Interviews with ANO Moy Rayon Team

Above all things, we wanted the city prototype that we created for the exhibition to be beautiful, modern and comfortable to live in. That is why we put special emphasis on the aesthetic side of the project and gave through consideration to all essential details. Today, it is impossible to imagine any kind of urban environment without modern technologies. We paid special attention to this aspect. The visitors encountered a large multi-screen art object right by the entrance to the exhibition. That interactive art installation was made up of two 9-meter-high stelae and ten touch control tables. The entire visible surface of the stelae was covered with led screens. A visitor would select a Moscow district they were interested in on the control screen. Following that, a video about this very district would appear on a stela facet. Note that the visitors could not only create a visual image of an art object in real time, but also determine the associative array of Moscow districts (sports, culture, transport, leisure) that got displayed on touch panels in the form of statistic data, also in real time. One could simply tap on the screen to select and watch 5 short but very interesting videos (specially created for the exhibition) about the evolution of familiar items: benches, playgrounds, street lights and public transport stops.
Besides, each and every visitor to the exhibition had an opportunity to vote and determine the best exhibit in each category (sports grounds, playgrounds, etc.). To vote, one simply had to scan the participant's QR code that had been generated during the registration. Visitors also had a chance to vote by using the touch panels installed at the venue.

Most notably, it was the desire to show how beautiful, friendly and secure a modern city and its districts can be. And we are able to create such a city or district by joining our efforts, we can do it with our own hands. Parks, squares, playgrounds and sports areas – all these objects form the environment we are used to. However, if we work on and perfect this environment, we will be able to significantly improve the quality of life of all categories of citizens – both adults and children, young mothers and elderly people, teenagers and the rising generation. Districts with comfortable living environment and equal opportunities for all – I guess, this is the main idea of our concept.

Among the visitors of the City: Details exhibition were both Muscovites and the guests of our city. Therefore, we tried to provide everything for their convenience and to make the exhibition vivid and informative. The idea was to motivate people to come to the exhibition as a family – so that each family member could find something interesting among the exhibits, and the visit would be impressive and memorable. Children liked the playground area and the square for playing board games. Visitors of all ages appreciated the original and beautiful art objects.
A very eventful formal and cultural program was prepared for the visitors. The events took place in a specially designated area – the Amphitheater – where a large (42x7 meters) video wall was installed. Various presentations and videos were demonstrated on the wall during formal events; visitors could also watch movies and short films about the evolution of urban furniture. Besides, the video wall played the part of a platform for an unusual photo exhibition about Moscow: everyone could participate in it by posting their photos of the city (in advance, of course) in social networks under a special hashtag. The performances of music bands also took place here.

This would be, of course, our very extensive use of modern technologies. But not only that. For example, we developed and implemented some interesting ideas that involved water. We installed dynamic fountains in the center of a city square prototype. The exhibition was international: among its participants were 52 companies representing 11 countries. Thus, we gave the citizens of Moscow a chance to see the top solutions on the urban environment improvement that are currently being implemented all over the world. After all, feeling yourself at home in your own neighborhood and being proud of it is, undoubtedly, an amazing sensation!

Design, as we see it, is primarily the development of creative concepts that will not only please the eye, but also be convenient, practical and modern. And – what is even important – they will fully meet the set challenges and tasks. Designer's work is, of course, an ongoing creative process that requires inspiration and concentration. However, one should always remember that this creative work must result in a specific product that has to be not only aesthetically pleasing, but also be as convenient in use as possible.
From our point of view, the creation of a particular concept heavily relies on color solutions (e.g., certain shades that are currently trending), the chosen style and the materials used. Each and every detail requires careful and thoughtful consideration. The combination of all the above-described factors is what makes up the overall success of a particular project.
To our team, a design means the original expression of its author's personality, creative abilities, values and inner world.

In our opinion, of primary importance is the clear vision of the concept that a designer wants to implement. A truly creative idea and the practical ways of its translation into reality. It is vital to understand the current trends and opportunities for their correct application.
Another issue worth mentioning is modern technologies. Nowadays, it is plain impossible to imagine a successful design that doesn't incorporate them. When creating the concept of the City: Details exhibition held in October 2019 as part of the My District program, we did our best to ensure the extensive use of innovative technologies. Let me tell you about one particularly interesting solution. An amazing enclosed space – a special darkened area – was created in a section of the exhibition called the Night City. The Night City gave the visitors the general impression of a park at night, with its enchanting atmosphere, thanks to the advanced lighting solutions that create a comfortable environment via light and video projections. Modern outdoor lighting and street illumination systems, as well as an unusual object designed specially for kids – an interactive sandbox – were demonstrated in the darkened area. A special interactive projector was fixed above the sand-filled table top. The projector not only projected images on the table, but also followed the movements of users and changed the projected image accordingly. Thus, a realistic picture of a landscape with volcanoes and water reservoirs was obtained.

First of all, of course, it is the use of environmentally friendly raw stuff and materials for the implementation of designer's concepts. But not only that. The ultimate goal of design is to create a harmonious environment and transform the world around us. Thus, ecology and environment were among the keynote themes of our exposition at the last City: Details exhibition. Parks, squares, urban green spaces, recreation areas, sports and children's playgrounds – we made sure to develop and present the elements that make our city and its districts beautiful, modern, convenient to live in and environmentally friendly.

The last exhibition was the very City: Details – 2019 that we've just been talking about. That was the first time this exhibition was held, and its concept was a very interesting one, indeed. The expocenter that hosted the interactive exhibition had an area of 15,000 square meters. The entire pavilion was divided into the sections representing the zones that city residents are used to: a major attraction of a district, an amphitheater, a night city installation, a square for playing board games, a sports ground, children's playgrounds, a street, and a food court. In fact, this concept became a living and timely response to the most recent trends that are changing the urban environment and life in cities – and Moscow is no exception.
Not only designers worked on this idea; our entire team, and the employees involved in the implementation of the My District program, made a major contribution to its development. It was them who set the main vector and initiated this approach.
By the way, the visitors of the exhibition were able to test most of the objects live, and vote for the ones they considered to be the best. Having voted for their favorites, Muscovites thus compiled a catalog of the best solutions that the municipal services currently use as a manual in their implementation of the My District program.

Our team lives in Moscow. Needless to say, the history and culture of our city are directly affecting the field of design. There are many successful examples in our city, when modern landscaping is carried out with due consideration of the history and traditions of the district under reconstruction. In the North-Eastern district of the capital, for example, the entry elements of the Lianozovsky promenade, stylized as snow-white multi-storied triangular arcades, serve to remind local residents and visitors of the Lianozovsky summer cottage community – the predecessor of the district.
To sum up, let us note that, in the future, the role of urban design in Moscow will be to facilitate the citizens' involvement in the city life, thus making it truly comfortable, modern and up-to-date.