Restoration of the natural carcass of the Ushakovka River tributaries was proposed by the students - winners of "ArchSchool-2022"

We remind that about 40 students of IRNITU were interested in the educational intensive courses. The first part of the school was held on the basis of the "Polytechnic" camp. The participants listened to lectures on urban planning, urban planning and landscape design, built art objects and developed six projects dedicated to the improvement of the Ushakovka River. The authors made their final presentations on July 28 in the House of Architect.

The winners were Alexandra Chichkan (captain), Anna Zhilkina, Yulia Yefimova, Alexandra Vlasenskaya, Elizaveta Kozlovskaya, Anastasia Kuznetsova, Gleb Zhuravlev and Olga Fomina.

As the organizers noted, that the " Mnogorukavnaya” presented a rational solution, which implies a careful attitude to the river ecosystem. Territorial Development Agency "Urban Planning School" invited the team to design the improvement of one of the Ushakovka fragments.

The authors worked on two tributaries of the Ushakovka. This is the Sarafanovka River, which partially flows through Kashtakovsky Grove, Prison Castle, and Yunatka Lake. The second branch is the Pshenichnaya river, whose channel runs partly through the private sector and the territory of Clinical Hospital No. 9. The river is almost unknown to local residents, many perceive it as a stream.

According to Alexandra Chichkan, the main idea of the project is to carry out revitalization, i.e. the restoration of natural areas of rivers. It is necessary to preserve the coastal strip and push back the boundaries of developments in the coastal part.

"We reject the idea of concreting and terracing slopes, taking sections of rivers into reservoirs, backfilling banks, and other interventions that disrupt the rivers' self-regulation," the captain explained.

On the bank of the Pshenichnaya River, the students proposed to arrange an elongated park zone with "functional pockets" - playgrounds, public and business space, and a recreation area. The inner courtyards of the future kindergarten and school, according to the authors, should be oriented towards the embankment. A museum with a co-working space and a conference hall could become a point of attraction near Sarafanovka. It is suggested to create a cultural object on the site of the Prison Castle.

It is expected that the link between the two tributaries will be Shchapovsky Boulevard, which is already planned in the Znamensky suburb project. Along this line, the polytechnics have provided a pedestrian route with paths, signposts, and historical stands.

The second place was awarded to the team "Prirodnaya" (Dmitry Petrov, Sofia Govorina, Anastasia Khazheeva, Svetlana Kuchukova, Irina Chekhovich, Polina Akhmedshina, Khalik Oketokun and Nikita Oreshkin). The students believe that by getting rid of the chaotic vegetation along the Ushakovka River, it is possible to provide visitors with access to the reservoir.

In addition, the project involves greening the coast with coniferous trees. This solution will visually fill the panorama and enhance the functions of the lower tributaries of the river. In addition, the students designed three types of bank protection, including the arrangement of retaining walls of gabions and stepped terraces. According to the developers, phytowalls - vertical gardens - will help transform the promenade area.

As the Natural team members emphasize, they delved not so much into architecture as into ecology during the design process. The kids studied ways to combat drought and flooding, mastered techniques for sanitary landscaping, and analyzed the behavior of water, trees, and small vegetation to keep air pollution in check.

"After ArchSchool, it will be much easier for us to take into account the environmental nuances of design when preparing our coursework and theses. In addition, the educational intensive is a great opportunity to develop networking. For two weeks we learned how to generate and discuss ideas together", - the students admit.

The third top leader were Anastasia Sukhareva, Irina Grineva, Nikita Mikhailichenko, Elizaveta Eremenko, Victoria Khudyakova, Ekaterina Bryndikova and Veronika Kozhevnikova from the "Bound" team. The Polytechnics developed several options for bridges over the Ushakovka River. One of them was a composition consisting of circular platforms imitating circles on the water. The peculiarity of the object in its location almost at the same level with the pond. It would successfully fit into the surrounding landscape staircase bridge, whose outlines repeat the shape consider promising construction of a covered bridge.