100+ Forum Russia: science, technology, education

In October, Yekaterinburg will host one of the main events of the Russian construction industry – the IV International Forum of High-rise and Unique Construction 100+ Forum Russia. The event is unique in the depth of study of the issues raised at it.

Why a professional forum appeared in the Urals, how it is possible to keep the brand of a specialized event and whether it is necessary to turn it into an exhibition of achievements of the construction industry or an investment platform – we talked about this with Vera Belous, executive secretary of the organizing committee of 100+ Forum Russia, executive director of the Association of Builders of the Urals.

- I must say right away that there is no need to turn the forum into a fully investment platform. But this year we really decided to expand its format by adding an exhibition of achievements of the construction industry. Otherwise, we maintain and strengthen our core engineering focus.

- At various times, the topics of the 100+ Forum Russia were high-rise buildings, large-span structures, underground construction, and many others. Which of these topics should be considered the main one?

- Our main theme, which we continue this year, is the development of high-rise and unique construction in Russia. This includes unique structures, buildings above 100 meters, bridges, underground facilities, airports. But the list of topics on the forum is increasing every year. Last year we talked about architecture, urbanism and urban planning. This year, in addition to the traditional main topics of the forum, special sessions will be devoted to the creation of transport infrastructure, the preservation and integration of cultural heritage sites in modern megacities, the problems of "green" construction, and the ecology of the urban environment. Much attention will be paid at the forum to the implementation of the priority project of the Russian Ministry of Construction to create a comfortable urban environment.

- You said that an exhibition of industry achievements and innovations will also be organized this year. What will it be like?

- The exhibition will bring together about one hundred leading companies from Russia and abroad that are engaged in innovative technologies, materials and research in various fields of the construction industry. For example, we plan to present the development of a Ural enterprise and show how houses are built on a 3D printer. There is already experience of such construction in China, experimental facilities have also been printed in the Sverdlovsk region and in Moscow. In addition, we are waiting for experts from the Krylov State Scientific Center at the forum to show their unique development - a landscape wind tunnel used to test models of various structures and determine wind impacts on high-rise buildings, large-span bridge structures and other unique objects, taking into account the surrounding landscape. Experts, in particular, will tell at the forum how this wind tunnel was used in modeling wind impacts on the structures of the Kerch Bridge. In addition, as I have already said, the largest developers of the region, manufacturers of modern building materials and technologies will take part in the exhibition.

- It can be assumed that the section on the construction of the Kerch Bridge will not be the only one on the 100+ Forum Russia. What else will be interesting in the forum part?

- Previous years have shown that the events of the forum arouse great interest among students of specialized universities from different cities. This year, a platform with its own 100+ Education component will be allocated for the events of the educational cluster at the forum, for which we are preparing a program together with higher educational institutions of the country. Nikita Tokarev, director of the MARSH Architectural School and board member of the Union of Moscow Architects, will deliver an open lecture for students. By the way, in the business program of the forum, he will talk about the creation of the ARTPLAY art space in Moscow on the territory of a former factory. In addition, within the framework of the 100+ Education program, the results of the All-Russian student competition "Green Line", dedicated to eco-design and "green" architecture, will be summed up. We will place about 100 of the most interesting projects at the exhibition in the forum pavilion. The annual Assembly of the European Construction Education and Staff Retraining Association (EUCEET) with the participation of professors from the world's leading universities will also be held at the 100+ site this year. At the round table, the participants of the EUCEET assembly will discuss how construction universities should update their educational programs in order to meet the requirements of the construction industry. These requirements are constantly increasing, new technologies are coming into construction, and the education system, of course, must train specialists of the required level.

- The business program that you mentioned is the basis of the forum. Tell me, please, what is she like?

- Minister of Construction Mikhail Men said at one of the forum's organizing committees that the 100+ Forum Russia is the only industry event in the country aimed not at attracting investors, but at discussing the real problems of the construction sector. We are proud of this assessment and try to keep the brand. Therefore, what we call a business program is the presentation of scientific developments, the analysis of complex construction cases and the exchange of experience, rather than the presentation of advertising projects.

- What is the scope of such an exchange of experience? It is known that there are always a lot of foreign experts on the "100+".

- Indeed, the word "international" in the name of the forum is not for nothing. This year, for example, Vicente Guayart, the former chief architect of Barcelona, will come to the forum. He will give an open lecture on "Prototyping the cities of the future." The Spanish architect creates concepts of the cities of the future and strives to realize them in the present. At the lecture, Vicente Guayart will talk about bold urban solutions that can be implemented tomorrow. And also about how the future of modern cities depends on them and how the urban area can be radically modernized.

- At the first forum in 2014, it was announced the creation of a Center for High-rise Competencies in Yekaterinburg and the approval of the Roadmap "Improving the business climate in the construction of unique buildings and structures, including high-rise residential and public buildings." What is the practical result of the industry?

- We can say that today this document is one of the backbone documents in construction, because it involves the development of new codes of practice for civil engineering, which greatly facilitate the life of the industry, and focuses on the main problems that need to be addressed. Last year, the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation approved two new joint ventures - "Engineering systems of high-rise buildings" and "High-rise buildings and complexes. Design rules". Four more high-rise construction joint ventures are expected to be developed this year: "High-rise buildings and complexes. Planning and development of territories", "High-rise buildings and complexes. Fire safety requirements", "High-rise buildings and complexes. Operating rules" and "Constructions of foundations of high-rise buildings and structures. The rules of work". These documents expand the capabilities of design engineers, as they represent a high-quality regulatory framework that meets precisely modern requirements for the quality of high-rise buildings.

- And all these documents are discussed at the 100+ Forum Russia?

- They are discussed both in the Ministry of Construction and at the 100+ Forum Russia site, and the Center for High-altitude Competencies takes an active part in the public discussion of the documents being developed, collects and systematizes comments and sends them to the developers of regulatory documents. The forum gathers the largest number of experts and other representatives of the construction industry. This year, for example, we will discuss the first edition of the code of fire safety regulations. In this regard, the Forum is a unique platform for communication between specialists in the construction industry, who in their practice are constantly faced with imperfections in the legislative framework, and it will be useful for each of them to participate in this discussion.