The Foundation for Development of the Centre of Research and Commercialising of New Technologies has announced a bid for a general designer to draft the final town-planning piece of design documentation for the Skolkovo Innovation Centre – the site development plan. The project developers have come a lot closer to implementation of their aspirations. At the same time, this tender decision is so much more than just the go-ahead for the next stage of town planning activities – it is also a beacon for the architectural community. Detailed and professionally executed design documents are of the utmost importance for robust integration of Russian architecture firms in this landmark project.
French AREP is the firm in charge of the Skolkovo master plan. Individual districts of the Innovation Centre have been designed by a number of prominent architects, including Pritzker architecture prize winners Kazuo Sejima and Pierre de Meuron, as well as celebrated Russian architects Sergey Tchoban and Yuri Grigoryan. These professionals will give the town a rich and diverse environment with landmark buildings to create an outstanding impression of Skolkovo. Even so, most buildings of the Innovation Centre will be designed by Russian architects, including young professionals selected through architecture bids. This means Russian architects have a chance to work in a single team with players of the major global architecture league and be contracted for some offbeat jobs requiring an innovative touch.
The fact that a big group of architecture firms of different sizes and capabilities will have to work in sync to accomplish the project means that the design documents must be of premium quality. That is why the Skolkovo Foundation wants a highly-qualified general designer involved in the town planning work. Bidders for the general designer contract will have to meet special requirements. For example, they must have prior experience in coordinating the work of multiple architects and have specialists familiar with LEED and BREAM environmental construction standards. Some of the leading Russian and foreign companies have already expressed their interest in bidding. Potentially, bidders will establish international alliances.
Background information:
About the Skolkovo Foundation
The Foundation for Development of the Skolkovo Centre for Research and Commercialising New Technologies is a nonprofit organisation created on the initiative of President Dmitry Medvedev in September 2010. Its goal is to mobilise Russia’s resources in modern applied research and create an environment beneficial for academic pursuits in five priority fields of technological development, including energy and energy efficiency, space, biomedicine, nuclear technologies and IT. This project calls for establishing the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (SIST), a number of research institutions, a business incubator, a technology transfer and commercialisation centre, representative offices of foreign companies and R&D centres, as well as housing and a social infrastructure. In the future, the project’s know-how will be rolled out to other innovative regions of Russia. A special law governs Skolkovo, granting its residents special economic benefits.
Skolkovo Foundation website: www.i-gorod.com