Since the second half of the 1950s, Khrushchev's efforts have created an architect/builder conflict - the cart was placed ahead of the horse. In the late 1980s - 1990s, through the mouth of the vice—mayor of Moscow, V.I. Resin, it was said that "the architect rules the ball," while the figure of a developer appeared on the horizon, who crushed both the architect and the builder. In fact, he was delegated the functions of strategizing the spatial development of the country.
The architects have a strong feeling that developers and builders are at the same time that the monstrous skew in the settlement system, the contraction of the population into a limited number of large cities, the disappearance and degradation of small and medium-sized cities, rural settlements, the galloping increase in the number of floors of buildings and the animation of 10—meter studios is their handiwork. The meeting of the Russian Society of Civil Engineers, held at the end of May, demonstrated that in the face of the impending crisis in the construction industry, it is necessary to join forces — over disciplinary frameworks.
The Board of the ROIS was almost unanimous in assessing the situation in the design and construction business. Varnishing reality drives problems inside. At the same time, according to the Chairman of the ROIS, the President of the International Fund for Economic Development. Baibakova V.M. Serova, at a recent government meeting in Nizhny Novgorod, the prospects for Russia's development were discussed, but not a word was said about the state of affairs in the construction industry.
The focus was on the report of the scientific director of the Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Construction, Academician A.S.Krivov, in which the state of the design and construction industry was analyzed. He started with figures: in 1985, the volume of MCD commissioning was 74-75 million m2, in 2023 — 53 million m2, while last year the population invested 8 trillion rubles in real estate; 15% and 5% of the country's population are concentrated in Moscow and St. Petersburg, respectively; currently 40 million families account for 72 million apartments; 1 billion m2 of housing is concentrated in houses built before 1975, while the service life of the then reinforced concrete was 50 years. The main conclusion is that the current imbalances are a threat to the national security of the country, and the confrontation with the collective West has highlighted this with glassy clarity.
The territorial planning system has neither an ideology nor its own center. The general scheme of urban development and the General Scheme of settlement are still a good wish. The 33 m2 per person declared by the President of the Russian Federation as national goals by 2030 is an impossible task in the current conditions. Especially considering the hundreds of thousands of studios introduced over the past decade. It is unlikely that the new edition of the Russian SPR, which should be completed this year, will be able to radically change the situation.
According to V.M. Serov, the questions follow from one another. How will the declared reversal of the country's settlement system in the eastern direction be carried out — "higher and higher", according to the Chinese or Singaporean model? How to build in a village that has been in a pen for decades? And is reinforced concrete still the main building material?
The topic of speeches by many members of the ROIS Board was the development of low-rise construction. V.M.Serov, pointing to the growth in the volume of unsold square meters in the MKD, focused on low-rise buildings in its complexity, including social infrastructure facilities. Board member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation V.A.Averchenko noted that one of the pain points of modern construction is the need for periodic replacement of elevators, which are not required for low-rise construction, despite the fact that there are problems with replenishing the bank of standard projects of low—rise buildings. Member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation V.M.Vidmanov outlined the catastrophic state of affairs in rural construction — from the destruction of the design system to the low volumes of construction of the road network. Thus, the prospects of landscape and estate urbanization are also called into question.
Special attention was paid to the problems of public administration — from criticism of the financial policy of the Central Bank, which is strangling all living things, to the reorganization of the design and construction industry. According to V.M.Vidmanov, in the light of the ongoing degradation of the settlement system, there is no alternative to the revival of Gosplan. If we talk about the construction industry, then due to the shortage of specialists in the structure of the Ministry of Construction, it is necessary to create a public structure — the headquarters of the industry, let it be called, for example, Gosstroy. V.A.Averchenko raises the question of the need to organize a separate structure responsible for managing the housing and communal services sector. Yu.B.Zuev, Chairman of the Board of the Tverskoy ROIS, traced the dynamics of the consistent cancellation of building codes from Yeltsin to Medvedev, which resulted, in particular, in the lightning—fast ignition of Crocus City Hall. Chairman of the Board of the ROIS, General Director of VNIINTPI G.I.Vorontsov pointed out the presence of networks of industry information centers — everywhere, with the exception of the construction industry; the reason is obvious — the Ministry of Construction refuses to finance them.
The meeting participants came to the conclusion that it was necessary to draw up a letter based on the results of the meeting (V.M.Serov described it as "tooth-crushing") addressed to the first person and the chairman of the Government with its publication in the media. Another way to convey real information about the state of affairs in the industry is to meet with the leadership of the Ministry of Construction.
Will the authority of builders with Soviet experience be able to stop the derailing night express in the current threshold situation? Architects are maliciously ignored, maybe they will listen to the builders?..
The architects have a strong feeling that developers and builders are at the same time that the monstrous skew in the settlement system, the contraction of the population into a limited number of large cities, the disappearance and degradation of small and medium-sized cities, rural settlements, the galloping increase in the number of floors of buildings and the animation of 10—meter studios is their handiwork. The meeting of the Russian Society of Civil Engineers, held at the end of May, demonstrated that in the face of the impending crisis in the construction industry, it is necessary to join forces — over disciplinary frameworks.
The Board of the ROIS was almost unanimous in assessing the situation in the design and construction business. Varnishing reality drives problems inside. At the same time, according to the Chairman of the ROIS, the President of the International Fund for Economic Development. Baibakova V.M. Serova, at a recent government meeting in Nizhny Novgorod, the prospects for Russia's development were discussed, but not a word was said about the state of affairs in the construction industry.
The focus was on the report of the scientific director of the Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Construction, Academician A.S.Krivov, in which the state of the design and construction industry was analyzed. He started with figures: in 1985, the volume of MCD commissioning was 74-75 million m2, in 2023 — 53 million m2, while last year the population invested 8 trillion rubles in real estate; 15% and 5% of the country's population are concentrated in Moscow and St. Petersburg, respectively; currently 40 million families account for 72 million apartments; 1 billion m2 of housing is concentrated in houses built before 1975, while the service life of the then reinforced concrete was 50 years. The main conclusion is that the current imbalances are a threat to the national security of the country, and the confrontation with the collective West has highlighted this with glassy clarity.
The territorial planning system has neither an ideology nor its own center. The general scheme of urban development and the General Scheme of settlement are still a good wish. The 33 m2 per person declared by the President of the Russian Federation as national goals by 2030 is an impossible task in the current conditions. Especially considering the hundreds of thousands of studios introduced over the past decade. It is unlikely that the new edition of the Russian SPR, which should be completed this year, will be able to radically change the situation.
According to V.M. Serov, the questions follow from one another. How will the declared reversal of the country's settlement system in the eastern direction be carried out — "higher and higher", according to the Chinese or Singaporean model? How to build in a village that has been in a pen for decades? And is reinforced concrete still the main building material?
The topic of speeches by many members of the ROIS Board was the development of low-rise construction. V.M.Serov, pointing to the growth in the volume of unsold square meters in the MKD, focused on low-rise buildings in its complexity, including social infrastructure facilities. Board member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation V.A.Averchenko noted that one of the pain points of modern construction is the need for periodic replacement of elevators, which are not required for low-rise construction, despite the fact that there are problems with replenishing the bank of standard projects of low—rise buildings. Member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation V.M.Vidmanov outlined the catastrophic state of affairs in rural construction — from the destruction of the design system to the low volumes of construction of the road network. Thus, the prospects of landscape and estate urbanization are also called into question.
Special attention was paid to the problems of public administration — from criticism of the financial policy of the Central Bank, which is strangling all living things, to the reorganization of the design and construction industry. According to V.M.Vidmanov, in the light of the ongoing degradation of the settlement system, there is no alternative to the revival of Gosplan. If we talk about the construction industry, then due to the shortage of specialists in the structure of the Ministry of Construction, it is necessary to create a public structure — the headquarters of the industry, let it be called, for example, Gosstroy. V.A.Averchenko raises the question of the need to organize a separate structure responsible for managing the housing and communal services sector. Yu.B.Zuev, Chairman of the Board of the Tverskoy ROIS, traced the dynamics of the consistent cancellation of building codes from Yeltsin to Medvedev, which resulted, in particular, in the lightning—fast ignition of Crocus City Hall. Chairman of the Board of the ROIS, General Director of VNIINTPI G.I.Vorontsov pointed out the presence of networks of industry information centers — everywhere, with the exception of the construction industry; the reason is obvious — the Ministry of Construction refuses to finance them.
The meeting participants came to the conclusion that it was necessary to draw up a letter based on the results of the meeting (V.M.Serov described it as "tooth-crushing") addressed to the first person and the chairman of the Government with its publication in the media. Another way to convey real information about the state of affairs in the industry is to meet with the leadership of the Ministry of Construction.
Will the authority of builders with Soviet experience be able to stop the derailing night express in the current threshold situation? Architects are maliciously ignored, maybe they will listen to the builders?..