I. Metshin: “We invite all the best experts of Russia and abroad to participate in the competition for the position of the architect”

(KZN.RU, July 5, Ksenia Shvetsova). Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, took part in the international forum of the Moscow Urban Forum, which takes place in the Moscow Zaryadie Concert Hall. The roundtable is dedicated to the role of chief architects in shaping the urban environment. The head of the capital of the RT announced an open competition for the position of the chief architect of Kazan and invited Russian and foreign experts to participate in it.

Maksim Egorov, the deputy minister of Construction and Housing of the RF, Sergey Kuznetsov, the chief architect of Moscow, Andrey Erenkov, the chief architect of the Voronezh Oblast, Tatiana Prokofieva, who was the chief architect of Kazan from 2009 to 2019, and others also attended the meeting.

The meeting began with a discussion of the role of the chief architect for cities and regions of the country. Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, noted that the development of the urban environment and public space directly depends on the work of the chief architect. The decisions he makes in the course of his work form the basis for shaping the external appearance of cities. “What is a city? It is a circle of 360 degrees, and there is not a single degree, which would be secondary. Everything is important: health, culture, education, public transport. Decisions can be corrected in some areas, but everything that comes out of the architect’s pen determines the development of the city for many years to come”, said I. Metshin. “This is a key figure in the team of any mayor. The city is such a complex mechanism that can be compared with a clock, and the architect in it is the minute hand that shows the future”.

All the participants agreed on the fact that planning for the future is an essential direction in the work of the architect. The head of the capital of Tatarstan reminded that in Singapore, the planning horizon of the city’s development reaches 80 years. “We have projects for 3 and 5 years ahead. But our dream is to reach a larger planning horizon”, said the Mayor. “We are now developing a master plan until 2035; this is also one of the important areas of work.”

Petr Kudryavtsev, the moderator of the meeting, shared his opinion that in recent years Kazan has changed tremendously. He noted that this was due mainly to the chief architect Tatiana Prokofieva, who had worked in this position for more than 10 years. He asked T. Prokofieva what tasks she faced at the beginning of her professional career.

“Nobody teaches such a post as chief architect. And taking into account the fact that each city is unique, there are no identical solutions and tasks”, answered T. Prokofieva. “When I came to work for this position 10 years ago, it was obvious that there were many problems. There were tactical tasks and certain challenges. For example, we were preparing the city for the Universiade. And we solved strategic issues that needed to be calculated for 5, 10, 20 years ahead”.

Preparation for the Universiade allowed intensifying the work on raising the level of the city in various areas, added T. Prokofieva. “As for strategic issues, there should be a clear legislative framework that excludes subjectivity in decision-making and creates transparent conditions for developers. Therefore, we have been working in parallel to improve the legislative framework over the years. These are the rules for building and land use, and local design standards, and the master plan. It was an important field of activity for me”.

Answering the question what the chief architect of the city should be like, I. Metshin spoke about his experience of working with T. Prokofieva. “This is a person who was born in Kazan, received an excellent education, then traveled around Europe, found herself in America’s best architectural bureau, and returned to Homeland. A good education, experience, bold ideas – that’s what an architect should have”.

The chief architect is a key figure not only in the team of city mayors, but also the heads of the subjects, noted Maksim Egorov, the deputy minister of Construction and Housing of the RF. “Now we are developing a large project within the framework of the implementation of the national project “Housing and Urban Environment” – the “Quality Index of the Urban Environment”. 36 different indicators affect all the vital issues of the city. And making significant decisions depends on the chief architect in many ways. Our life and the thrill that we will receive not only at home, but also going outside will depend on this work”, he said. Today, a decision has been made to create a government commission on a comfortable urban environment, which will include a large number of issues regarding urban development. “We hope that this will be a driver of urban development, a step into the future”, said M. Egorov.

“My observations say that the role of an architect in society is important”, Sergey Kuznetsov, the chief architect of Moscow, joined in the conversation. “Contrary to many stereotypes that the authorities set architecture, historical documents do not confirm this. On the contrary, architects have always found a new language and shaped the appearance of cities”.

The interaction with the leader is of particular importance in the work of the architect, added S. Kuznetsov. “The manager determines what an architect should be. If he is ready to do interesting things, wants to develop, then he will trust the architect a lot, employ a bold, principled person”.

Tatiana Prokofieva agreed that the interaction with the head of a city or a subject affects the work of architects and can both hinder and promote the development of urban space. “Communication with leaders is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there is the possibility of implementing various projects. But on the other hand, it happens that there is a lack of trust among the leaders in our decisions. Not all complex architectural and urban projects can be assessed before implementation, so there must be confidence in the decisions of professionals”.

The Mayor of Kazan reminded that this year, Tatiana Prokofieva leaves the post of the chief architect of the city. He announced that he would select a new architect in the capital of Tatarstan during an open competition. He invited all interested specialists to participate in it.

“This is the best place (Moscow Urban Forum – ed.) to invite all the best experts of the country and abroad to participate in the competition for the position”, said I. Metshin. “We are open to the most courageous and new ideas. Kazan today is actively developing, following the best cities of Russia. Under the leadership of Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT, we are building plans in which the role of the chief architect will be most important. We promise to be a volcano of architectural ideas”.

At the end of the roundtable, Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT, also shared his opinion on the topic under discussion. He noted that earlier he had already touched upon the theme of the development of urban space at one of the plenary sessions of the forum. “When they asked me what I would advise to the new mayor of the Russian city, I answered: pick an assistant who will help shape the future of the city”, said the President of the RT. “I hope that there will be such a person who will come to our city and make it even more beautiful, better, comfortable. We need educated, principled architects with great powers, not only in the capital, but also in municipalities”.

The Moscow Urban Forum has been held annually since 2011 with the support of the Government of Moscow and at the initiative of Sergey Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow. The festival program, open to all comers, has become a site for meeting urban communities to discuss effective participation in the life of the city and the presentation of their projects.

The forum will last until July 7.