The finalists of the contest for the development of the eco-district concept and master plan of Kazan have been chosen

(KZN.RU, August 22, Alsu Safina). Three finalists of the contest for the development of the eco-district concept and master plan in the Kirovsky district of the city became known in Kazan. They were chosen at the meeting chaired by Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT. Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, announced the names of consortium winners to journalists.

A Russian-French consortium led by “Knight Frank” (Russia, England) is among the finalists of the competition. The consortium also included XTU Arcitects (France), OXO Architects (France), John Thompson & Partners/JTP (England), Architectural Desant (Russia, Republic of Tatarstan), TERRA SCAPE (Belgium).

The second finalist was the Russian-Dutch consortium led by Buromoscow (Russia). The participants of the consortium were NL Architects (Holland) and OKRA Landscape Architects (Holland).

The Russian-British consortium led by the architectural bureau ASADOV and partners (Russia) entered the top three contestants. The consortium included Prospecta (Russia), HPBS (Russia), Bioregional Consulting Limited (UK), LDA Design Consulting Limited (UK), KPMG Limited (Russia).

Today, applications of 47 teams that fulfilled the conditions of the first stage of the competition were considered. Initially, 122 teams from 20 regions expressed their desire to take part in the competition. Airat Nurutdinov, an assistant to the President of the RT and the chairman of the Council of the Republican Support Fund, noted that it was not easy to make a decision. There were a lot of good applications, and even after the vote, the jury members argued about the third finalist. The contestants presented their vision of eco-district development in an essay, as well as with the help of graphic visualization of architectural and town-planning solutions. At the same time, it was important that the project was implementable, did not violate town planning standards and fit into the town planning concept of Kazan, assumed the preservation of the natural framework.

Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, was also a member of the jury. He drew attention to the geography of the participants, calling it impressive. “122 applications from 20 countries were considered, these are international consortia, the best forces. For us, it is very important that such a large number of applicants are announced”, said the head of the city and thanked the participants of the competition.

The Mayor explained why the consortiums take part in the competition. “In addition to architectural and engineering thought, it is important to calculate that the project was economically successful and implement the tasks the President of the RT had set before the Republican Support Fund”, believes I. Metshin.

The consortium, one of the finalists, included the Tatarstan “Architectural Desant”. In total, 7 architectural companies from Tatarstan participated in the competition. Ilsur Metshin suggested that the other two consortiums include local companies that have been working in the republic for several years.

The Mayor expressed his gratitude to Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT. “Thanks to his abilities, the desire to change our city, create a new environment, there will be not just new spaces and micro-districts, but a whole new city of 760 hectares”, said the Mayor. According to him, the eco-district project is unique in Russia.

According to the Mayor, the eco-district will become a place of attraction for residents of different cities and regions of the country. “It's a great joy that we are working up such new projects. I am sure that not only Kazan, Tatarstan and the Volga region residents will buy housing, apartments or houses. The eco-district will be of interest to residents of the capital, St. Petersburg, and other regions”.

Soon the finalists will come to Kazan to develop the concept of an eco-district and a master plan. Sergey Georgievsky, the general director of the Agency for Strategic Development “Center”, noted that the finalists will work on the field. “We hope that in the end, we will get three absolutely realizable projects that could become special not only for Kazan, but also for the topic of eco-design and construction in Russia and the world”, said S. Georgievsky.