‘Feel free to call the names, starting with top architects’: Accomplishment to change its format

Course for digitalisation and institutionalisation

The forum itself began on 1 December and took place at Ak Bars Retro Cars exhibition centre, so the stands of construction materials and technological solutions as well as the catering area and a big territory designed for speeches were beautified with a view of elite cars. More than 60 teams — from Kazan, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kirov, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Yaroslavl — participated in the forum.

They arrived to look for new partners, learn others’ experience, listen to guests and local speakers. In particular, the digitalisation of urban engineering design was discussed here because all projects in Russia will be accepted in the format of information building modelling from next year. On day two, architecture and urban engineering companies introduced themselves.

Also, the City Development Institution was presented at Accomplishment, As the participants were announced, it is an urban engineering institution, creative lab, a place of interactions for specialists, now the organisation has over 60 experts, and this isn’t the limit.

On day three, the results of a competition 41 companies applied for since 18 October were made public — it is 112 finished and ongoing facilities and offers from 2017 to 2021. There is a popular opinion among winners that recognition is the most important thing here.

“As for money, we made it on the facility,” one of the authors who improved an old mansion in the city centres smirked.

Online voting on the city administration’s website chose the winners, it was until 16 November, then the jury voted. The list of laureates, first, second and third places was on 4,5 pages. Particularly, a diploma was given not to architects but residents of Avangardnaya, Modelnaya, Aktayskaya, Kulagina Streets “for the active involvement in the creation of the comfortable area.” Architects and engineers of the Akhmad Zaki Mosque in Zalesny Settlement and authors of the recreation of the Assumption Cathedral were awarded for the conservation and sustainable development of traditions. While Borshchevsky studio with Norwegian Residential Complex were praised for a holistic approach to improving the adjacent territory.

Not finished projects are a separate interesting part. Residential complexes Vincent-2, My Rhythm, Savin Premier, Leto, Residential Complex on Ayvazovsky Street, the beach sports centre, Kiselyov and Ivanov’s mansion, a medical centre on Podluzhnaya and others are among them. Unlike the first part, here young architects appeared on the stage.

“I want to note that I would like to see greater activity next year,” said one of the initiators of the forum and competition, the city’s chief architect Ilsiyar Tukhvatullina. “Hopefully, there will be more facilities, the quality will be better.”

“I want to thank all organisers for persistency”

Winners received diplomas for medallists in 12 nominations from Ilsur Metshin’s hands who said from the beginning he didn’t meddle in the jury’s work, let specialised professionals do the job.

“I want to thank all the organisers for persistency,” Metshin noted. “When Ilsiyar Tukhvatullin first came with such an idea, there was the pandemic, some restrictions. But life goes on. We had a look at unfinished projects, many of them are familiar to us. As a mayor I was happy to see the amount of young, unfamiliar faces of architects who seriously design and create facilities in our city and outside it.”

“We need to know whom you want to see”

The change of the format was touched on at the forum too. Proposals are expected from architects in this respect.

“We agreed that we would not only change the format next year but we also would like to get feedback from you,” Metshin shared his plans. “We need to know whom you want to see. Feel free to call the names, starting with top architects.”

Perhaps, the mayor of Kazan said, the forum would be divided into several stages, it is also planned to hold a biennale, once a year or two. The goal is to create conditions in which Kazan architects will get ideas, knowledge, skills staying in the city.

“I remember we sent our students abroad with scholarships, somewhere in 2006. They went to Holland, Italy, Switzerland, England, Spain. I was told none of them would come back,” here the mayor took a pause and continued: “In general, they didn’t. But this doesn’t make me sad, they compete in our contests, while two of them returned.”