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On June 25, a meeting of the jury of the Open International Competition to Develop a Master Plan for the Research and Technology Districts of the Sirius Federal Territory was held. Leading experts in areas such as architecture, urban planning and urbanism have chosen six finalists who will develop a document for the two districts of Sirius that will determine the ways of their strategic development until 2035. 

The master plan will outline key scenarios for the spatial organization and functional development of the sites, which will include, among other facilities, a high-tech medical complex specializing in cancer treatment and the second phase of the Sirius University campus. The modern scientific and technological campus will be the cultural, educational and semantic center of the federal territory. Students of the Sirius University of Science and Technology and Sirius College, teachers, and residents of the Innovative Scientific and Technological Center will be able to live and work there. In the surrounding area, there will be exhibition spaces for young artists and sculptors, sports and leisure infrastructure, public spaces and parks, and a university medical clinic. A network of modern university campuses is being created on the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of the Youth and Children national project.

In total, the jury reviewed 42 applications submitted by 140 organizations from 20 countries. Representatives of the BRICS+ countries showed particular interest in the competition. Approximately half of all applications were from this association, including countries such as Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, China, the UAE and South Africa.

The list of finalists was presented by Elena Shmeleva, chair of the competition jury, chair of the Council of the Sirius Federal Territory, and head of the Talent and Success Educational Foundation.

The finalists are: 

•    THAD+RAKITA consortium under the leadership of Rakita LLC (consisting of Moscow-based Rakita company and the Institute of Architectural Design and Research of Tsinghua University (Beijing);

•    Sirius Urban Collective consortium under the leadership of IE Georgy Alekseevich Shchurov (consisting of IE Georgy Alekseevich Shchurov (Moscow), ATLAS Global KZ LLP (Almaty, Kazakhstan), Spectrum LLC (Tbilisi, Georgia), DS Tech LLC (Moscow), HPB Solution LLC (Moscow);

•    Consortium G, S+M under the leadership of GORPROEKT JSC (consisting of GORPROEKT JSC (Moscow), SM Bureau LLC (St. Petersburg);

•    City of the Future Consortium under the leadership of MC Imhotep-Development LLC (consisting of MC Imhotep-Development LLC (St. Petersburg), Urban Tech LLC (Moscow), Red-Business LLC (Krasnoyarsk), Engineering Bureau Hosser LLC (St. Petersburg), Alexander Wong Architects (Hong Kong), Keon Gan Architects & Planners (Seoul), University of Seoul, DONGHAE Engineering & Consultants Co., Ltd (Seoul);

•    Consortium “MAP – sla.moscow – ANO Center for Tourism and Ecology – The Power of Thought – Alexander Suvalko” under the leadership of Workshop of Architectural Spaces LLC (consisting of Workshop of Architectural Spaces LLC (Moscow), IE Vyacheslav Sergeevich Ivanov (Moscow), ANO Center for Tourism Development, Environmental Education and Expertise (Moscow), IE Evgenia Igorevna Belenova (Creative Studio “The Power of Thought”) (Voronezh), IE Alexander Sergeevich Suvalko (Moscow); 

•    NOVA Consortium under the leadership of DB More LLC (consisting of Design Bureau More LLC (Kazan), Chechen State University named after A. A. Kadyrov (Grozny), Ahmadullin Architects LLC (Ufa), Architectural Design and Research Institute of Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, China), Distance Studio Consultants (Giza, Egypt).

Young scientists were also able to evaluate the competitors’ work. The participants of the “Cities of the Future” school-conference of the Sirius University of Science and Technology presented their vision of the development of the federal territory to the experts. This is an educational program that took place on June 21 – 24 and included lectures by leading urbanists, architects and environmentalists, as well as assignments such as the design of scientific campuses and the development of concepts for a clinical center and high-tech areas. 

“Along with wrapping up the competition results, Sirius University held an intensive educational program where our young colleagues, students and scientists worked with leading experts, and listened to lectures on modern challenges in the field of urban planning and urban development. One of the main ideas of the school was to unite young specialists from different fields – architects, ecologists, sociologists, IT specialists, and those who study in urban planning specialties – around the task of evaluating competitive works. The range of their opinions gave a wonderful result and influenced the choice that the jury made today. Now, the finalists selected by the jury are faced with the task of finalizing the presented concepts to the state of detailed projects and submitting them in November 2025. We expect the results of the competition at the end of 2025 and plan that in the shortest possible time these promising ideas will begin to be implemented,” said Elena Gershelis, chairman of the Expert Council of the competition, executive director of the International Scientific Center for Ecology and Climate Change of the Sirius University of Science and Technology.

According to the Jury member, Her Excellency Aisha Bin Bishr, an expert on global digital transformation, a strategic leader in smart city initiatives (UAE), it was the “voice of youth” that became a common component of the finalists' works: “Our colleagues from the Sirius Educational Center managed to assemble a young team with experience in the field of architecture. Such young people will live in Sirius in the future, so their voice is very important. It was very encouraging to see their work that influenced our decision. There are very few places in the world where the voice of young people is really heard, and I think Sirius is one of them,” said Dr. Bin Bishr. 

The results of the jury meeting were summed up by the representative of the competition operator – co-founder of the Agency for Strategic Development “CENTER” Sergei Georgievskii. “The competition showed the main thing – the professional community perceives Sirius as a unique platform for the implementation of ambitious ideas. We see equal competitiveness between young teams and experienced bureaus, a harmonious combination of Russian experience with international practices and going beyond the scope of the terms of reference – many participants proposed system solutions for the entire federal territory. It is especially valuable that the best works contain not just high-quality visualizations, but a holistic image of the future, where every detail is thought out and substantiated. This proves that Sirius has become a point of attraction for the world's urban talents”, – said Sergei Georgievskii.

The next stage of the competition will be a series of consultations for the finalists on the part of the representatives of the federal territory and the operator, including an introductory seminar on-site in Sirius. The winner will be chosen in November 2025 and will be directly involved in the implementation of their ideas. Along with the master plan of the winning team, the best proposals of the finalists will be used for the development of the territory.

Photo: Robert Oganesyan