Julia Tarabarina. Four Different Surveys

The “Explore the City” competition, organized this year by the Genplan Institute of Moscow, stands out as a pretty unconventional one for the architectural field but aligns perfectly well with the character of urban planning work. The winning project analyzed contemporary residential complexes, combining urban planning insights with a realtor’s perspective to propose a hybrid approach. Other entries explored public centers, motivations for car ownership, and housing vacancy rates. A fifth participant withdrew. Here’s a closer look at the four completed works.

Julia Tarabarina. The Runner’s City

The Genplan Institute of Moscow, in collaboration with MosComArchitectura, proposes a new level of connectivity or, better yet, “awareness” for urban improvement projects. Its specialists have developed a network of cycling, running, and pedestrian routes organized like a human circulatory system: there are major “veins” and fine “capillaries” in it. Every single house is no more than a kilometer away from a segment of this network. The network takes into account existing implementations and projects, and suggests adjustments based on its comprehensive program. In New Moscow, this network introduces a smart inversion motivated by the area’s unique features.

Julia Tarabarina. The Cemetery: Inside and Outside

The workshop organized by the Genplan Institute of Moscow scored one of the two first places at the “Open City” festival. Its subject is reorganization of municipal cemeteries. Two action plans were proposed, diametrically opposite: one for the downtown and one for the suburbs.

Darya Gorelova. ​In Search of Visual Clarity

In this article, we are reviewing a discussion devoted to the question of designing city space elements, which is quite complicated for the Russian expanses of land. The discussion was organized by the Genplan Institute of Moscow at the ArchMoscow convention in Gostiny Dvor.