The first meeting of the judges of the Open International Competition for the development of a concept for Krasnoyarsk Central Park, organized by RUSAL with support from the Government of Krasnoyarsk Region and the Administration of the city of Krasnoyarsk, was held in Krasnoyarsk yesterday. Agency for Strategic Development CENTER is the operator of the competition. The Jury decided on the competition’s three finalists, who will be developing projects for the transformation of the city’s key public space.

The Jury meeting, under the chairmanship of Governor of Krasnoyarsk Region Aleksandr Uss, took place in the Central Municipal Library of Krasnoyarsk. The Jury included officials representing the administrations of Krasnoyarsk Region and Krasnoyarsk city, as well as Russian and foreign experts in the field of comprehensive territorial development, environmental protection, economics, spatial planning, as well as the renovation of public and historically valuable spaces. The Jury members reviewed 43 applications representing 15 countries of the world.

The event was broadcast live, and some of the Jury members, including Peter Verdick, director of development of regional parks in Antwerp region (Belgium) and the competition’s international curator, participated in the meeting via online communication. The meeting was chaired by the head of the Region, who announced the three finalists at the end of the event.

“In choosing these three consortia, we relied not only on the originality of the projects, but also on the decision to represent various countries and different approaches. We expect the eventual winner to achieve what is important for us, and that is functionality and the feasibility of the solutions that will be put into practice. Our famous park deserves not only to be transformed in its appearance, but also to become truly popular, understandable, and familiar to people. Moreover, the final project should be implemented with due regard to the manufacturing potential of Krasnoyarsk enterprises, as we expect the reconstruction of the Central Park to be an impetus for local business.”
-Aleksandr Uss, Governor of Krasnoyarsk Region, Chairman of the Jury

Following the review of the 43 applications received in the competition, the Jury voted to chose the three teams which will continue to fight for the contract. These are three international consortia – teams consisting of British, Japanese, and French participants:
▪ A Russian-French consortium headed by MLA+ (Saint Petersburg, Russia). Members: MLA+ (Saint Petersburg, Russia), Proektdevelopment (Krasnoyarsk, Russia), Praxis (Paris, France), UrbanPro (Saint Petersburg, Russia).

▪ A Russian-British consortium headed by MAParchitects (Moscow, Russia). Members: LDA Design Consulting (Peterborough, UK), Sarner International Limited (Kingston-upon-Thames, UK).

▪ A Russian-Japanese consortium headed by Basis Architectural Bureau (Moscow, Russia). Participant: Junya Ishigami+Associates (Tokyo, Japan).

“In just a few years, our park will enter its third century, and there is a delicate balance between history, tradition, and the new, modern trends, as we saw today in the works presented for the competition. We would like to unite these three crucial areas to the greatest extent possible, to create a park as a place of comfort for various groups and ages, a place where everyone will find a point of interest of their own. And our main goal this year is to choose a project that meets these high expectations.   For a long time, Krasnoyarsk has been one of our key cities, with thousands of company employees living here, with our head office being relocated here, with our company being generally focused on Siberia, and we seek as much development as possible for the cities in our Siberian regions.”
-Evgenii Nikitin, RUSAL Executive Director, Jury member

Each of the three teams will get 900,000 rubles for reaching the final. In the very near future, they will proceed with work on their park development concepts, and as such, in another 2 weeks, they will all come to Krasnoyarsk for the finalists’ orientation webinar, to become more familiar with the competition area.

“The improvement of the park environment and the creation of seamless pedestrian pathways represent some of the principal directions for development here in Krasnoyarsk. Over the past three years, we have renovated approximately 70 squares and parks in line with modern standards. Gorky Central Park is awaiting a truly unique renovation, which began with quite a thorough approach to the architectural concept to be chosen. I would like to express my gratitude to all the architects who took part in the competition which, thanks to RUSAL’s support, will be part of a historical project for Krasnoyarsk residents. The Central Park has long been worthy of a step into the future and becoming a ‘diamond’ among the other public spaces in Krasnoyarsk. Our major challenge is to make it one of the elements of the city’s park ring, which will connect the bank of the Kacha with the axis of green spaces in the city center, the Central Embankment, and Tatyshev Island. Thus, we will have the longest walking route ever created.”
-Sergey Eremin, Mayor of Krasnoyarsk, Jury member

In mid-December, the international jury will gather again for the meeting during which the finalists will present their works, and the experts will choose the best in their eyes. The creators of the winning project will receive an additional prize of 1.8 million rubles. Second place in the competition wins 1 million rubles, the third, 500,000 rubles.

According to the competition’s organizers, the use of global best practices will allow the creation a unique space that will fit into the city’s historical context and form one ensemble with the Historical Quarter, Revolution Square, Surikov Square and the Yenisei Embankment. In the future, this experience can be applied in other Siberian cities, for which Krasnoyarsk will become the benchmark in terms of urbanism.