MOSCOW, August 21 (Itar-Tass) —— The new chief architect of Moscow has defined his priorities.
Sergei Kuznetsov, appointed to this position on Tuesday, said he would concentrate on finishing the long-drawn-out projects, a park in Zaryadye and planning on former premises of city plants. “There are a number of sites in Moscow whose development fails to meet the level the city deserves. I think we may have some interesting projects and improve the image of our city,” he told the Rossiya-1 channel.
“Long-drawn-out projects, which started in the crisis period, do not become the city. I think we should finish them. Such important sites as Zaryadye, where a park is planned to be built, is another focus. We will also develop the former premises of the ZIL Plant, Krasny Oktyabr and Trekhgornaya Manufaktura,” he said.
“Moscow needs large projects with a positive international image. There may international contests involving prominent Russian and foreign specialists. I do not mean we are unable to design and do not support the assignment of all design projects to foreigners. We should mostly use domestic architects, but joint work on big Moscow projects would be important for a cultural response,” he said.
“One big city project is the development of yards in residential areas, parks and areas along the river, such as the Moscow River project. That can be done in the foreseeable future,” he said. “There are other tasks, as well, such as the adjustment of the Moscow general development plan, cooperation with investors and smooth issue of documents. These are current affairs, which also need to be handled. Moscow has its advantages and disadvantages, there are things to work on and to correct,” Kuznetsov said.
The interaction with the city architect community is also significant, he said. “This is one of the most acute problems, in fact. I stand for interactive communication, online, by social networks and interactive portals. The city development council will be formed in the maximum objective way. It will include the best representatives of the Moscow architectural community. Colleagues who want to take part in the development of the city and love that job will certainly take part, too. We should think about the form of their participation. We will hold transparent tenders on transparent terms and I hope architects of Moscow and not only Moscow will take part. There will be plenty of cooperation options. The door is open to everyone,” Kuznetsov concluded.