Yekaterinburg has developed options for the reconstruction of the Vostochnaya – Lenina intersection

University students presented projects for the reconstruction of the intersection of Vostochnaya Street and Lenin Avenue in Yekaterinburg during the International Construction Forum and the 100+ TechnoBuild exhibition. The presentations were held as part of the competition "Perspective of movement: modern TPU of Yekaterinburg". It was also organized by the Ural State University of Architecture and Art (URGAKHU, Yekaterinburg).

The Lenin – Vostochnaya intersection is one of the busiest in the city: there is high pedestrian and automobile traffic, there are railway and bus stops nearby. According to the organizers of the competition, it should become a modern public area with a well-developed infrastructure, safe for all participants in the movement.

The award ceremony was held in two categories: "Reconstruction of a transport hub" and "Small architectural forms for TPU". During the presentations of the works, a heated discussion developed about how the solutions would fit into the appearance of the city, how functional and realistic they were.

"I am very glad and grateful that students participate in such competitions. It's a great experience, and it's very rewarding. You don't take words as a kind of criticism. In fact, when there is something to discuss, then there is an opportunity to continue the discussion, when there is nothing to discuss, then there are much fewer words," said Vadim Oparin, director of the Architectural Institute of Urgakha.

The best reconstruction option was presented by the team "Author Supervision" from the Ural Federal University (UrFU, Yekaterinburg). The Graffiti project was developed by Alexandra Akulinushkina, Angelina Andreeva, Anastasia Borshcheva, Polina Surkova, Alexandra Gorchatova. The authors suggested decorating the underpass with granite, as well as decorating it with quotes from famous Uralians, for example, director Alexei Balabanov and playwright Nikolai Kolyada. At the same time, the team proposed not to change the porcelain stoneware laid in pedestrian areas, but to restore it in order to save money. The students also thought about what small architectural forms and pedestrian connections would be like – all of them somehow echo the elements that are used in the architecture of the city today.

Anna Novak, a student of Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, became the winner in the nomination "Small Architectural Forms for TPU". She presented a reconstruction option for Pervomaiskaya Station. Anna studied what associations people have with Yekaterinburg in the first place, based on Pavel Bazhov's fairy tale "The Malachite Box". As a result, the author presented the concept of a bus stop complex using pillars "like malachite", painted in green and blue.

The winners in the "Reconstruction of a transport hub" nomination were another team from UrFU (Renata Gabdullina, Anastasia Markova, Daria Shlyapina, Lolita Skachkova, they took second place), as well as a student of USAHU Nadezhda Zanina (third place).

The second place in the nomination "Small architectural forms for TPU" went to the project "Striving for heights" by the authors from USAHU (Alexandra Permyakova, Svetlana Kobyashova), the third — to the student of USAHU Natalia Vorotnyak.

The winners will receive cash prizes. The works of all finalists will be submitted to the city administration and may be included in the action plan for the preparation and celebration of the 300th anniversary of Yekaterinburg in 2023.