Virtual tour of new street culture cantre in Russia
Uram extreme park, located on the Kremlin Embankment in Kazan, is the largest extreme park in Europe. Its difference is not only in the scale, but also in the opportunity to study all year round at the expense of the covered part of the park, which will open in 2021. The park is unique in terms of the set of playgrounds and the quality of sports infrastructure.
The street part of the park opened in the summer of 2020 and immediately became one of the most popular public urban spaces. Here, athletes were preparing for world-class competitions, including the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
On two floors of a closed part with an area of 7,900 sq. m., there are extreme zones (air park, street plaza, concrete bowl and skate house) and cultural spaces open to everyone (modern music centre, a DJ school, skate shop, dance hall, gallery, lecture hall, cafe, recreation area, and changing rooms with showers and toilets). Entrance will be paid only in sports areas.
The facade of Uram is a two-level monolithic volume. The upper level is made of stainless steel sheet. It reflects the environment and external lighting. In addition, it is made of utilitarian building materials. The lower level is made of glass, it is permeable and light-transmitting. So, the architects managed to achieve the effect of a floating building. The contour illumination of the facade only enhances this effect.
The process of creating the park is also unique: “More than a hundred construction athletes from all over Russia took part in the design and construction of the extreme park Uram — from cities from Chita to St. Petersburg," says Maria Zelten, the director of the architectural and construction company Legato Sports Architecture. According to her, the Legato team brought together the winners of Russian and world competitions who built and refined the extreme park sites in order to achieve the perfect result: “It is important for Legato to create a new profession of builders and form a culture that has not yet existed in Russia.”
“The indoor part of the extreme park Uram will become a full-fledged year-round youth centre and a new art residence," said the minister of youth affairs of Tatarstan, Damir Fattakhov. Thus, the space is positioned not only as a sports infrastructure, but also as the centre of street culture, youth space for active leisure.
From today, test classes will be held in the indoor part — the races will be held without spectators.
What else is there in Uram?
The park has a classic concrete bowl (deep bowl for skating). It is designed for competitions and is designed according to the canons of skateboarding. One can ride on any sports equipment.
The extreme park has a large children's area, for safety, separated by a wall from the main part of the air park. The section is long enough to accelerate, while the necessary figures are assembled so that the skating is as safe as possible. By the way, a skate house will be created in the future in the centre of street culture for novice riders — a small wooden skate park with a roof. This is a two-part wide ramp with crossings and simple figures. The perfect place to start riding for children.
In addition to the bowl, the indoor complex has a street plaza — the space imitating a street with faces and railings. It is suitable for fans of linear skating.
For BMX freestyle, the main space of the wooden air park is a training area where riders of any level can ride. It has high fanboxes with rubber and foam landings, as well as ramps from which one can accelerate and do tricks in the air. Thanks to the foam pit, athletes can safely land when practicing air tricks.
