EcoCity of Kazan: a pioneer in sustainable urban development
Russia is the world’s fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and oil and gas account for about 90% of the country’s energy production. Russia has a dubious reputation when it comes to managing environmental problems.
Fossil fuels are the lifeblood of the Russian economy, inextricably linked to the performance of the national currency, the ruble. And then there are the country’s longstanding environmental problems, dating back to the Soviet era, including pollution, nuclear waste and deforestation.
Russia, which occupies one-eighth of the world’s land mass, can no longer ignore its environmental responsibilities. This is a truth that seems to have penetrated the public consciousness. According to a recent survey conducted by the Moscow Higher School of Economics, 94% of respondents expressed concern about environmental pollution.
There are some indications that the Kremlin is taking notice. Earlier this year, Ruslan Edelgeriev, a climate change adviser to President Vladimir Putin, indicated that the country was on the verge of ratifying the Paris climate accord, which would formally bring the country into the historic climate agreement.
If Russia is serious about helping to limit average global temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as set out in the Paris climate agreement, it will need to pay more attention to sustainability at all levels.
This also applies to architecture.
Tatar Armed Forces: Plans for Russia’s ‘Third Capital’
Kazan is located on the left bank of the Volga River within the Republic of Tatarstan and is often referred to as the third capital of Russia, after Moscow and St. Petersburg respectively. A major industrial hub during Soviet rule, with numerous factories producing tanks and aircraft during World War II, the city is now home to several industries including mechanical engineering, petrochemicals, and IT.
Early last year, Rustam Minnikhanov, the president of Tatarstan, issued an open invitation to international architects to create a new ecodistrict in Kirovsky, a low-density residential area that can be reached by car in 20 minutes from the city center. The plan, Minnikhanov said, was for the “establishment of a non-urban lifestyle in the urban environment.”
After several rounds of competition, London-based firm JTP announced in November that its bid to build a new 760-hectare eco-city district had been selected by a jury consisting of Minnikhanov, Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin and a number of local architects.
Everything in the mix: international experience and local knowledge
JTP was invited to participate in the competition by Knight Frank Russia as part of a consortium including: XTU Architects (France); Arkhitekturny Desant (Russia, Republic of Tatarstan); TERRA SCAPE (Belgium); and OXO Architects (France).
With previous experience in Russia and the international presence of other consortium members, JTP was well-qualified to take on the project from the start, emphasizes Ivana Stanisic, an associate and senior architect at the firm.
“We have implemented quite a few strategic projects in Russia over the past 15 years, particularly around Moscow, so we have quite a bit of experience working in the country,” she explains.
“So our strategy for the competition was to apply the lessons and knowledge we learned from those projects to Kazan. We also wanted to apply our knowledge from broader European masterplanning projects.
“Together with our French and Belgian colleagues, we had the relevant experience for the job, but Arkhitekturny Desant also played a very important role thanks to their local knowledge. It was a matter of making the most of the international and local experience that was present within the consortium.”
Into the forest: the ecopolis concept
Much of the project’s design is centered around the Kirovsky forest area. JTP plans to use the “green fingers” of the forest to create clusters of lower-density housing, as well as higher-density villages around the main routes to the site, which was once home to a number of munitions factories.
“The forest itself has already been disturbed by the previous use of the site, namely for ammunition storage,” says Stanisic. “Due to certain requirements from the past, these storages had to be at a certain distance from each other, which means that there are already scattered clearings in the forest.
“So the strategy has always been to preserve as much of the forest as possible and use existing open spaces and the historic roads that connect them.”
The project is based on a concept known as ‘ecopolis’, as set out by the competition’s organisers. According to Stanisic, they wanted to ‘set a precedent in Russia for a city built on eco-principles’.
“Some of them were about preserving as much of the forest as possible, but also about creating a sustainable community, aware of where they live and how they live, and wanting to integrate this strategy into their daily lives,” she says.
With proposed walking and cycling routes that connect every neighbourhood in the district, ecopolis is as much about community as it is about the environment. This is perhaps its most striking point: that urban sustainability has the power to create better health and wellbeing within neighbourhoods.
“Besides having a sustainable strategy – in terms of infrastructure, sustainable transport connections – it is about having both soft and hard principles and embedding them in people’s lives,” Stanisic explains.
“Another important principle is that everyone should live near this open green space, which should permeate every part of the development and enable people to live healthier lives, whether that’s growing vegetables, being in nature or walking.”
Project progress
Stanisic remains mum on the status of the project and the planned completion date.
“We don’t know yet when the delivery will be,” she says. “Earlier this year we had a meeting with the organizers of the competition, who now want to further develop the project.
“They also select a local architect to work out the details, and we have corresponded with them to oversee future stages of the detailed development of the vision.”
If and when Kazan’s eco-district sees the light of day, it should serve as the antithesis of the Russian stereotype of smoky vistas and a penchant for black goop – and instead as the antithesis of a modern city with a modern view of its environmental obligations.
“Ecopolis Now: Design of Kazan’s New Green District” was originally created and published by Worldwide Construction Networka brand of GlobalData.
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