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Project | Eurasia-City

Novosibirsk has to decide real quickly on its ambitions and start its own big game. Is it going to be the capital of Siberia? Or the Centre of Siberia? Let other neighbouring cities, our all-time rivals, become such. Novosibirsk as the capital of Eurasia тАУ thatтАЩs our way to go. Nothing less. If you take the compasses and run a circle around, with the one leg on Novosibirsk, youтАЩll get it тАУ most Eurasian countries would fall inside this circle. So it does not merely sound nice, it is true!

So, this plain task enables a long-term strategy (50 years at least) for the city planning, with plain and straight rules. Both the fathers of the city and the creators have a clear goal where to go, what to keep and what to abandon without remorse. As such, the main source of income for Novosibirsk would be round-the-year tourism. DonтАЩt laugh aloud, read on!

Concept of an international project EURASIA-CITYтАЭ(╨Х╨Р╨б)

1. Little Eurasia.тАЭ Vast yet undeveloped areas within and outside Novosibirsk make it possible to implement the idea of the so-called Little Eurasia. Participant states (totaling one hundred, at the most) would get plots of land (presumably, some 4 hectares each) to implement their national mini-infrastructure. The basic difference between this ╨Х╨Р╨бтАЭ project and ╨Х╨е╨а╨ЮтАЭ-class exhibitions is that this project does not mean any short-term demonstrations of a countryтАЩs achievements (although it may be a part of the project.) It encompasses creation of a permanent cultural medium of this or that nation carefully moved many thousands kilometers away to achieve the presence effectтАЭ inside a Eurasian country. Every state enjoys equal rights, the plots being distributed through casting dice. Please note, itтАЩs not a single-standing Chinatown presently under construction outside St.Petersburg. Within our project frames, all nations are initially equal. Naturally, after drawing of lots these nations can exchange their plots to their own liking.

On these plots, every participant nation would be asked to implement/to build their national characteristic architectural fantasies, souvenir shops and workshops, national cuisine restaurants and cafes, malls, recreation areas (parks, zoos, artificial water reservoirs, national sports grounds, etc.) There you can build small- or full-scale copies of your countryтАЩs historical and architectural ensembles. Many museums of the world could set up their exhibitions there, too. In Japan there has long been functioning a Portuguese town to commemorate European missioners of the 16th century. Once there, one feels like in Portugal of the XVI тАУXVII centuries. There are lots of similar private projects in the world now, but the idea to bring together all greeting cards of Eurasia in one place is brand new and, therefore, quite attractive. Anybody could within one day visit Little Japan, or Little Portugal, or Little Turkey, or Little Vatican City. It goes without saying that all individual design, delivery and construction works would be financed by the participating countries.

Naturally, based on the international law principles, no religious propaganda would be allowed in these national centres, as well as propaganda of violence and national hatred, or any other activity not complying with the principles of peaceful co-existence of nations. In perspective, Novosibirsk itself and the neighbouring Little Eurasia would become a free economic area, which means that the social and political climate here would be most universal and tolerant.

A few figures to mention: the overall area of Small Eurasia would be ca. 400 hectares, plus some 100-150 hectares for its infrastructure: driveways, campings, parking lots and other accompanying buildings. Mere comparison: the former National Economy Achievements Exhibition in Moscow covers ca. 200 hectares.

Some practical aspects

Naturally, financing of the project is the issue for international integration. There should be mutual interest in the projectтАЩs implementation, both local and international. We would not deal with such issues as we are no specialists in such. But one thing is for sure тАУ the more exact is the task, the easier is to calculate its cost. The idea itself lies freely on the surface, for anybody to grab. It would be a pity if our neighbours тАУ Omsk, Krasnoyarsk or Irkutsk тАУ pick it up first. In fact, they can do it тАУ they are ambitious, all right, and the move in any direction is not that vital in Eurasia

It would be good for a start to set up a public fund Novosibirsk as the Centre of EurasiaтАЭ. It could be headed by outstanding and prominent citizens of the city тАУ scientists, public figures, businessmen, artists of all kinds, athletes of heads of large industrial enterprises. Because even in the initial stage of the project there are bound to be lots of problems:

- searching for investors for full-scale design activities;

- establishing contacts with public, governmental or private institutions who are interested in cooperation with the fund;

- coordination of activities of such institutions and private individuals;

- establishing contacts with foreign partners;

- promotion of the EAC project among population and in mass media;

- standing up in favour of such project in Novosibirsk;

- a multitude of other things

When the initial stage is over and when Novosibirsk assets its right to become a cultural capital of a whole continent for the first time in history, the local fund could be dispersed and substituted by an international fund.

An emotional conclusion

Certainly, our not-yet-born child has a lot of drawbacks, and it will bring about lots of problems.

But, as the saying goes, if you want to work, you start looking for possibilities, if you donтАЩt тАУ you look for excuses. Then again, we are speaking about a very long-term perspective, so please donтАЩt project our todayтАЩs fallacies onto tomorrow or the day after.

There have always been hardships. But the again, somebody has laid the first stone into the Egyptian pyramidsтАЩ fundament, and there also was the first man ever in space!

We, prime movers of this project, address our immediate colleagues, in the first place тАУ architects, artists, design workers тАУ with the request to think this project over professionally, without irony or mockery. We hope mass media would also joint such discussion, making it really creative. Is it all for nothing that our Russian president reminds us every now and then that our people have obtained wider horizons lately?*** Let us build our future today! Right here and now!

Project directorate:

Tatiana Taichenacheva - architect,

Sergey Mosienko artist.

Contacts:

8-913-929-24-01;

e-mail: taich19@mail.ru