Arch. Alberto Francini - A City For Life, Rc Brusnizin Masterplan: Within The Expansion Plan
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A City For Life, Rc Brusnizin Masterplan: Within The Expansion Plan

Arch. Alberto Francini

Urban Planning  /  Future
Arch. Alberto Francini
A CITY FOR LIFE
RC BRUSNIZIN MASTERPLAN
BEREZOVSKY, RU
by Alberto Francini ARCHITECTURE & URBAN PLANNING

The RC BRUSNIZIN mixed-use residential complex is located in the city of Berëzovskij, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian Federation, 15 km away from the city of Yekaterinburg on the eastern side of the Urals.
The project covers an area 331358 m² of an uncontaminated territory and is included within the expansion plan of the city of Berëzovskij.
The masterplan has taken into account the standards of local planning, of the Sverdlovsk region, the federal rules, the planning code of the Russian Federation and has been mainly developed on the network of roads and allotments of the expansion plan but it has substantially changed its urban character turning it in a vision of a city surrounded by greenery voted to healthy life conditions in close contact with nature (biophilia). *

* Biophilia rediscovery will produce a higher quality of life, favoring the human inherent connection to nature. Outdoor spaces should therefore encourage not only plant growth but also natural biodiversity and habitat for animal species, wherever possible. Connection to nature should be also provided from indoor spaces through windows and natural light and ventilation.

Our project vision focuses on the protection and well-being of the planet and its inhabitants and aims at leaving the surface of the soil as permeable as possible.
Green hills and parks are the invariants that design the RC BRUSNIZIN district which ensure a variable density provided with large green spaces.
The masterplan is organized on programmatic bands with different densities and destinations of use that develop radially around the district.
The bands define the value and character of the public space starting with the promenade along the river up to the central park and the functional mix buildings eastward and westward of the upper walkway.
In fact, the bands are crossed by a linear park with a suspended pedestrian walkway at its core that connects the two eastern and western landmark buildings identifying the area and that allows you to pass over the driveway that connects you to the city of Berëzovskij.
The walkway leads to the various recreational activities of public interest spread within the park which is in fact the beating heart of the masterplan.
Around the central park to the north and south there are the residential areas whose buildings develop linearly around the green permeable hills, thus guaranteeing a high quality of life in direct contact with the surrounding nature.
Inside the green islands there are areas for sports & fitness and play areas for children so that each residential complex is autonomous and has its own open space.
Each area of the RC BRUSNIZIN is unique within the general plan whose landscape scheme is in fact an opportunity for the city as well as a new public space in the green that will be used by the residents of the new areas, by the inhabitants of Berëzovskij and Yekaterinburg as well as tourists.
The network of public spaces, gardens, parks and squares held together by the pedestrian and bicycle paths covers the entire master plan surrounded by the natural vegetation of the Urals.

The residential buildings vary in height from 2 to 7 floors and include two 15-storey towers to the north and south which together with the two functional mix buildings of 7 and 13 floors to the east and west identify the boundaries of the masterplan.
Pedestrian and cycle mobility develops around the public space, the private space of the residences and within the entire residential complex. The vehicular mobility remains external allowing you to move around the area on foot or by bicycle in complete safety.
The masterplan developed in the property area also concerns the contiguous areas for an additional surface area of 300 hectares so as to build a homogeneous and coordinated image.
We expect a population of 3000 (+2500) inhabitants with a territorial index of 1mc / m2. Thus, we have given priority to the use of large green spaces for the benefit of a housing quality in close relationship with nature.
Large open, green spaces work in fact better than many small ones, because they offer habitat for natural species and foster the coexistence of different ethnic and social groups. 


The architectural character is defined by 3 building types and specifically:

- two functional mix towers of 7 and 13 floors to the east and west;
- two thirteen-storey residential towers to the north and south;
- residential buildings with 4 to 7 floors;
- two- and three-storey office and commercial buildings;
- two-storey social housing buildings;
- a school;
- service buildings.

The residential buildings are placed on wooden pedestrian bases which develop linearly around the green hills.
The basements provide underground floors with parking lots and cellars.
The architectural design of the buildings is characterized by wooden brise-soleil and by. staggered or rotated surfaces and floors to improve the sun exposure of the residences and to obtain an original plastic play of volumes that makes the complex dynamic and always diversified.
In order to ensure continuity with the surrounding area and maintain the desired relationship with greenery, the area has been densified with new trees and plants.

We can describe the RC BRUSNIZIN project as an ecology or a psychophysical condition of living in a territory in close relationship with nature, where air, vegetation, water and contemporary design define the lifestyle of the inhabitants of this region of the Ural Mountains.
The RC Brusnizin masterplan has represented for the project team the opportunity to express an idea of a city that is willing to respect the planet and the well-being of its inhabitants and where biodiversity, biophilia and energy sustainability are the guidelines for any future form of anthropization of the territory.

*Edward O. Wilson, Biophilia, 1984

Credits

 Berëzovskij
 Russia
 Mr Dubrovin Yuri Alekseevich, ELEFER LLC, Berezovsky, Sverdlovsk region, Russia
 12/2025
 250.000 mq
 ALBERTO FRANCINI ARCHITECTURE & URBANPLANNING Via Enrico Caviglia 3/A 20139 MILAN, ITALY
 Arch. Alberto Francini, Arch. Ilya Evstigneev, Arch. Pavel Bartov, 3D visualizer Pinki Singh-Bottomline Studio New Delhi
 N/A
 Manens-Tifs
 N/A
 ALBERTO FRANCINI ARCHITECTURE & URBANPLANNING, MILAN

Curriculum

Alberto Francini (Florence 1969) is Architect and Doctor of Philosophy (PHD) in Urban Planning and Architecture at Polytechnic of Milan and Pratt Institute of New York.
He worked with Giuliano Fiorenzoli in New York (1995) and later with Massimiliano Fuksas in Rome (1997-99).
In1999 he founded the office of architecture and urban planning METROGRAMMA with which he contributed to the drafting of the PGT, the Milan City Master plan.
In 2017 he established his own company ALBERTO FRANCINI ARCHITECTURE & URBAN PLANNING based in Milan with projects in Qatar, Italy, United States and Russia, that range from residential to the tertiary complexes and Urban Planning.
Alongside Alberto's professional work he has achieved a distinguished international academic career that includes visiting professorships at numerous universities.
Since 2011 he is professor at the SEI HPT “South Ural State University” of Chelyabinsk, Russia.
Since 2009 he is faculty professor at Kent State University.


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