At the National Centre RUSSIA, a proposal was made to create an expert council on the development of the country’s architectural code
On 26 August, the round table "Urban Planning and Architectural Code of Russia" took place at the National Centre RUSSIA. The participants discussed the role of development, design and the formation of the urban environment in increasing the attractiveness of territories for living, in socio-economic development and in the transmission of spiritual and moral values.
The urban environment acts as a complex element of the cultural code, allowing communication between people and the state, noted Alexei Zharich, Deputy Head of the Presidential Executive Office of Russia for Social Projects. According to him, architecture can serve as an effective channel of interaction, since people are constantly immersed in its environment.
"The architectural code performs several important tasks. Among them are the creation of the image of an era, as well as the consolidation of the image of Russia as a civilisation-state, which independently forms spiritual and moral values and transmits them, including through the urban environment. Thus, architecture also fulfils political tasks. In this regard, it is necessary to build a constant dialogue between architects, representatives of the construction industry and public authorities in order to develop joint ideas in this direction," stressed Alexei Zharich.
Urban planning is a system issue of national development, noted Anton Finogenov, Director for Urban Environment Development at DOM.RF, during the discussion.
"Architectural and urban planning design plays a crucial role in national development and in shaping citizens’ self-awareness. It influences migration and demographic processes and points to the need for balanced spatial development — including with a special focus on a number of territories, such as industrial cities or historic settlements. In this context, architecture becomes the tool that affects citizens’ perception of the state, and therefore it should be given particular attention," emphasised Anton Finogenov.
The integration of relevant approaches to urbanism is one way to attract specialists to the regions, believes Vladislav Kuznetsov, Governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Area.
"It is important to create conditions so that specialists see their future in the region and so that new personnel come, since they are undoubtedly necessary for the development of the territory. Master plans of cities, infrastructure and, as a consequence, quality of life, play a big role in this. Objects should not only be reliable, capable of functioning despite extreme weather conditions, but also beautiful. In addition, the urban environment should foster respect for Russian culture and national traditions — it is important that they surround people from early childhood. We are carrying out this work in the region, creating panels and murals based on plots that reflect the national cultural code," said Vladislav Kuznetsov.
The Moscow Investors’ Club also supports the idea of forming a Council on the creation of the country’s architectural code: the industry association proposed the initiative to express the national idea and civic identity in architectural and urban planning solutions.
"Developers — members of the Club engaged in the implementation of urban planning projects — were among the first to realise the need to express both historical continuity and the country’s modern achievements in the formation of the Architectural Code. Now it has become necessary to consolidate meanings and visualisation elements in a single document for subsequent application in the architectural solutions of social, public, transport and other buildings and structures," said Vladislav Preobrazhenskiy, Executive Director of the Moscow Investors’ Club.
The professional community has a demand for the formation of a single federal centre for discussing architecture policy. The corresponding conclusions are contained in the study by the Polylog Consulting Group, "Russian Architecture: from Scale to Quality", which was presented at the round table. The study was based on in-depth interviews with leading architects, urban planners, representatives of government and business, as well as an analysis of Russian centres of architectural expertise.
"Experts note a ‘total improvement of urban spaces’ while maintaining high volumes of construction and the absence of mass manifestations of degradation of urban areas. The demand for quality housing is growing, and Russian construction professionals are ready to meet it, working within global trends. At the same time, the fundamental question remains unresolved as to whether architecture in Russia should be unified; there is no clarity on the distribution of powers in this field between the regions and the federal centre, and the mechanisms for implementing state policy in this matter remain unclear. In this regard, the formation of a single body that could set common guidelines and standards, as well as coordinate work on the ground, appears to experts as an important element of a well-functioning system of architecture policy," stressed Nikita Setov, Deputy Director General for GR at Polylog, during the presentation of the study.
The discussion was also joined by Daria Kislicyna, Director of the Department for Regional Work of the ANO EISR, First Deputy Chair of the Commission on Territorial Development, Urban Environment and Infrastructure of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, and Director of the Institute for Regional Studies of the Faculty of Urban and Regional Development at the Higher School of Economics; Alexander Panin, Director of the Centre for Geodemography and Spatial Development of Lomonosov Moscow State University; Andrei Melentyev, Head of the Department for State Visual Communications at the National Centre RUSSIA; and Andrei Chernikhov, Professor of the International Academy of Architecture and Scientific Supervisor of the Architecture Programme at the Higher School of Economics. They agreed on the need to create a unified expert council on architecture and came to the conclusion that it could be formed on the basis of the National Centre RUSSIA.
Event photobank
A key task facing the higher education system is to train not just professionals, but professional patriots — citizens with an active civic stance.
Russian Cinema Day is celebrated on 27 August — it is a professional holiday of filmmakers and cinema lovers.
