Winners chosen for Kaliningrad master plan competition

LDA Design have been announced as the winners of an international competition to find a landscape-led masterplan for Oktyabrsky Island in Kaliningrad. A short ten-minute walk from the city centre, the Island contains 385 hectares of reclaimed marshland designated as a special economic zone to attract international investment and tourism. This year, the area attracted headlines as home to the 35,000-seater Kaliningrad Stadium, one of the arenas hosting the 2018 World Cup.

The competition aimed for the whole city to benefit from the Oktyabrsky Island plan. Anton Alikhanov, Governor of Kaliningrad, emphasised in the brief: “A city is not a house-street-urban block, it is first and foremost about people.” LDA Design worked closely with Russian architects MAP and global engineering firm WSP to develop a new urban oasis embedded within the wider location, creating a welcoming and enterprising place to live and work. The plan includes a world-class pedestrian cultural quarter on the river bank for sports, arts and education.

LDA Design’s concept involved drawing water into the site through a series of waterways and improved connections to the Pregolya River, which surrounds the island. This will allow easy access for water taxis, enabling the establishment of car-free areas. A large park at the centre of an artisan quarter contains a landmark water feature with a lido in Summer and an ice rink in Winter. As well as establishing new facilities, the design capitalises on natural assets, with a wilder archipelago created on the eastern edges of the Island to put people in touch with nature.

Commenting on the win, LDA Design’s Mark Williams, Director, Urban Design, said: “The site presents an extraordinary opportunity to create a new piece of city that delivers a world-class cultural destination for Kaliningrad. Our concept embraces the natural beauty of the Pergolya River and intuitively draws these qualities deep into the site in a new model for city living that supports healthier and happier lifestyles.”
 
LDA Design’s masterplan will be further developed and is expected to complete by January 2019.

Lucy Nordberg
TenderStream Head of Research

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