Archi.ru:
– What is the essence of the Moscow Vysotnaya project? Will it be dedicated only to Moscow?
Ilya Zalivukhin:
- Moscow is the largest metropolis in Europe with a population of over 12 million people. In the world, Moscow ranks eleventh in terms of population after Mumbai and Guangzhou, London - 24th, St. Petersburg - 44. There are no other European cities on this list. It is obvious that Moscow is a unique city with a population comparable in number to the largest megacities in Asia, and a post-Soviet-European mentality.
After Moscow became the capital again in the 1920s, the implementation of the Stalinist general plan of 1935 began. As a result, the city began to change rapidly. The development took place due to the creation of an integrated metro transport system, the laying of new streets and avenues, high-rise construction, including in the city center. Beginning in the 1960s, construction was mainly carried out in residential areas, outside the boundaries of the historic city center. Although individual accents and large-scale projects did appear in the center. In recent years, in order to avoid violation of various building regulations, the emphasis has shifted to the periphery. Within the third transport ring, the construction of residential high-rise buildings, such as, for example, the famous high-rise on Kotelnicheskaya embankment, is limited.
Nevertheless, the population of Moscow is constantly growing - by an average of 100-150 thousand people a year. Where should they live? Should housing in megacities be cheap? Where to build new rental residential buildings? How to preserve nature in the city and not waste time commuting to work and back? What will happen to the cultural heritage of the city and how will the panorama of the capital change?
The curatorial project "Moscow Vysotnaya" suggests considering the possibility of constructing a fundamentally new type of high-rise multifunctional buildings in the center of Moscow and discussing how this project can influence the solution of social, economic, transport and other problems of a large metropolis in the modern world.
The principle of a "high-density residential center" can be applied to other large cities with a population of over one million in our country. The population density should decrease from the center / city centers to the outskirts, which will ensure a decrease in commuting, preserve the nature of the suburbs, and effectively provide the necessary social and engineering infrastructure.
– You argue that further expansion of the metropolis in breadth becomes impossible. Therefore, the city will develop at the expense of high-rise multifunctional buildings in the historical center? How likely is such a prospect for Moscow?
- Further expansion of the metropolis in the future may lead to the formation of ghettos in these territories, to ineffective spending of the budget for many years to come. Along with the modernization and creation of new transport, engineering and social infrastructure, it is necessary to develop existing urban areas. Where infrastructure is best developed, an increase in population density is possible. Including, within the Third Transport Ring and, partly - the Garden Ring, inside which no more than 230 thousand people now live, which is only 1% of the city's population. The number of residents in the center can be increased fivefold without significant burdens on infrastructure. The city center should be the most dense in the agglomeration structure.
– You propose to predict the future of the capital by studying “Fantasies of the Past” - the projects of Ivan Leonidov, El Lissitzky and other constructivists. Why?
- Fantasies of the past were partially embodied in Moscow. The principles of outstanding Russian architects have been used in megacities around the world for a century. Now is the time to take a fresh look at these projects. Today there is an opportunity to use high-quality architectural and technological solutions of those years in order to implement them in their homeland - in Moscow.
– What else, besides the exhibition of constructivists' works, will the visitors of Zodchestvo see?
- Graduates of our school of urban planning YAUZA will present a study of the possibility of high-rise construction in the city center with the definition of new principles for the development of a "high-density residential center". You can also see the ideas of architects on the theme of modern high-rise buildings in the center of Moscow and a sketch of one of the most famous architects in the world, William Alsop.
