We have been working in Naro-Fominsk for a long time, striving to handle this city, especially its center, carefully and attentively. In 2012, we accepted the proposal of the city’s mayor and, together with architect Ilya Zalivukhin, developed a master plan for the development of Naro-Fominsk. We engaged in sociology and big data. I must say that I was already very passionate about modern urban trends back then – concepts like the 15-minute city and a comfortable urban environment.
The territory of the factory and the island is crucial for the city; it is located right in the center but it had long divided it. We started working with the abandoned industrial zone and gradually returned it to the city. For several years now, we have been systematically restoring and preserving historical buildings, “uncovering” them; they are interesting and beautiful, they are the history of the place, what makes the city unique.
One of our goals is for the factory not to divide but to unite the city. We have already opened public spaces on the right bank of the river, but there is still much to do, including a new thoroughfare. Another task is to make the city multifunctional and comfortable, convenient, diverse both in height and character of spaces. The third important thing is to reveal the river to the city. None of the townspeople had seen the river. We literally removed tons of garbage, worked to remove some discharges, including unauthorized ones, and restored the river’s ecology. A boating station is already in operation, and plans include docks, light watercraft, and the opportunity for city residents to fully utilize the river. So, I would say we are pioneers in many aspects in the Moscow region; we are being held up as an example. I’m pleased that the Chief Architect of the Moscow Region, Alexandra Kuzmina, actively supports our initiatives, and we discuss all projects with her.

The client’s wishes were formulated approximately as follows: canals, a strong emphasis on water, modern architecture, public spaces on the ground floors, a rich and diverse urban environment accessible to everyone – a human-scale environment, in short.
A professional challenge for us was the task of creating an environment that is atmospherically comparable to the historic part and includes the natural surroundings.
We had long wanted to do something like this. I’ll be straightforward; we dreamed of such a project. When we heard about it, we realized that it was the dream project, where the client wants to see everything that we consider right. From our perspective, this is the best type of development: medium-rise buildings with good, not overly wide proportions of all spaces. We were “on the same page” with the client – this is a great stroke of luck and rarity.

The riverside landscape of the Island is diverse, and in our project, we made an effort to capture and enhance this diversity. Both the embankments and the city blocks respond to it, reflecting the character of both the architecture and the landscape. Consequently, as you move through the area, the impressions formed by its environment will constantly change. We emphasized and intensified this by creating different scenarios and directions of movement. Streets were curved to increase the number of perspectives.
One of the “actors” in the development of the area, in our view, is Time: long-term development of the project is envisaged, and the planning structure laid out in it has the potential for further evolution. This aligns well with our proposed version of the urban environment, combining different morph-types of construction and street space.