Eco-district of Kazan: forest conservation, public transport, and construction of 450 thousand sq. m. of housing

(KZN.RU, November 7, Alsu Safina). The Open International Competition for the Development of a Concept and General Plan for Eco-District in Kazan has ended today. The press conference was held in the Kazan City Hall dedicated to the results of the competition. Representatives of the winning Russian-French-British consortium under the leadership of Knight Frank (Russia, UK) told that they preserved the forest in their project concept, took into account the landscape of the territory, and offered the housing in various formats and emphasis on the development of public transport. According to the designers, a project worth 29 billion rubles will pay off in 10 years.

The international competition allowed to see new, non-typical for Russia approaches to design, said Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, a member of the jury of the competition.

“My impressions were increasing. More than 120 applications were submitted to the competition, the best world players in this field were represented and fought for the right to reach the final”, said the Mayor at the press conference. “It has enriched us. We saw new, non-typical for Russia approaches to design. We always face some problems. We want to do better, but there is not enough land, some resources. There is enough of everything: the land, and the scale, and the desire to see the eco-district of tomorrow. This is a new way of life, new requirements for design and construction. We saw what Kazan would be like tomorrow. As mayor, I am overwhelmed with a sense of joy and pride that we have grown to such a level of design”. The Mayor thanked all the participants. “Despite the fact that only three consortia reached the final, we gained a great urban planning experience”, said I. Metshin. According to him, the jury and the Republican Support Fund have done a lot of hard work.

Airat Nurutdinov, an assistant to the President of the RT, the chairman of the Council of the Republican Foundation for Support, called the last festival an architectural holiday. He drew attention to the depth of the works performed by the participants of the competition.

The first eco-district in Kazan will be created on an area of 759 hectares on the territory of the former artillery base in the Kirovsky district. A. Nurutdinov reminded that this is a difficult territory. “I am glad that our hopes were justified and all three works are worthy, high-quality, architecture, economy and ecology. Finding a balance on these somewhat mutually exclusive vectors is not an easy decision”, he said.

Stanley Lang, a participant in the competition to develop the concept of improvement of the Kaban Lakes system, Turenscape partner, director of the international design center Turenscape International limited, acted as a jury member this time. He expressed the hope that the winning project would not only serve the people of Kazan, but also become an example for the whole country.

“We tried to create a place where people would exist in harmony with nature also with each other, communicate. We wanted this area to be live”, the participants of the winning consortium told about their concept “Ecopolis. Two forests”.

The most benign attitude to the territory is indicated by the fact that the infrastructure is proposed to be created taking into account the existing road network. Moreover, the project is focused on the development of public transport, railways and buses, provides for the development of the tram route and the Kazan railway ring.

As for housing, it provides for a diverse typology. In total, the construction of about 450 thousand square meters of housing will be carried out.

“Along the tracks, there is a high density of housing, going into the forest. We try to preserve nature, the forest, we offer to build individual housing there”, explained Olga Shirokova, the head of the marketing and analytics department at Knight Frank.

A special role in the project is assigned to rental housing. According to the head of the department, this will allow increasing the number of residents of the eco-district already on the first day at the expense of the youth.

The general plan has worked out the social infrastructure as well. The eco-district will have schools, a polyclinic, a bath complex, kindergartens, a community center, as well as a riding center, and public spaces.

Special attention will be paid to the environment, in particular, the disposal of biological waste.

“Given the complexity of the site, its natural characteristics, we tried to find a middle ground. We think that this allowed us to win”, said Olga Shirokova.

The total amount of capital expenditures under the project is estimated at about 29 billion rubles. “These are the costs of implementing all three phases of the project”, said Olga Shirokova. According to her, the project will pay off in less than 10 years.

The cost per square meter of the apartment will be 85 thousand rubles. As for individual housing, the architects recommend selling the finished product in order to preserve the underlying concept. The cost per square meter at this stage is about 65 thousand rubles.

Airat Nurutdinov clarified that since the area of the district is large, the cost of housing will vary.

The winning consortium unites the companies XTU Architects (France), OXO Architects (France), John Thompson & Partners/JTP (United Kingdom),” Architecturny Dessant” (Russia, Republic of Tatarstan), Terra Scape (Belgium).

According to the chairman of the board of the Republican Fund of Support, one of the main tasks of the competition was to get not just a beautiful solution, but an investment-attractive project. “We will complete the project with the finalists. There are certain recommendations and observations”, said A. Nurutdinov.

The development of the concept of eco-district and general plan is only the first step. The next step by the decision of Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT, will be an Open International Competition for Construction. According to Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, the Republican Fund of Support will take part in developing the conditions of the competition. “We will invite companies that will prove their worth and get the right to implement this project”, said Ilsur Metshin. “It is important for us. This is the first large-scale solution for the construction industry of the capital of Tatarstan”.