The annual Moscow Architecture Conference was held at the Center Zotov

The annual Moscow Architecture conference was held in the constructive space of the Zotov Center, revealing current problems and trends in the urban planning sphere — “A comfortable city: life without obstacles”.

The event was dedicated to the issues of “urban permeability” and how to make the city as accessible as possible for everyone.

A round table was held as part of the business program of the conference: “The third function of the city. How to unlock the potential of the territories?”.

The discussion was attended by:
– Alexey Anishchenko, Managing Director, Community and Club Space, Noôdome;
– Julia Zharkova, Managing Partner, Lighting Design Bureau “Culture of Light”;
– Alexander Saltzman, Citymakers Project Manager;
– Anton Kalgaev, cultural critic, curator, Senior Researcher, Museum of Moscow;
– Dmitry Markin, Creative Director, Supermetall;
– Maria Sedletskaya, Head of the Analytical Department, International Urban Laboratory “CENTER Lab”.

Moderator — Maria Chichagova, expert of the Ministry of Construction of Russia, Visiting lecturer, HSE, MGIMO (U) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, RANEPA.

The third places are spaces for human communication, for receiving emotions and impressions: this is a favorite square in the city, which has its own community and history, this is the pier on the embankment, where residents of the area have been coming to fish for the last 20 years, this is a cafe on the corner where queues for donuts gather. Such places determine the “brand strength” of the city districts, form a new level of demand for a high-quality environment among citizens.

Today, cities need to create new economically profitable urban spaces that would be in demand by different groups of citizens.

The experts discussed the existing scenarios for the development of third places, tried to rethink them, and determine how and who can fill these places with new functions and what effects residents receive from the creation and development of third places.