ABOUT THE COMPANY

Together with the Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending (AHML), Strelka KB has developed a system of Standards for the integrated development of territories — a toolkit of solutions for the development of a quality urban environment in Russian cities. Their aim is to adapt Russian cities to the challenges of the day and help them attract an influx of human capital. Strelka KB has also developed the Consolidated Standard for the Improvement of Moscow’s Streets — a document recommending planning solutions for bringing higher levels of comfort to the urban environment, which has been made use of in the updating of 212 sites in the capital.

The renovation of over 230 public spaces in 40 cities nationwide began in 2017 and has brought beautification to a qualitatively new level. You can see the most locally popular modifications of streets, squares, embankments and parks on the города-будущего.рф website. 53 design bureaus from all over Russia have participated in the projects enabling regional architects to implement large-scale projects based on their own concepts in conjunction with Strelka KB and international experts.

Based on an economic and cultural analysis of the territory, Strelka KB developed a functional model for Zaryadye — the first park to have been opened in the capital in 70 years. The international competition held by Strelka KB was won by the firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The jury brought together leading architects and urbanists, including Martha Thorne, Peter Walker and Saskia Sassen. The park, designed to cater up to 12 million visitors a year, was opened to the public in 2017 and has joined the ranks of New York’s High Line and Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay.

Strelka KB acted as consultant for the Moscow City My Street programme, under which 150 city objects underwent renovation according to design projects by 100 architects from Russia and around the world. Among the main projects were the reconstruction of such major thoroughfares as Novy Arbat, Tverskaya Ulitsa, and the Garden Ring. In the first few months following the improvement of these streets, the number of road accidents with fatalities has fallen by 56%, the number of families walking with children has increased, profits of adjacent business have risen, and the number of vacant premises has decreased.

Over a period of several years Strelka KB acted as programme director of the Moscow Urban Forum. On behalf of the forum, the company carried out a number of studies, including that entitled Strategic Master Plan: A Tool for Managing the Future. The master plan sets the direction for the city’s spatial development and defines its long-term goals. This monograph was the first Russian experience in the successful analysis of international practices in the production of a spatial strategy for a territory.

Strelka KB has developed a design code that regulates the positioning of advertisement panels in Saratov. In the spring of 2017 this document was approved by the Saratov City Duma. It allocates "green zones" on the facades of the buildings beyond which the placement of signage is not recommended. The Design Code contains size requirements and recommendations on materials, specifying which elements may be positioned on the buildings without compromising the facades, thereby eliminating visual noise, attracting citizens to the streets and giving business the opportunity to develop.

Strelka KB co-founded the mono-industry city crowdsourcing initiative моногорода.рф for the Five Steps to Improve Everyday Life in Mono-Cities programme. The website collected over 30,000 residents' proposals for improvement, holding a vote to select the best ideas. As a result, the programme brought 1,300 projects to 319 Russian mono-cities, to turn industrial cities into attractive environments for life, work and business.

The Index has enabled the quality of environment to be assessed for the first time in all 1,112 cities in the country — such ratings previously having included only those with a population of over one million. Aided by analysis of GIS data, social networks, space imagery and open data, full statistics were obtained for all Russian cities, resulting in a comprehensive assessment of the quality of urban infrastructure. Using the urbanindex.ru city-indexing website, municipal authorities can first identify the types of spaces most in need of development and then measure the effectiveness of the corresponding improvement programmes.

Strelka KB draws up models and runs architectural competitions to design educational institutions. One such school will be opening in Letovo (New Moscow) in 2018. The competition entrants were tasked with the creation of a harmonious educational environment, with the Dutch firm Atelier Pro emerging as the winner. The project’s Smart School complex in Irkutsk will include a kindergarten and two academic buildings, a cultural and leisure centre, sports, medical, and training and experimental zones and accommodation for foster families.

In 2016 Strelka KB was the first Russian company to hold an architectural competition on the international arena. Its winner had to come up with the best concept for Tel Aviv University’s nanotechnology laboratory. According to the technical specifications composed by Strelka KB, 12 research laboratories were to be located on three floors, divided between physics, biophysics, neuro-engineering and others, and provided with office and public spaces. The best of the 120 participants was the French firm Atelier d’Architecture Michel Rémon.

Strelka KB drafted the development concept for a former pulp and paper mill in Baikalsk, one of Russia’s most problematic mono-cities. KB’s specialists proposed the opening of a theme park "Baikal Natural Production Combine", that could become a new centre for tourism. The principle of biological reclamation of industrial areas forms the basis for this development, involving specially selected plants that purify the soil restoring the natural state after suffering the impact of heavy industry.

Strelka KB run the competition of concept development for a new multifunctional sports center Nike in Gorky Park Moscow. Nike Box MSK is designed by Strelka KB together with architectural bureau Cosmos. Strelka KB specialists also developed a functional model of the sports center and carried out the author’s supervision. Box MSK became a landmark of Moscow sports architecture: it is inspired by modernist panel housing and became an organic part of world-known park.

The company developed a strategy to improve transport connectivity between the Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum and the settlement of Rublyovo-Arkhangelskoye. The strategy took into account the town-planning, legal and transportation aspects of the territory, and provided urban services for residents and visitors, thereby increasing the attractiveness of the territory leading up to the estate. Previously Strelka KB had run the international competition for the Rublyovo-Arkhangelskoye neighbourhood to produce the architectural and town-planning concept.

The bulletin is the first publication to tackle urbanistics in the Russian regions. It is devoted to the biggest town planning programme to have been launched in the post-Soviet era — the high-priority project Сreating a Сomfortable Urban Environment, which already involves the participation of 6,900 people. The bulletin discusses the objectives and values of projects for the integrated development of the urban environment, demonstrating their results in different regions and giving expert advice on interaction with the local citizens. Each issue is published on the website.