A series of open talks about the capital’s urban planning "Moscow. Designing the Future"

Participation is free with registration

A public program is being launched as part of the Moscow: Designing the Future exhibition, a joint project of the Moscow Committee for Architecture, the General Plan Institute and the Museum of Moscow, which tells in an interactive way about the most important urban planning ideas that influenced the structure and appearance of the capital. On January 21, a cycle of meetings with leading architects, historians and creators of popular channels about the city will start in the exposition space.

How did the familiar fabric of the city come about? How could it change if the dizzying fantasies of urban planners were realized? How and by whom is the city created?

Together with well-known experts in history and urban planning, public talk visitors will discuss the most interesting pages in the history of the design of the capital: architectural utopias and dreams of an ideal device embodied in master plans, “icons” of Russian architecture and little-known creators who really influenced the development of the Moscow landscape. The program will allow you to look at the city through the unusual optics of the catastrophes that have befallen it and imagine Moscow-2050 together with the authors of the foresight study of the future of the capital and unrealized architectural projects.

Public program schedule:

Presentation of the three-volume book “Generalplan-70” and the reading group “The Future of Cities: How Fantasy Differs from the Forecast”
January 21 at 17:00
Venue: Building 1 of the Museum of Moscow, exhibition space “Moscow. Designing the Future”

The event will be held in a public talk format. Visitors will see a new book by the Institute of the General Plan of Moscow, hear those who took part in its creation, and also find out what is the difference between fantastic and scientific ideas about the future, how writers see the world, what is the basis of the approach of scientists to designing the future, and how fantasy differs from the forecast. A public talk will take place at the exhibition, in the "Architect’s Living Room" section, and tea and biscuits will complement the atmosphere.

In the format of an open discussion, Director of the Moscow General Plan Institute Tatiana Guk, Deputy Director Igor Bakhirev and architectural historian Alexander Zmeul will talk about each of the volumes of the large-scale publication. Listeners will also be able to take part in the discussion - the author of the most interesting question will receive a three-volume book "General Plan-70" as a gift.

In addition, the co-curator of the exhibition “Moscow. Designing the Future” Alexander Zmeul will lead the tour. Start at 16:00.

Members:

Albert Efimov, Vice President of Sberbank, Director of the Research and Innovation Department of the Technologies block.

Igor Khodachek, Advisor to the Rector of the European University at St. Petersburg.

Alexey Gravitsky, writer.

The final part of the event will be a reading group led by Igor Khodachek. It will start at 19:00. Participants will discuss Sergey Slyusarenko’s story "The Old Man and the Big Fish" and Nikolai Kurichev’s essay "What is Important for the Future of Moscow’s Urban Space?" published in the third volume of the book. As a result of the discussion, two copies of the three-volume "Generalplan-70" will be drawn. Please note that a separate registration is required to participate in the reading group.

Public talk “Moscow Architectural Utopias”
03 February at 19:00
Venue: Building 1 of the Museum of Moscow, exhibition space “Moscow. Designing the Future”

Dreams about the ideal organization of the city, starting from the Catherine era and ending with the Soviet plans for the transformation of the new capital of the socialist state, have always been dreams of an ideal organization of the world and society. Moscow’s master plans became a reflection of this mixture of ideology and architecture - in fact, a visual embodiment of the positivist paradigm with its belief in progress, in the possibility of a rational transformation of the world, and in the boundless power of man.

How did utopias help, or perhaps hinder, the development of the city? How did they influence the change in the image, scale, perception of Moscow? How was urban mythology born thanks to utopias, and what would the capital be like if all the fantasies of urban planners came true? We will discuss these and other topics together with the guests of the public talk.

Members:

Denis Romodin, XX century architectural historian, tour guide, Museum of Moscow.

Veronika Sycheva, architect, Moscow General Plan Institute.

Alexander Usoltsev, guide, Moscowwalks project.

Moderator: Alexander Zmeul, architectural historian, co-curator of the Moscow. Designing the Future.

Public talk “Moscow and its creators. Who invents the city?
February 17 at 19:00
Venue: the first building of the Museum of Moscow, the space of the exhibition “Moscow. Designing the Future”

Public talk “Moscow and Disasters: How Crises Change the City”
03 March at 19:00
Venue: Building 1 of the Museum of Moscow, Moscow. Designing the Future”

Public talk “Imperfect future: architects about their unrealized Moscow projects”
March 17 at 19:00
Venue: the first building of the Museum of Moscow, exhibition space “Moscow. Designing the Future”

Public talk “Impossible future: futuristic visions of the city through the eyes of architects and artists”
March 24 at 19:00
Venue: the first building of the Museum of Moscow, exhibition space “Moscow. Designing the Future”

We remind you that a valid QR code and an identity document are required to visit exhibitions and events at the Museum of Moscow.