. When I was writing the structure of the administration, I thought about where to attribute architecture? And wherever I tried it on, it turned out that it did not fit any management block. Therefore, I decided that I would look for the position of the chief architect of a person whom I can trust, a person who is completely immersed in his profession - and at the same time a realist.
And then the candidacy of Denis Pozdnyakov appeared. I immediately realized that he is a free artist, and it is unproductive to strictly limit him within the framework of the structure. He gave him the opportunity to register the state and to choose people for himself. Including, so that he had the opportunity to think freely and have the opportunity to attend such wonderful events as "Zodchestvo" or "Arch Moscow".
And we did it. Denis knows how to light people up, interest them. We have come a long way with him. And the population supports us, including on this project. In general, any manager should be interested in the chief architect to work in direct communication, in close contact with him.
Once Denis Ivanovich suggested: "Let's adopt the regulations for the placement of signs, as in Moscow." And we did it. Now we have less visual clutter. The experience of such interaction only assured me that the problems of the development of the settlement must be solved in alliance with the chief architect.
D. P.: For us, for architects, it is clear that it is important to fulfill our specific mission. When a string of mediators grows between the head and the chief architect, the management of the territory cannot but suffer. An architect, even an ordinary practitioner, needs to be heard directly by the chapter, because there are laws of composition, some norms, rules that he does not know. We don't know everything, but at least a person should trust. And trusting at a distance is difficult. And if the head makes such decisions, it is useful, because the personal responsibility of the architect increases.
