Oktyabrsky Island in Kaliningrad: a spatial development concept is needed

Somehow, imperceptibly and completely unexpectedly, a new city began to grow in the center of Kaliningrad. Also Kaliningrad, but different – unusual and not understandable to everyone.
We are talking about the development of Oktyabrsky Island, which six or seven years ago was essentially a wasteland. Life there began after the construction of the stadium for the 2018 FIFA World Cup began. Not everyone thought this idea was a good idea at the time. The place is swampy, the Germans didn’t build anything there, they were afraid. But the stadium still appeared on the Island.
And then other buildings began to grow – branches of the Bolshoi Theater, the Tretyakov Gallery and the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts, and so on. Then projects of residential areas and hotels were presented. Some of these objects have received high praise from the local architectural community, while others are controversial. But in general, it is obvious that Oktyabrsky Island has every chance of becoming the calling card of Kaliningrad, something that can be proudly shown to tourists and investors.
But will it be so? Will it be possible to keep the architectural bar raised high enough or will the new promising territory turn into another faceless and boring “sleeping area”?
An attempt to answer this and other questions was made during a round table organized by the Royal Gate magazine on the topic “Development of Oktyabrsky Island in Kaliningrad: a new city to live in or a beautiful showcase.” Local architects and heads of construction companies took part in it.

The project of this multifunctional complex caused a mixed reaction at the city council, but was ultimately approved

It’s worth a little tweaking…

The image of Oktyabrsky Island is still in the fog. In fact, today it is one big construction site. But the authorities have big plans for him.
The Kaliningrad Region Development Corporation is actively inviting investors there, positioning the island as a “New urban environment in the westernmost region of Russia.”
The territory is divided into plots and is actively being sold. The head of the Corporation, Andrey Tolmachev, noted that since each plot in this territory is to a certain extent unique, a decision was made to oblige the investor who buys it to submit his project to the town planning council.
“Specialists must answer the question of what kind of object can be built there, how it will fit into the environment and be combined with the constructed buildings,” he said.
Architects are happy to share their ideas, but the impression is that they do not understand the general, main idea of ​​the development.
Alexander Bashin recalled that after the World Cup the master plan was developed by the capital company KB Strelka. But now little remains of his ideas. The neighborhoods have become larger and the number of storeys has increased. According to Bashin, the current approach is similar to the American or perhaps Chinese – when each project works for itself. Many of the buildings under construction and those already built on the Island, in his words, are “interesting and significant.” And the branch of the Bolshoi Theater, for example, generally claims to become an object of all-Russian, and perhaps even world level. But, as Bashin noted, “no general conceptualization exists anymore.” He also drew attention to the residential complex approved by the city council in the form of three high-rise buildings, on which the fourth lies, acting as a kind of roof. Bashin called this technique “sub-Singapore” and warned that many similar buildings could appear on the Island.
– And in the end we will have a dense, urbanized territory oversaturated with volumetric elements. Are society and professionals ready to accept this? – he wondered.

The strict and laconic silhouette of the hotel, designed by the Norwegian bureau Snohetta, has raised the architectural bar for the development of the Island.

And avoid the cacophony

There was no definite answer from anyone. But from the explanations of Bashin’s colleague, architect Igor Li, it became clear why the Island is growing upward. The soils there are unstable; in order to build something, you have to drive long piles – 24 meters, as suggested by the general director of the Baltia-Investstroy group of companies, Vladimir Mikhailin. It is clear that from an economic point of view, an investor would like to see something higher on such a solid basis.
“And to build a two-story kindergarten on such territory is, from my point of view, simply wasteful,” Igor Li expressed his opinion.
Architect Pyotr Chernenko, who worked on the Oktyabrsky Island planning project at the request of the Development Corporation, said that he was given the task of preserving as much as possible what was proposed by Strelka. However, a lot had to be reconsidered. In particular, social infrastructure, which turned out to be extremely difficult to fit into the original concept of the quarter.
This did not seem surprising to the governor’s adviser, architect Vyacheslav Genna, since European specialists took part in the creation of the Strelka master plan, and in Europe it is customary to build schools, kindergartens, and medical institutions into residential buildings. In our country, for security reasons, they build separate buildings with a fenced area. In general, Genne sees the Island as a field for the implementation of bold architectural ideas.
– There are no architectural or archaeological monuments there, no need to cut down trees! We are used to designing and building on six hundred square meters, in cramped conditions. And here is the field! And everyone lost it. But I like the visuals of the Island now,” he admitted.
At the same time, Genne is convinced that a unified design code is needed. So that there would be the same lanterns, benches, trash cans, and paving everywhere.
“Otherwise there will be cacophony,” he warned.
And, of course, the architect is confident that developers coming to the Island, government agencies or private ones, must follow the general concept. And then there are those with whom it is simply difficult to have a dialogue, because they are exclusively interested in square meters.

Residential complex. It’s expensive to build here, so the apartments won’t be cheap

Who made the suit?

This idea was warmly supported by the architect Sergei Gulevsky. He also noted that the main task is to create an ideology of spatial development. But who should do this?
“We have a Development Corporation, we have a Ministry of Urban Development Policy, we have a chief architect of the region, who for some reason is not part of the ministry responsible for urban development. In my opinion, the chief architect should be a deputy minister and have all the powers. And he must bear personal responsibility over the future image of this Island,” Gulevsky expressed confidence. “Otherwise it could turn out like in the famous miniature by Arkady Raikin, where a man dressed in an absurd suit tries to find out who made it. And it turns out – no one. One tailor sewed on the buttons, another sewed on the sleeves, but there was simply no one responsible for the final result. And for “no,” as you know, there is no trial.
The architect hastened to make a reservation that “nothing terrible is happening yet.” Simply, he believes, since the territory in question is unique, then organizational solutions should be unique.
“Maybe there is no need to build kindergartens and schools there at all,” Gulevsky expressed a bold thought. – What if we just allocate more buses and take children to other kindergartens and schools? This, in any case, will be cheaper than building low-rise buildings on 25-meter stilts.

Money and caviar

Separately, during the round table, the question was discussed: for whom, in fact, is construction going on? Who will live in these houses and work in these offices? Wouldn’t it be too expensive?
The situation, as it turned out, inspires optimism. Andrey Tolmachev said that about three hundred companies are currently renting offices on the Island. At the same time, rental prices there are noticeably higher than the average for Kaliningrad. Because there is demand.
“The corporation feels a shortage of administrative and commercial premises,” he said.
The architects, in turn, expressed confidence that if the buildings on the Island are beautiful and of high quality, then they will certainly be in demand, despite the high cost of “square meters”. Igor Li remembered that a hundred years ago, during the New Economic Policy, there was a joke: “If there was money, there would be caviar.” In the case of buildings on the Island, in his opinion, the situation is similar. The main thing is that there is a high-quality environment, and those who want to live and work there will not be kept waiting. Verified.

Projects provided by the organizers of the round table

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