UST: News

Professor of the Urals State University of Visual Arts and Architecture Mikhail Matveyev explained his vision of urban development in an interview (in Russian) to the Expert-Urals online edition.

Mikhail Matveyev proposed in his project a concept of creating an above-ground city by its gradual transfer to the second level with all the infrastructure. According to the architect, construction needs to be conducted around a multi-level transport system. As the expert points out, SkyWay meets all the claimed requirements:

"It is an unmanned high-speed environmentally friendly transport. It is intended to be both individual and public, people would be able to enter it directly from an apartment, without the need to go down. Such types of transport have already been created and are being introduced in megacities. For example, EcoTechnoPark is being built near Minsk, where they are using SkyWay — an elevated transport system in which traffic is arranged by means of suspended rails stretched between supports.

This transport system of the expanding structure of a sky-blue city will not only become a means of travelling for the residents of the second layer, but will be also integrated into the citywide public transport system. Thanks to the speed of movement and the absence of congestion, such a transport system will become the basic means of riding around the city for its residents."

The idea of vertical growth in cities is not new: as early as in the 30s, projects of ultra-high buildings were created. In the USSR it was the Palace of Soviets with 495-meter height, which was never built. Later in Japan there was the "X-speed project 4000" with the height of 4,000 meters. It is already hard to imagine a modern metropolis without high scrapers. Current developments in the field of building technologies and new materials make it possible to implement such projects, however, the transport issue remains open.

The concept relevant to Mikhail Matveyev's ideas is being developed by the SkyWay project. The solution of SkyWay's second-tier megalopolis assumes the construction of linear cities connected by a multifunctional string infrastructure. Such an arrangement of mobility will allow reformatting the structure of urban space and ensuring a higher living standard for citizens. High-speed transport networks, convenient from the viewpoint of logistics, will allow to get rid of overcrowded cities and provide people with the possibility to settle at a considerable distance from the city center in more comfortable conditions.