Seventy-five per cent of Russians now live in cities which grew exponentially during Soviet-era industrialisation and are now struggling with built environments unable to respond to climate breakdown and how people live today. Everywhere, major roads dominate and sever communities. The Oktyabrsky scheme demonstrates a sustainable way forward, confidently guiding the next chapter of growth. Integrating the Stadium into the fabric of the city was a clear focus, drawing life east and preventing it from falling into the trap of becoming another major sports venue that is rarely filled.

The brief called for new homes for 80,000 residents. LDA Design’s landscape-led masterplan for Oktyabrsky Island promotes car-free living within a culture where car ownership is still a status symbol. It creates a distinctive new piece of city with water at its heart, drawing in the beauty of the Pregolya River, which wraps around the Island. Water taxis will replace cars, where possible; cycling and walking will be safe and easy; and life close to nature through a city-scale green infrastructure ring. The stadium itself is re- imagined within a parkland setting.

Describe the context and brief for this place?

Kaliningrad is Russia’s westernmost region, located within a network of Baltic coastal cities that are now thriving centres for creativity, culture and sustainable living. The world’s gaze turned to Kaliningrad when it was selected as a host city for the 2018 World Cup. A sparkling 35,000- seat stadium followed on reclaimed marshland, just 10 minutes from the city centre. Home to Kaliningrad Stadium, Oktyabrsky Island has since been designated a pilot site for a new standard of development in Russia offering high-quality housing and a differentiated offer. In 2018, an international design competition to shape Oktyabrsky and improve its connections to the city centre was launched by Moscow-based urban planning consultancy, Strelka KB.

Seventy-five per cent of Russians now live in cities which grew exponentially during Soviet-era industrialisation and are now struggling with built environments unable to respond to climate breakdown and how people live today. Everywhere, major roads dominate and sever communities. The winning Oktyabrsky scheme was to demonstrate a sustainable way forward, confidently guiding the next chapter of growth. Integrating the Stadium into the fabric of the city was a clear focus, drawing life east and preventing it from falling into the trap of becoming another major sports venue that is rarely filled. The brief called for new homes for 80,000 residents. Quality of life was to come first. As Anton Alikhanov, Governor of Kaliningrad, stated in the brief, “a city is not a house- street-urban block, it is first and foremost about people”. It was this challenge that appealed.

Describe your design for this place and how it will contribute to urban life?

LDA Design’s landscape-led masterplan for Oktyabrsky Island is inspired by Kaliningrad-born philosopher Immanuel Kant’s rules for happiness, ‘Something to do, someone to love, something to hope for’. This will be an enterprising and inclusive place; full of life and neighbourliness, with homes designed for centuries not decades as in the former Soviet era.

The masterplan promotes car-free living within a culture where car ownership is still a status symbol. It creates a distinctive new piece of city with water at its heart, drawing in the beauty of the Pregolya River, which wraps around the Island. Water taxis will replace cars, where possible; cycling and walking will be safe and easy; and life close to nature through a city- scale green infrastructure ring. A legible network of streets stitch together the new and existing urban fabric. Landmark buildings add drama to the city’s skyline and strengthen Oktyabrsky’s appeal as a destination.

Distinct character areas take cues from Kaliningrad’s past. They are designed to build belonging and identity and include what is set to be a world- class cultural quarter on the sunny riverbank for arts and education. A car-free artisan quarter reflects the fine grain of the historic city centre. At its heart is a large park with a landmark water feature: a lido for summer and winter ice rink. A wilder archipelago on the Island’s eastern edges puts people in touch with nature, providing physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits. The stadium itself is re-imagined within a beautiful parkland setting.

What was your process in coming up with the design? What research, consultation, workshops or conversations did you undertake?

LDA Design’s competition entry won out over 28 consultancies from 12 countries. We were then appointed to further develop the masterplan alongside Strelka KB. We worked closely with Strelka’s research team to gain local insight into the planning, policy and regulatory context. Research into urban anthropology and local economics provided an understanding of the place and its people. However, research and analysis can only reveal so much. We believe passionately in listening to what the site and local people can tell us. We spent time in Kaliningrad, immersing ourselves in the site, city and its culture. Through a series of intensive study visits and myriad local conversations, we gained a rounded understanding of the place, which inspired our creative response.

So armed, we were able to take the masterplan forward working remotely. Regular Skype calls became interactive design workshops. As part of this process, we presented the scheme in 3D to stimulate design discussions and to work through detailed technical issues such as volumetric testing to assess environmental and planning issues, massing and scale of built form. Most importantly, this approach allowed for thoughtful and lively conversations about the people we were designing for and future uses. Using the model enabled us to break through language barriers and explain the design thinking behind captured views, new landmarks and solar gain for public spaces. It also allowed us to explain how we envisaged people using the Island based on the aspirations they revealed to us.

How does your design respond to future changes in demographics, transport and the climate emergency to create a resilient place?

Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave with a population of nearly half a million and a long, somewhat uneven history. Militarisation during the Soviet era drove its economy, so the end of the USSR hit hard, as the military withdrew and its other key industry, agriculture, collapsed. Unemployment soared and poverty was widespread. Special economic status in the late-1990s provided respite, but the region was badly affected by the 2008 recession. Kaliningrad’s Soviet-era growth has left behind a built environment struggling to keep pace with new technologies and contemporary lifestyles. The Pregolya River carries with it the threat of severe flooding.

The Oktyabrsky Island masterplan is an opportunity to catalyse growth, putting the city on the map as a major cultural destination. It will set new standards in Russia for housing and city planning, building in resilience to climate breakdown through enhanced natural networks and sustainable transport. The masterplan sets out a new model for more equitable urban living which prioritises healthier lifestyles and community. It draws the Pergolya River into the site to deliver a modal shift from car dependency through a regular water taxi service.

Kaliningrad’s revitalised green infrastructure will boost local biodiversity, improving air quality and mitigating the heat island effect. World- class culture on the doorstep will make this a place of choices. Success here means changing the order of thinking, starting with what people want and need. That the design won an international competition demonstrates an appetite in Russia today for doing things differently.