Ruben Arakelyan on Novaya Portovaya: “The 12-kilometer Volga embankment is a journey that should be exciting”

The creation of public spaces in the industrial zone under renovation was discussed in Kazan – it was decided to create a charter on the development of parks in this part of the city

The round table on the peculiarities of the formation of public spaces on Novaya Portovaya was held in the capital of Tatarstan. At the meeting, which was organized by the SMU-88 Group of Companies, architects and urban planners discussed the development of parks with urbanists, cycling activists, athletes, students, representatives of municipal authorities and deputies of the Kazan City Duma.

Alexey Gorbunov, Director of the Institute of Urban Development, spoke about the development of a 12-kilometer embankment, planned activity points, art objects, pedestrian connections with the center of Kazan and public transport.

The curator of the Institute, co-founder of the Moscow architectural bureau WALL Ruben Arakelyan presented his vision of the embankment and called its project unprecedented for Russia. He proposed the separation of flows, for example, by adding a second level where viewing platforms can be equipped. The architect recommended planning the sequence of stages based on the activity zones in order to achieve uniform filling with points of attraction.

Ruben Arakelyan paid great attention to the balance of the environment: “12 kilometers is a journey that should be exciting, it should not become a routine. Therefore, it is necessary to provide for an eventfulness that people will meet on the way.” At the same time, the architect pointed out the need to create maps of silence – places where a person can relax.

The Moscow architect was supported by a number of participants of the meeting. Thus, the head of the administration of the Vakhitovsky and Privolzhsky city districts, Albert Salikhov, noted that Kazan cannot claim to be the capital of the Volga region without having full access to the Volga.

Summing up the meeting, Nail Galeyev, CEO of the SMU-88 Group of Companies, suggested continuing joint work.

“The result of our meetings should be a kind of public charter, which we will help us in the future design. It is not easy to match a dream and standards, but we must be flexible so that new public spaces remain relevant tomorrow and in 50 years,”- he said.