Photo: Dmitry Neumoin / lori.ru
Olga Gritsan, Head of the Analytics Department at the Agency for Strategic Development CENTER, spoke at the first Industrial Moscow Region Forum. The event was devoted to preservation of industrial heritage sites that gave life to many cities in the region, such as Orekhovo-Zuevo, Yegoryevsk, Noginsk, Naro-Fominsk, and, of course, Ramenskoye, where the forum was held. Its main objective is to create an information resource consolidating data on all industrial facilities in the region that are of historical and cultural value – both of the pre-revolutionary and Soviet period. Such data will be useful to researchers and potential investors who are ready to develop such facilities, many of which are now not in the best condition and are gradually deteriorating.
Speaking at the plenary session of the forum, dedicated to inventory and analysis of projects for revitalization of industrial heritage sites, Olga Gritsan pointed out the importance of a systematic approach to working with industrial heritage, especially in terms of assessing the development potential and studying the demand for upgraded sites: "From the point of view of urban development, the reorganized industrial areas are the most significant territorial resource needed to form new multifunctional spaces, to accommodate socially significant amenities, and to create modern public areas. And if there are industrial heritage sites within the industrial areas, they become the driver for the development of these territories. Now this resource has become even more valuable, since due to the poorly controlled construction boom of the 90s of the last century, the territorial resources for urban development have decreased significantly. The most logical in the process of adapting cultural heritage sites to modern use would be to preserve the production functions in a new format of technology parks, innovation clusters, light industrial, and creative industries. Plus, there is an opportunity to accommodate offices, and organizations in the field of medicine, sports, fitness, education, and trade. But here we face a problem of washing out of industrial competencies in cities – for whom are we going to create new types of jobs? Problems may also be associated with the functional content of a facility. It is no secret that the mentality of residents in a million-plus city differs from that in small and medium-sized ones, and so does the volume of demand for services.”
The Agency CENTER addresses the problematics of development of inefficiently used industrial territories. Back in 2015, it operated two tenders for redevelopment of the territory in Moscow that used to be the industrial plant Kristall. In 2017-2018, the Agency conducted a large-scale study "Moscow the RE:Industrial. Typology of industrial areas and the best practices of redevelopment", in which former industrial areas are considered as a resource for formation of new multifunctional spaces, accommodation of socially significant amenities and creation of modern public areas. Three years later, a new study was carried out, "Redevelopment as a tool for integrated development of industrial zones in Moscow that lost their role." And now the Agency is the operator of a competition aimed to give new life to the main building of the Izhevsk Arms Plant built in the first half of the 19th century.
The Industrial Moscow Region Forum was held with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives and brought together government representatives, specialists in working with cultural heritage sites, urban planners, architects and owners of complexes being industrial heritage sites. The organizers were the Ramenskoye Historical and Art Museum, the PRO PROM and MosPromArt projects.