In 2016/2017, the third-year students of the Department of Reconstruction of the Moscow Architectural Institute were tasked with proposing an urban planning concept for the new city of Tsiolkovsky, which is being built at the new Vostochny cosmodrome on the site of the village of Uglegorsk. Instead of the 9-14-storey microdistricts that are already being built there now, students and teachers proposed low-rise buildings, fixing it to the theme of the starry sky - stringing it onto the Chita-Khabarovsk highway as if it were the Milky Way. ***
Project managers comment
Kirill Gorodov, Alexander Kolosov, Dmitry Pshenichnikov:
“We decided to devote the first major urban planning project in the framework of the 3rd year Moscow Architectural Institute curriculum in our group to the development of a number of residential formations, taking into account the specifics of the development of new territories for the development of the city of Tsiolkovsky in the immediate vicinity of the Vostochny cosmodrome.
In 2010, the Architectural Workshop "Dmitry Pshenichnikov and Partners" developed an alternative concept of the city and airport at the Vostochny cosmodrome for Roscosmos. In 2012, together with the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “31 GPISS”, the concept of a new microdistrict “Tsiolkovsky” (the former urban-type settlement of Uglegorsk) for 16,000 inhabitants was implemented.
According to the plans of local authorities, by 2018 on the territory of the former village it is planned to build a city for 25,000 inhabitants, in which the maintenance personnel of the cosmodrome under construction will live.
The customer initially focused on the development of new residential areas with multi-storey residential buildings, which was reflected in the developed master plan of the Uglegorsk closed city district with proposals for territorial planning and functional zoning, developed by the St. Petersburg Institute of Urbanism, where it was proposed to build up residential areas with houses of 9-14 floors.
Now the construction of the first medium-rise residential buildings - 9 floors - on Gagarin Street has been completed. It would seem that one should be happy, because the city is being built, but we consider the adopted approach to the development of new urban areas fundamentally wrong, repeating the prevailing stereotype of the formation of the urban fabric by blocks of obviously faceless buildings.
In 2016, ZATO Uglegorsk was renamed into the city of Tsiolkovsky, while the developed master plan was not relevant due to the fact that the city boundaries changed significantly due to the inclusion of new territories in the southeast of the city: on average, the urban area increased by 100 hectares. Now it is possible to propose a fundamentally different concept for the development of new spaces, focusing on examples of dispersed development of the famous Silicon Valley in California, where all the world's leading IT companies are concentrated.
Based on the development of the science city "Tsiolkovsky", we invited our students to develop examples of alternative urban planning solutions, referring to the traditions of the formation of academic towns (Novosibirsk, Dubna) as settlements or residential formations for people united by one work and common interests. Their planning feature is a close connection with the existing nature, complemented by a man-made landscape. Each of the academic towns had its own individual planning structure, formed by the urban framework of roads and open public spaces with low-rise buildings, arranged around socially significant buildings.
The concept, developed by the students, offers a new approach to the formation of residential spaces located along the projected road from the Chita-Khabarovsk federal highway to the Vostochny cosmodrome, parallel to the existing natural ravine with soddy slopes.
We combined all the works into an urban agglomeration with the development of each fragment - a cluster, by an individual student, taking as the basic idea the image of the Milky Way, consisting of many star constellations along one invisible line crossing the night sky. The projected road from the Chita-Khabarovsk highway to the cosmodrome automatically becomes such a pivot axis, on which the entire agglomeration would be strung, and each of the villages along it is easily associated with one of the existing constellations of the northern hemisphere.
We took into account the specifics of the functioning of such a complex object as the cosmodrome, which serves many scientific and technical organizations, whose employees must constantly be here. Therefore, all projected settlements have an address reference to one or another large NGO or scientific institution, with which the cosmodrome is currently cooperating or will cooperate in the future. This is reflected in their planning structure, which includes special scientific campuses or research centers as socially significant structures around which public spaces and walking areas are formed.
Each district is created as a full-fledged settlement with its own school, kindergartens, sports grounds, multifunctional centers in which trade, household and entertainment services with playgrounds are located under one roof, allowing residents of the district to comfortably communicate and walk with children in a harsh climate. Near the centers there are open walking areas, as well as, in a number of districts, town-planning dominants of temples. Residential development has a low number of storeys and is divided into three types of buildings: low-rise (no more than three floors) apartment buildings, townhouses and individual houses. In the microdistricts, a separation of the transport and pedestrian road network is envisaged for the most comfortable walks and ensuring safe movement. It is also proposed to provide pedestrian walking paths and bicycle paths for communication through the forest zone between the districts. And bike paths will allow you to use a bicycle as the main mode of transportation around the city. In some districts that belong to scientific institutes (Moscow State University, Academy of Sciences, Bauman Moscow State Technical University), scientific campuses are envisaged for their closest location to housing.
We hope that this concept for the development of new territories will be taken into account when developing a new general plan for the city of Tsiolkovsky. ***
Constellation Pegasus. NGO "Molniya"
Erica Aivarova
“The goal of the project is to achieve as many pedestrian zones as possible and to integrate the village's infrastructure with nature as much as possible. This concept is dictated by the very location of the site, surrounded by coniferous forests and picturesque expanses of the Amur Region. Guided by these arguments, it was decided to assign the Pegasus constellation, which serves as the basis of this village, the function of a pedestrian zone. The dominant feature for her was the central square with the temple. The temple is a landmark, it can be seen from anywhere.
The site is located near a small ravine, therefore, in order to preserve the viewpoints for the residents, it was decided to place manor houses along the ravine in a chain that continues to move and closes the village from the north. From the south, the settlement is formed by middle-rise and block houses.
The main square is overlooked by the buildings of the shopping and entertainment center and a club with an open-air amphitheater. At the entrance is the building of the staff of the NGO "Molniya". The village has its own school for 300 children and a kindergarten for 100 pupils. The school is equipped with sports grounds and is located opposite the stadium. All residents have access to boulevards and parks, one way or another connected with the central walking area or continuing it. " ***
Constellation Cassiopeia. Center for Space Medicine
Alina Akinfeeva and Alisa Ozhiganova
“The idea of the project is the centralization of public areas and framing them with sectors of residential buildings. Thus, it is possible to minimize motor roads in the public space, unite "green" zones and achieve the most comfortable and accessible location of public areas for all residents. Since all public buildings are located within a common area, this reduces the number of highways on the way to them and makes it possible to create a network of cycle paths.
The public area is divided into small spaces for various types of leisure, ranging from a walk in an English park, ending with a trip on a small boat on the reservoir, as well as the infrastructure allows residents of "Cassiopeia" and neighboring villages to receive services of modern medicine, schools and kindergartens. The divisions between them are made of tree alleys, which increases the mobility of the people who are there.
Residential buildings are divided into three types: the first is middle-rise buildings located closer to the highway, which define the outline of the village for people passing by. The second and third types are blockaded and private houses located closer to the ravine, which provides their residents with the maximum distance from the noise of the highway and a beautiful view either of the embankment of the reservoir inside the public zone, or of the taiga. ***
Lyra constellation. "Krasnoyarsk - 26"
Nikita Andreev
“The public and residential infrastructure of the settlement is represented by a large public center, a sports block, various residential buildings in the form of middle-rise buildings, a zone of townhouses and a sector of private estates. There is a scientific campus on the territory of the village. Also, within each segment of residential buildings, a square is laid out.
The peculiarity of the settlement is the constellation, which became the main idea of the project, and the network of bicycle roads that permeates the structure of the residential formation. Thanks to them, communication with other settlement territories is carried out.
The network of pedestrian roads has been laid so that a person has access to any point of the village, while being surrounded by park areas, which also have a road-protecting character. ***
Constellation Table Mountain. NGO them. Lavochkin
Polina Balyuk
“The layout is based on a hexagonal grid. Different functions and types of buildings are grouped inside each cell. The infrastructure of the settlement is represented by a large public center, a sports block, a variety of residential buildings in the form of middle-rise buildings, a zone of townhouses and a sector of private estates. There is a science campus on the territory. Also, within each segment of residential buildings, a square is laid out. Communication with other territories is provided by a network of bike paths”. ***
Constellation Cassiopeia. TSENKI (Roscosmos)
Anastasia Vinogradova
“The idea of the village is based on the creation of a simple, understandable and convenient layout of the general plan, which would obey a certain geometric system that meets the space theme of the overall project.
The choice of the circle as the main form that forms the general layout of the settlement is due to several urban planning factors. The curvilinear contour of the village boundaries, formed by the intersections of the circles, repeats the line of the existing ravine on the western side, as well as the relief pattern - which became the starting point at the beginning of the design. The direction of movement of the car in a circle allows you to maintain a comfortable speed and a smooth trajectory throughout the entire journey, without the forced sharp deceleration in turns, and at the same time does not contribute to the development of too high a speed, which ensures the safety of pedestrians - this is important for residential areas. Also, this direction shortens the path and saves travel time through the territory of the settlement.
The location of the four main circles relative to each other on the village diagram is dictated by the chosen constellation "Cassiopeia": the geometric center of each circle coincides with the stars on the constellation map. This feature is emphasized by the park areas located at these points.
The round shape is also convenient for general zoning of a residential settlement. Public areas such as trade, administration, education, sports are concentrated in the center, followed by a belt of mid-rise residential buildings, and individual housing is located on the periphery. At the same time, the full circle, which serves as the community center of the village, is facing the main highway to ensure better accessibility of official and service transport. The administrative building of the center for the operation of ground space infrastructure facilities is located on the same territory.
The entire village is permeated with a network of landscaping - it is not only extensive park areas with a dedicated sports core, but also completely pedestrian promenade boulevards inside residential areas. ***
Constellation Cygnus. NGO them. Bauman and MIPT
Natalia Gorbyleva
“The territory is divided into several types: the massive central part is a pedestrian and park area with all the necessary infrastructure: a school, kindergartens, a sports block, a club, a shopping and entertainment center and an administration. On the northern and southern sides, this territory is closed by multi-storey buildings, in the northern part it is a campus for scientists and students. This zone has a natural chaotic system with buildings of specific shapes, which is opposed to the strict planning structure of the living area. The residential area is located around this center, outlined by a road, and consists of several streets with private and block houses, among which there are small squares.
The layout of the village reflects the structure of the Cygnus constellation - 9 points located in different parts of the territory, where monuments to heroes of cosmonautics and outstanding scientists are located. ***
Constellation Poop. Moscow State University Lomonosov
Maria Ilyina
“The layout of the village follows the scheme of the constellation Poppa and delicately integrates into the landscape. The settlement contains buildings of various types and functions. The center of the village is a university campus, each part of which is connected to the other by continuous passages, which together form a single whole.
Residential development is represented by low-rise apartment buildings, townhouses and private estates. The latter are isolated from the rest of the settlement, and are located in a picturesque natural landscape. There is also a system of roads for bicycles and pedestrians, different from the automobile road, connecting the villages with each other”. ***
Constellation Leo. Art workers
Kozina Ekaterina
“The goal of the project is to develop a settlement for the employees of the Vostochny cosmodrome and residents of the city of Tsiolkovsky (Uglegorsk), and one of the main tasks is to connect the settlement with the space theme. The layout of the settlement was carried out on the basis of the constellation "Leo", the choice of which was not accidental: this made it possible to create a more complex living environment.
The entire territory is conditionally divided into three parts. Along the main road that connects this village with the rest, there is an industrial area, a shop, a mid-rise residential area, a small park area that leads to a bus stop, blocked houses and a sports field. In the center of the village or in the middle of the constellation, there is a square containing community centers for art workers. Next comes the low-rise development: individual manor plots with separate park areas, townhouses, as well as a kindergarten and a school. In the village and around it, pedestrian and bicycle paths have been thought out, which connect it with neighboring settlements and provide an opportunity for free movement of residents. The overall space-planning solution is a dense building with public spaces.
One of the most important tasks in this project is the preservation of the natural landscape, vegetation and forest area, therefore, forests around the village are preserved as much as possible, and well-thought-out park and forest-park territories are landscaped inside each development sector, cars cannot enter these zones. ***
Constellation Eagle. Cosmodrome attendants
Vera Kuzenchenko
“Public infrastructure: educational center, medical center, fire station, parking garage, underground parking, warehouse, market, stadium, golf club, skate park. Playgrounds are fenced off from roads.
Two bike paths, fenced off from the roadway by a green massif: one runs through the village, allowing you to drive through, and connects neighboring villages with each other; the second outlines the outlines, connects the villages, and also leads to the golf club and skate park.
The network of pedestrian roads has been laid so that a person has access to any point of the village, while being surrounded by park zones, which also have a road-protecting character. There are 4 park and boulevard zones in the village, one with a pond and one with a fountain. Three forested areas near cottage houses and townhouses.
The village has two entrances: to the center zone and to the zone of individual houses”. ***
Constellation Aquarius. Academy of Sciences
Elizabeth Levit
“The general plan was based on the constellation“Aquarius”, the location of the stars became the starting point for the placement of dominants in my village. The central part is occupied by the research center of the Academy of Sciences and the campus, adjacent to them are a shopping center, a kindergarten and a complex of middle-rise buildings.
They are encircled in a semicircle by the main road and a boulevard, behind which low-rise residential buildings begin. Along the boulevard and closer to the road passing through all the settlements, there are rows of blocked houses, and closer to the ravine, individual private houses for one family are being built.
Around the residential buildings and on the periphery, there is a park with an extensive system of pedestrian and bicycle paths, ponds and park pavilions. My village is connected with neighboring settlements by common bicycle paths, including those passing over the road from the city of Tsiolkovsky. ***
Constellation Lizards. NPO Energia
Alexandra Lyubimova
“The project has a pronounced regular building and orthogonal construction - as I was looking for inspiration in the device of microcircuits. The general idea of a group of villages based on the starry sky and constellations implies that the cluster is based on the constellation "Lizards". The transport network in the form of a grid, built around the main street - the boulevard, on both sides assumes the presence of a pedestrian path, green space and a bicycle path. In addition, a network of bicycle roads goes around the entire village and involves moving from one village of the complex to another.
Residential development mainly consists of individual residential buildings and townhouses. Each residential "cluster" of the village is connected to the others through integrated landscaping with walking paths. The center of the village is a large park, which is connected with a general network of landscaping, where public buildings are also located - the administration, a shopping center, a house of culture. Also near the park are stadt villas, another type of residential development, and a school with a sports complex - a stadium and sports grounds. Kindergartens are located in two opposite places in the village.
The village is separated from the main road by a buffer zone in the form of a forest and a small lake, which can be used as a fire reservoir. The public transport stop is located between the two entrances to the city, on the main road, and the way to the village can be carried out both along bicycle roads and along a pedestrian road organized above the reservoir and leading directly to the city center. ***
Gemini constellation. NGO named after Khrunichev
Anastasia Metelskaya
“The layout of the village is focused on the constellation Gemini, which can be seen in the landscape solution: each lake symbolizes one of the stars. According to the idea of the author of the project, the layout of the building is based on the image of a turtle. Such a non-standard solution made it possible to create an interesting and complex pattern of paths, streets, houses. A significant part of the village is occupied by picturesque walking areas, as well as specially designated paths for cycling. The number of highways was minimized in order to preserve the ecology of the place, as well as to make people's lives as comfortable as possible. In the center of the village there is a religious center, which is the dominant feature of the settlement; a large pedestrian boulevard begins from it. On the opposite side of the settlement there is a sports and fitness center with tennis courts, basketball and sports grounds, as well as a school and a kindergarten. In the center of the village, middle-rise houses are concentrated, townhouses are located on the sides of the ring road, and individual houses are scattered around in such a way as to open a view of the picturesque gorge located between the group of settlements and the "old city". On the outskirts of the village there is an extensive walking area through which you can get to the neighboring village on foot or by bike. Thus, the project is an interesting dynamic image, but on the other hand, the usual low number of storeys for these places, a large number of pedestrian and green areas have been preserved. All this makes the settlement organic, modern and with a large-scale person. " ***
