Pedestrian street Sovetskaya, in historical center of Tomsk, Russian Federation.

Tomsk State University of Architecture and Building

Project idea

In our country there are 45 historical settlements of federal significance, of which 9 are regional capitals and, in accordance with their status, are obliged to ensure sustainable development of both the territory of the city itself and the entire region as a whole. But, as modern practice shows, such cities face serious difficulties in urban planning and in the management of urban planning activities. In the historical centers of these cities, a contradictory situation is observed: on the one hand, there is a need to increase the efficiency of the functional use of the territory and the creation of modern public, business and commercial facilities, and on the other hand, it is necessary to preserve the historical appearance of the city, which requires significant costs for the protection and restoration of architectural heritage. The center strives for densification, but the historical environment carries many restrictions, cities choose extensive development, and investment goes to the outskirts. With the lack of investment, not only the infrastructure and building structures age, but the heritage itself falls into disrepair, is considered unsafe and is often subject to deconstruction. In some cases, wooden historical heritage disappears as a result of fires.
The solution to this problem is associated with the use of new approaches to investing and transforming historical territories, aimed at increasing the tourism potential of such places. One of the rapidly developing areas for the renovation of territories with valuable architectural heritage is the creation of new public spaces in the form of pedestrian zones and streets, filling these places with new functions and activities.
The city of Tomsk is a historical settlement of federal significance. More than 1,000 valuable city-forming objects are concentrated in the central part, of which about 300 are objects of cultural heritage of regional and federal significance. This heritage attracts tourists. At the same time, in the central part of the city, the number of public places intended for pedestrian traffic is limited and is represented by short sections of streets in the area of ​​Novosobornaya Square and st. Plekhanov. Currently, Tomsk needs to identify new pedestrian zones and their architectural and artistic organization.

Project description

The design solutions consider identified and generalized directions for organizing a pedestrian zone in the historical center of Tomsk.
As a result of an analysis of international experience, it was decided to organize the area around Sovetskaya Street as permeable and accessible as possible. In the project, it was decided to unite the landscaped neighborhoods and courtyards around the historical buildings into a single network with the main pedestrian axis along Sovetskaya Street. This approach allows you to distribute spaces along the route according to roles, from noisier and more crowded to closed but intense ones.
An important factor in the work was compliance with all conditions for the use of the territory by persons with mobility restrictions and people with limited mobility.
In the process of researching the renovation and restoration of the territory, the work proposes, through the “House for a Ruble” program, to attract investors to the territory, resettle cultural heritage sites, and change their functional purpose to a more appropriate one for the dynamically developing urban center. To comply with norms and restrictions, for the spot development of new capital construction projects on the territory, it is proposed to use innovative materials identical to the design and appearance of the main building. Based on the analysis of the urban planning situation and restrictions on the territory, a conclusion was made about the modulus and height of the planned objects.
From these proposed directions and approaches to planning, we can conclude that the territory is promising for intensive development of the urban center, the profitability of its existing development fund, and the need to restore dilapidated cultural heritage sites. These transformations can become the basis for tourist interest in the city of Tomsk, as well as improve the lives of citizens and the connectivity of districts due to the horizontal permeability of the network of public spaces, which in the future will be able to generate communities that develop the socio-cultural value of the city.

Technical information

The project proposes to use CLT panels and hand-molded bricks as the main material for the new development. This set of materials can be used not only as finishing, but also as constructive, which makes it possible to achieve not only external, but also constructive compliance of the building with the historical environment using innovative materials.
CLT panels are prefabricated wood panels glued together in several layers with intersecting grain directions. Each layer of the panel consists of wood boards or bars that are glued together under pressure and heat. They can be made from various types of wood and painted to increase the diversity of the environment and the composition of the urban ensemble.
At the moment, the CLT panel industry is actively developing in Russia, and the first apartment buildings have already been built. Constructive and proportional harmony of development is extremely important for the identity of the territory of the historical center.

Pedestrian streets can use different types of surfaces depending on functionality, aesthetics and performance characteristics. The most common types of surfaces for pedestrian streets are:

1.Asphalt pavement is the most popular and durable type of pavement, which has good wear resistance and is comfortable for pedestrians.
2.Paving stones are stone or concrete slabs laid in a certain order, which creates a beautiful and durable surface layer.
3.Tiles are ceramic or concrete tiles, often used for pedestrian areas in city parks and squares.
4.Gravel is a simple and cheap coating, but requires constant maintenance and renewal.
5.Wooden floorings are used less frequently due to their tendency to deform and absorb moisture.
The choice of coverage depends on many factors, such as the intensity of pedestrian traffic, climatic conditions, the style of the surrounding buildings and other parameters that take into account the safety and convenience of people using pedestrian streets.