I. Metshin: “The historical center is a space of opportunities, but not of restrictions”

The concept of sustainable development of the Kazan. historical settlement was presented to the Mayor.

The concept of sustainable development of the Kazan historical settlements, presented to the Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin, includes the regulation of construction, territory development and creation the future of the historical center. It will be an agreement between all interested parties, the developers noted. It is planned to complete the concept by the end of August.

The concept was presented by Oleg Maklakov, the architect and head of the project group. He reminded that the document has been developed since April 2019. The request for the development of the concept in Kazan was caused by the infill development at the historical settlement. “The concept will be an agreement between all interested parties– developers, architects, citizens, municipal and republican authorities, investors. Term of its action is designed for 10-15 years,”- the speaker noted.

The Kazan historical settlement is quite compact and occupies 23 hectares or 4% of the city’s territory. But at the same time, all the points of Kazan and the region are concentrated here, the architect emphasized.

First of all, the experts focused on the regulations for the development of the Kazan downtown. O. Maklakov noted that the regulatory rules are based on a contextual approach. Due to it, the new construction does not simply copy the existing architecture – there are new solutions, blending in with the existing buildings.

In addition, the historical center has been divided into three zones, having different features and level of complexity of project approval. This is the so-called map of regulations.

As for the development of public spaces landscaping, attention is drawn to the original landscape of the city. O. Maklakov noted that the main strategic proposal of the project group is to give additional development to street public spaces by creating connections between existing green zones.

Another point of growth, according to the experts, is the development of foot traffic. It is proposed to create streets with pedestrian priority on the territory of the historical settlement. Thus, citizens and tourists will have the opportunity to walk along green routes from the historical core to the periphery with its landscape sites.

Another block of research of the concept contains proposals for the preservation of cultural intangible heritage and the development of its potential. The project group suggests using the subject matter of functional zones. Meaning the development of the territory based on the historical traditions and established activities.

Ilsur Metshin proposed to take the concept as a basis for the architectural and urban planning approach, and also instructed to prescribe clear rules for investors, businesses and citizens. Some parts of the concept will be further developed.

For information, the concept of sustainable development of the historical settlement of Kazan has been developed for two years, and the project is planned to be completed by the end of August. In particular, the experts will finalize the color palette for the development of the downtown, as well as the organization of public spaces.