Archi.ru:
Why dFor the competition "Resource of the periphery" were you chosen the quarters of the 1970s-1980s? It seems that neitherx environment quality is not so bad - at least there is space and greenery. The same cannot be said about the newest buildings
Vladimir Grigoriev:
A number of the past competitions of the Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture were devoted to the transformation of the main urban planning zones of St. Petersburg, as you know - this is the historical center, the industrial and residential (gray) belt, the belt of new residential areas. Modern development is just a consequence of the fact that the resources of already developed territories have not been used. And it is precisely at overcoming the territorial expansion of the city through the development of natural, agricultural and other open spaces that the policy of increasing the efficiency and quality of developed territories is directed.
Why was the Krasnogvardeisky District chosen? And is the purpose of the competition really - to develop a universal methodology that can be extrapolated to other districts of St. Petersburg?
The residential area "Rzhevka-Porokhovye" was chosen for the competition, as it was called during the design and construction period. Yes, this territory belongs to the Krasnogvardeisky District, which I am very happy about. We have developed a productive cooperation with the Administration and the head of the district, Evgeny Razumishkin, and I hope that this will become one of the factors in the success of the competition.
Speaking of universality, we understand that the problem of territories of mass residential development with standard projects made from DSK products is one of the most exciting for most cities in Russia. Formulating the objectives of the competition, we relied on the global goals of the national project and state policy - to improve the quality and comfort of cities, as well as on focused attention to the wishes of people to improve their lives. To create a communication framework, using territorial resources, to include in this, in fact, a system of public spaces within micro-district, poorly articulated areas, to combine points of attraction and attraction by walking and cycling routes. We thought about it.
The competition, for obvious reasons, is not as loud as Tuchkov Buyan or the Blockade Museum. But, it seems, in the bottom line, it is more significant for an ordinary citizen?
We clearly saw how people, residents of the area are actively interested in what concerns their place of life. One of the features of the competition is its interdisciplinary nature. We invited sociologists from the Institute of Design and Urban Studies ITMO, and they helped us conduct an online survey of residents. As part of
in the appendices to the competition program, there are maps on which are marked both places that are appreciated by people positively, and those that need transformation. We also received routes for everyday movement on foot, by bicycle and other modern means of mobility. At the conference dedicated to the preparation of the competition program, by the way, it was held in one of the interesting places in the district - the Street Art Museum, there were representatives of the municipal district, city activists, residents.
What other features are there in the competition?
As I have already noted, we attracted sociologists, in addition, representatives of the municipalities "Rzhevka" and "Porokhovye", architectural critics, and journalists showed an active interest. A working group was created. I would like to note that one of the objectives of the competition, we see the joining of efforts, organizational and financial, including, for the sake of implementing a single plan to gradually improve the quality of life. And we see support, which makes us happy. For example, on December 1, we announced a competition together with the district administration and the Union of Architects of St. Petersburg in the public space of the renovated Soviet library - a modern public space and art residence of the Krasnogvardeisky district - "Cabinet".
Developed for the competition
a questionnaire that helps to compose a portrait of a resident of the Krasnogvardeisky district. But it is quite general. It turns out that this is a formality? Why is the practice of participatory planning still not widespread in St. Petersburg?
As part of the preparation for the competition, we, in collaboration with sociologists, conducted two surveys. One of them was aimed at compiling a "portrait of a resident" and included a large number of questions, including about age, occupation, marital status, social status, main types of leisure and others. The second survey was conducted on the basis of a map, on which citizens were asked to indicate their daily routes, favorite places, and also leave their wishes about what needs to be preserved or changed. Thus, we got a fairly broad idea of both the residents themselves and their attitude to their area.
Among the jury members are landscape specialists Larisa Kanunnikova and Nadezhda Kerimova. Does this indicate that greening has begun to play a greater role?
We could not but invite a representative of the Committee for Improvement, because it is in cooperation with colleagues responsible for the improvement of the territory and the condition of roads that we have to develop an algorithm for improving interaction between many and often scattered participants in the process of organizing people's lives.
Nadezhda Kerimova is one of the members of the expert group, and we hope that it is from the experts, and besides her as a landscape specialist, that a sociologist, a transport worker, an ecologist are also present, we will receive recommendations for improving the environment in its entirety as a space for people to communicate., not only among themselves, but also with nature. There, as you know, the beautiful Okhta River flows, there is the Zhernovka estate of the architect Quarenghi, and other attractive places that need to be put in order by joint efforts and made the property of residents.
In the federal program for creating a comfortable environment for small towns, the issue of identity plays an important role. What about this in the Periphery Resource competition?
The program of the competition is largely focused on "pulling out" and emphasizing the features, signs, of the sights of this district of St. Petersburg: from planning, spatial tasks at the level of creating a frame of public spaces to proposals for the design of the urban environment. Panel buildings are the same everywhere, but the territory, natural features, and signs of history are different. On this and it is necessary to play.
Earlier, the KGA held a competition "Petersburg style of the XXI century", the participants of which were looking for ways to achieve a high quality living environment in new areas of the city. Did you manage to apply the achievements of the winners, architects of the KATARSIS bureau Petr Sovetnikov and Vera Stepanskaya?
The competition "Petersburg style of the XXI century" was held in 2016. Under its conditions, there could be no obligations regarding implementation, since the competition was for young architects, including students of architectural faculties. We are pleased to see the successes of many participants in the competition, first of all, its winners, and we want to believe that participation in the KGA contests contributes to the professional growth of young people. So the result has not yet been implemented, but it is for now. Competitions, among other things, are held for educational purposes, contribute to expanding horizons and expanding opportunities.
In 2020, two major competitions ended - for
Tuchkov Buyan park and Gazprom Neft headquarters. What do you think about their organization and results? Do they have any fundamental differences from those competitions organized by the KGA?
The higher-level contests you mentioned - which is natural, given the status of the customer. The decision to equip a large-scale city park on the Malaya Neva embankment was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and with his consent, the organizer of the competition was the House of the Russian Federation, who invited Strelka KB to prepare the terms of reference, determine the jury and carry out all the necessary procedures. They handled it brilliantly. More than 200 applications from 50 countries were submitted. Then the jury selected 8 finalists who developed the bids.
In the process of preparing the competition, a survey was conducted among residents about the name of the future park, but, most importantly, sociologists asked people how they want to see the park. The wishes were reflected in the terms of reference: as you know, there were few functional objects in the program, apart from the main public building - the Boris Eifman Theater, since people wanted to get space for outdoor recreation in the city center.
In the case of the tender for the headquarters of Gazprom, I do not know whether such work was carried out with residents and experts. After all, the site is known for its unique archaeological layer, so now we see the reaction of the public and a logical demand for the publication of plans for the development of such a significant place. I was once invited to take part in a roundtable discussion where the winner project of this competition - "Crystal Ship" by the Japanese company Nikken Sekkei, was discussed. The project is interesting, but what somewhat diminishes the merits of this competition in comparison with the competition for the concept of the Tuchkov Buyan park is, of course, the lack of interaction with the townspeople, who would like their wishes to be taken into account in the event of building Okhtinsky Cape.
In both cases, significant funds were spent on the organization of the competition and fees to the participants. The “resource of the periphery” is undoubtedly more modest - it is an open competition with a prize fund of 1.5 million rubles. We do not focus on the stars, but strive to attract young architects to the problems of the urban environment. At the same time, we have some principles of the competition in common with Strelka KB. We also welcome an interdisciplinary approach to the formation of the program, to the composition of the participants. We also focus on the opinion of residents, and the purpose of the competition is not new construction, but the creation of green public spaces, expanding the opportunities for people to use free areas near the house, improving the quality of life of residents, regardless of where they live: in the center or on the outskirts of the city.
In conclusion of our conversation, I would like to take this opportunity to wish the editorial staff and readers of Archi.ru a Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!
May the next year be happier and better, and give the city many new interesting and useful ideas that will make it more comfortable and more beautiful. Including - within the framework of our competition "Resource of the periphery"!
