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On 28 November, the results of the 16th Festival National Award of Russia in Landscape Architecture and Garden and Park Art were announced at the Central House of Architects — the industry’s leading professional event. A total of 205 projects from 104 participants representing 16 cities were submitted to the competition. In all, 104 awards were presented in the form of diplomas from the Association of Landscape Architects of Russia (ALAROS).

“We are truly delighted by such a large number of participants, partners, and young people interested in the professional agenda. The exhibition of competition entries also received a very strong response. This shows that landscape architecture is an essential and highly relevant profession of the future, because architecture cannot exist without the environment in which it is embedded,” noted ALAROS President Taisia Wolfftrub.

Ivan Bugaev of Bugaev Parks & Gardens was named Landscape Architect of the Year. The company’s Bolotov Award project — through which young professionals receive named scholarships and the opportunity to gain practical experience at one of the largest companies in the field — was awarded a gold diploma as the best industry event.

In the Best Landscape Company category, the top awards went to Moscow-based Megli Project and Saint Petersburg-based L.BURO, which also became the absolute leader in the number of diplomas received — eight in total, six of them gold. “Every year, the Award helps our entire team grow stronger and take a step forward. The team knows that the whole country is here, that we need to represent Saint Petersburg at the highest level — to rise above ourselves and compete with the entire nation,” said Petr Lary, founder and chief architect of L.BURO.

In addition to the large number of participants and the open defence of projects, a defining feature of the festival is its business programme. The host of the closing ceremony, Nikolai Timchenko, CEO of the Agency for strategic development "CENTER", emphasised: “This year, the business programme was exceptionally rich. We are proud to note that it attracted not only professionals, but also a large number of students — more than a thousand people attended it over the course of the event. This indicates one thing: the Award is growing, expanding, and remains significant for the entire professional community.”

One of the key events of the business programme was a special session dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve, during which its management presented plans for the development of the territory. Maria Novikova, Chief Landscape Architect of the museum-reserve, spoke about a concept that envisions the creation of a network of landscaped pedestrian and transport routes, recreational areas, an art cluster with coworking spaces, cafés and a lecture hall, a sports complex, and an eco-education centre on the site between the historic part of Tsaritsyno and the Biryulyovo Arboretum — an area currently occupied by garages and vacant land.

“The first works in this direction will begin as early as next year,” Maria Novikova noted. In the longer term, the possibility is even being considered of constructing a two-kilometre rail-and-cable line to the Kuzminki Estate Museum, which would “link the largest parks and the embankment of the Moskva River into a single route.”

The festival was organised by ALAROS and the Agency for strategic development "CENTER", with the support of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation, the Union of Architects of Russia, the Union of Architects of Moscow, the Moscow Department for Environmental Management and Protection, and the Moscow branch of the International Academy of Architecture.

All festival news and full results are available on the ALAROS Award website: alaros.ru/festival-main.

Photo: Nikolai Sokolov