1. Urban Strategy

2. Masterplanning

3. Public Space

Design

Embankments Design TrendsLessons from

Moscow River StrategyKazan, MUF July 2015

Moscow River International Competition: Moscow Future Ports

For a Clean, Active and Accessible River

40 “Ports” as active and connected public spaces

200 km of renovated embankments

15 Identified Growth Areas (10,000ha) in Relation to the River

Consortium Led by

Embankment Design Trend #1:Water as a shared asset: Everyone Benefits, Everyone Contributes

Necessity to include territories adjacent to the river in the process.

Private sector should contribute in the renovation of public spaces, controlled by design guidelines and planning obligations

Embankment Design Trend #2:Inclusive and Complex Recreational Destinations

Renovating embankments is not just a beautification process.

Investing in public spaces is investing in local businesses.

Needs for a complex programming, with a mixed of temporary and permanent activities, adapted for all user groups.

Embankment Design Trend #3:No Transit, Pedestrian Priority

No fast roads, only local access roads along the river

Prioritise traffic lights and pedestrian crossings

Embankment Design Trend #4:Generous not Generic!

Renovating embankments was purely a technical tasks creating generic spaces.

Successful embankments use “place-making” to create meaningful and diverse spaces linked to local identities and context. 

Embankment Design Trend #5: A more intimate relation with the water

Steps, floating platforms, lower and upper embankments, natural embankments etc..

Embankment Design Trend #6: Informal vs Formal

Embankments were almost exclusively designed as linear formal promenade.

“controlled informality” is now a key tool to create an active and successful riverfront

Embankment Design Trend #7:Embankments as Eco-Tools

Embankments have a key role to play to protect pollution to reach the water

Potential active role in depolluting (SOFT VS HARD)

Environmental Education

Common Implementation Challenges

1 Courageous decisions to be made on transport to prioritise pedestrians

Ensuring quality development along the river (design guidelines)

Lack of Coordination within the City technical departments

Difficulty to put in place complex PPPs mechanisms within current Russian

Fear of public dialogue and participation

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