Renovation in Moscow: independent experts evaluated the results of the first stage of the project

Lyudmila Butuzova

The National Agency for Renovation of Urban Areas specially for Novye Izvestia analyzed the initial concept of the program and compared the declared parameters with the results achieved so far. Your findings present ANO president, architect Vladimir Vershinin and economist Stanislav Guzhov.

So, at the start of the program, it was announced:

"The five-storey apartment buildings included in the renovation program are in the pre-emergency stage, and the funds of the Capital Repair Fund will not be able to return residential buildings to adequate operational parameters".

Obviously, this statement does not have a material and technical basis, since, after conducting analytics for the Moscow City Duma deputies, in particular, in the second electoral district (which is represented in the Moscow City Duma by Deputy Dmitry Loktev - a member of the "Commission on Urban Development, State Property and Land Use" ) our agency has established that the load-bearing structures of the proposed to be demolished under the renovation program of five-storey apartment buildings are in working order, their resource is depleted only by 30% (over a period of 50 years), therefore, it is incorrect to talk about the accident rate of these houses. Moreover, in the second electoral district, an example of the reconstruction of a panel five-story building with an increase in residential space by 2.2 times was recorded. As part of the reconstruction, all communications were completely replaced, the building was added up to 9 floors, the apartment was completely changed taking into account the requirements for modern comfortable housing.

These facts contradict the assertions that only the demolition of the five-story housing stock and new construction are the only acceptable solution to the issue of improving the quality of the urban environment and the living conditions of Muscovites.

It is stated: "Muscovites will receive large living space in the areas of residence".

In the process of implementing the program it turned out that not all Muscovites get larger apartments. This issue was raised in december 2019 at the meeting "Topical issues of the implementation of the renovation program" in the Moscow City Duma. Facts were recorded that residents received apartments of a smaller area, and the difference was compensated for by cash, which the tax service took into account as profit and collected tax. A similar situation has developed with the promise of resettlement of Muscovites within the same district. In particular, residents of the Nagorny district were relocated to another district - Moskvorechye - Saburovo. At the same time, in Nagorny, Muscovites lived in an investment-attractive fund, next to transport hubs (metro) and used a developed infrastructure, which they did not receive in a new place, in Moskvorechye-Saburovo.

It was declared: "The starting stock to be built will correspond to the comfort class of the commercial housing stock".

In October 2019, at a meeting of the "Commission for Urban Development, State Property and Land Use" in the Moscow City Duma, Deputy Mayor Khusnullin (currently - Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation) noted that renovation houses "are a full-fledged comfort class, comfort plus ... we we are a bit short of business class. " However, in the process of analyzing the urban planning documentation developed and approved by the Moscow City Architecture Committee, it turned out that a potential urban / private developer would not be able to realize the comfort class, since economy-class housing was included in the target-setting documentation. In addition, the attracted developers show the low quality of the apartment buildings being built. For example, in the Northern District, in 2020, after the May showers, new buildings erected under the renovation program were flooded with rainwater from the 14th to the 1st floor, and on Zeleny Prospekt No. 27A in one of the apartments in winter the temperature did not rise above plus 12 degrees in a strong draft.

It is stated: "Within the framework of the program, each district is planned to be provided with objects of health care, education, physical culture and sports, culture and art".

In the process of analyzing urban planning documentation developed and approved by the Moscow Committee for Architecture, distortions of the real population growth were revealed, which was confirmed by the speech of the chief architect of Moscow, Kuznetsov, and, according to existing regulations, social security facilities are calculated from the population. Thus, within the framework of the renovation program, their input will be minimal, which with a high degree of probability, will lead to a catastrophic situation with kindergartens, clinics, social and transport infrastructure of the city.

It was stated: "The commercial component of the renovation program will be minimal, since the program has a social focus".

As a result of the analysis of urban planning documentation for the renovation program provided by the Moscow City Architecture Committee to the Moscow City Duma deputies, we identified about 30 million square meters of commercial housing integrated into the social renovation program. According to our calculations, it was this commercial housing that led to a sharp increase in the originally announced parameters of the renovation. In 2021, the TASS agency actually confirmed our analytics, stating that 45 million square meters will be built under the renovation program. meters, despite the fact that resettlement requires only about 22 million square meters. meters.

All these actions will lead to the overcrowding of Moscow districts in the medium term, which is already noticeable in certain residential areas.

It was stated: “The height of residential buildings under the renovation program will be from 6 to 14 floors, with a density of up to 25 thousand square meters. meters per hectare".

In 2017, the chief architect of Moscow, Sergey Kuznetsov, interview to RBC channel said about the renovation system building "6-14 floors high, this is the format ... of the Frunzenskaya embankment districts, Sokol". On the Frunzenskaya embankment, we see a building density of up to 25 thousand square meters. meters per hectare . At the same time, Moskomarkhitektura and Kuznetsov in renovation projects, for some reason, Muscovites are offered parameters up to 90 thousand square meters. meters per hectare, and the number of storeys reaches 26 and more floors.

It was announced: "The movement of Muscovites will be carried out according to the wave relocation scheme, which will be published".

Instead of wave resettlement, the Muscovites were presented with a schedule where the exact resettlement addresses are not indicated, and the implementation dates are given with a large time spread. Having estimated the current pace of implementation of the renovation program, within the framework of which about 24 thousand people have been resettled in three years, it is safe to say that at such a speed the declared one million Muscovites will be resettled for more than 120 years.

It stated: "The renovation program will include a well-thought-out landscaping strategy".

In the process of analyzing the urban planning documentation developed and approved by the Moscow City Architecture Committee, it was revealed that it is proposed to have an underground parking under the courtyard area, i.e. a monolithic slab is assumed under the entire area of the yard, which excludes the possibility of full-fledged planting of trees. Moreover, the renovation projects provide for almost total cutting down of the trees existing in the yards of five-story buildings, which will not improve, but worsen the ecological situation in Moscow.

It is stated: "In the renovation standards, the first floors of new buildings are non-residential, with high ceilings, a large glazing area, they are adapted to accommodate commercial infrastructure facilities".

In the process of analyzing the built starting renovation house on Konstantin Fedin Street, the absence of these premises was revealed. We see only a row of columns through which you can go to the courtyard.

Summing up the interim results, we can say that there are a lot of problems in the renovation program. Some of them we solved together with the Moscow City Duma deputies in “manual mode”, but an integrated approach is needed.

Obviously, on the eve of the second wave of renovation, "which will be much steeper and larger than the first", it is necessary to work out all the "bottlenecks" that were admitted at the first stage. It is necessary, in our opinion, change of the leadership of the Moskomarkhitektura and subordinate institutes that form urban planning documentation with such significant problems and at an insufficient professional level.

We believe that the renovation program must be drastically modified, considering, first of all, those options for transforming the housing stock of the 60s and 70s, which have already been successfully implemented both in Europe and in our country. It is about reconstruction combined with new construction.

Not to destroy the five-story buildings, but to reconstruct. Carefully transform the neighborhoods that were planned during the Soviet Union by experienced urban architects in accordance with the philosophy of the 1930 master plan. Now we are witnessing an attempt at random destruction of the existing buildings and the integration of the Chinese model - an experience of total destruction of neighborhoods and high-density new construction for a billion people.

Russia has always been China's older brother, but we have too different financial capabilities and a completely different population size. What is good for a billion-dollar China may be disastrous for our country.

Our task is to preserve Moscow - the basis of the original Russian state, transforming it, and not demolishing it fragmentarily, embedding alien fragments of high-rise buildings at any cost. In our opinion, the speed of implementation of the renovation program is so low precisely because, in its current form, it simply does not take root in our capital. It's time to draw conclusions and adjust the program in the interests of Muscovites.