INRTU Project Presented at the International Master Planning Competition for the New Kharkhorum City of Mongolia
INRTU's "Stretched Bow" project has passed the second round of the New Kharkhorum City of Mongolia International Master Planning Competition. The project has been admitted to the voting and will be presented to the public at the Urban Planning Exhibition in Ulaanbaatar, to be held on July 28-31.
In 2022, by the Mongolian President’s decree, it was decided to reconstruct the ancient capital of the country and create the New Kharkhorum city in the Orkhon River valley. The Mongolian government has allocated 189 thousand hectares for massive construction. The Orkhon Valley is an important historical place where the ancient states of the Mongolian Empire originated. The city was founded in 1220 by Genghis Khan and was the Empire's capital for a long time.
A total of 428 teams from 54 countries took part in the competition. 36 initiatives, authored by over 100 leading architects and urban planners, made it to the second stage.
The INRTU project in Ulaanbaatar will be presented to the experts by the team leader, the well-known Irkutsk architect Andrei Makarov, and the scientific director of the International Baikal Winter University of Urban Planning Design (the Winter University), Yuri Perelygin.
A team of 15 experts in urban planning, architecture, engineering, archaeology, and other areas worked on the project. Most of the project team members are INRTU employees.
According to Yuri Perelygin, five versions of the concept have been proposed:
"A key factor in the city's development was proximity to Russian and Chinese transport routes. This is wh ere the Great Silk Road used to pass. It is a good economic reason for building a town. Besides, New Kharkhorum can become the capital of Mongolia, which makes it an important step for the country to develop and grow. All these ideas are well reflected in our final concept - the Stretched Bow. The project emphasizes the historical significance of the Orkhon Valley, its connection to Ulaanbaatar, and incorporates the capital city’s typical infrastructure."
The layout includes administrative buildings, consulates and foreign missions, an industrial zone, and transportation hubs for rail, air, and road.
The INRTU project focuses on a convenient network of streets and roads inside and outside the city. The concept reflects a landscape style of planning with a regular quarterly grid of inner districts, along the river the construction of hydro-technical facilities is envisaged. Throughout the territory of New Kharkhorum, green corridors will be created.
Andrei Makarov underlines that there is no future without the past:
"The project’s name - "Stretched Bow" implies historical continuity. Taking part in this international competition means a lot to the Irkutsk Region. We intend to worthily represent Irkutsk and prove that the area boasts a powerful community of urban planners and architects. We hope for success".
At the end of the exhibition in Ulaanbaatar, a committee of Mongolian and foreign experts will select five teams that have presented the best concepts. Here you can get acquainted with the participants’ projects and vote for the INRTU team in the social networks of the competition. The Irkutsk team is placed under No. 11. Support the INRTU project. The winners will be announced on August 1, 2024.
Photos by Andrei Makarov
