Within the framework of the International Forum and Exhibition 100+ TechnoBuild, the topic of developing the general design institution in Russia continues to evolve — a discussion first initiated by the company «Metropolis» back in 2024.

This season, the industry session «General Design: An Open Dialogue of Industry Leaders» brought together the founders and leaders of six leading design companies in Russia to continue a dialogue that is critically important for the industry:

1. Alexander Vorozhbitov, General Director, METROPOLIS
2. Vladimir Ivanov, Managing Partner, SPEKTRUM Group of Companies
3. Sergey Lakhman, General Director, JSC «GORPROEKT»
4. Alexander Mamaev, Executive Director, «Apex Project Bureau»
5. Yuriy Gotman, General Director, MARKS GROUP
6. Nikita Sukhikh, General Director, OLIMPROJECT Group

Such initiatives make it possible to discuss the specifics of design and develop standards for providing design services in Russia, including for the implementation of unique and technically complex facilities, as well as those carried out within the framework of government programs.

The focus of the discussion was on the key challenges facing the general design market. Participants emphasized that, according to industry analytics, only 7.2% of design companies have the real potential to perform the functions of a general designer. During the panel discussion, market leaders addressed the urgent need to develop unified work standards and increase the value of general design services for clients.

«The first point, which essentially reflects the consequences of last year’s summary, is the complete lack of understanding of the general designer from a legal standpoint. This term simply does not exist in regulatory documents; it is merely a legacy function from the Soviet era. The second point is the inconsistency and contradictions in the regulatory framework and the absence of clear requirements for the general designer,» — notes Alexander Vorozhbitov, General Director of «Metropolis».

Particular attention was given to the issue of coordinating regulatory documentation. As noted by most experts, the opinions of designers are often not taken into account when regulations are amended. Session participants agreed that standardizing business processes and creating a model general design contract could significantly improve the efficiency of the industry.

«There are many other problems. These include the condition of clients, the level of manageability, IT support issues — because, to be frank, software import substitution has not really happened. And, of course, a very pressing issue is personnel, personnel, personnel. They need to be trained,» — highlighted Vladimir Ivanov, Managing Partner of the SPEKTRUM Group. The expert also pointed out the increasing cases of designers leaving the profession, which raises concerns among members of the professional community.

The issue of granting the general designer access to the project’s financial model was raised by Sergey Lakhman, General Director of JSC «GORPROEKT»: «It became clear to me that, despite the fact that science and technology have provided us with very powerful tools for calculations, dimensional modeling, and adjusting information models, probably the main criterion for the development of a project and a design company in the coming years will be placing emphasis on working specifically with the client’s financial model.»

Yuriy Gotman, General Director of MARKS GROUP, also highlighted the issue of connecting designers with the project’s financial aspects: «Developers do not grant designers access to the financial model, and if there were at least clear guidelines on where to go, the designer could specifically direct their work to achieve exactly the economic objectives set by the developer.»

The Executive Director of «APEX» Design Bureau, Alexander Mamaev, supported the proposal raised during the discussion by the MARKS GROUP representative to establish “single-stage” project design for facilities: «I believe the time has come for an open discussion on revising the stages of design. The issues that colleagues raise regarding the volume of redundant work caused by numerous changes in documentation, project solutions, and product solutions closer to the end of the design process clearly have an excessive impact on both the cost structure of design and the number of design errors, reworks, and decisions carried out during construction and installation works, often based on outdated documentation or hastily prepared documents.»

The General Director of OLIMPROJECT Group, Nikita Sukhikh, shared a pressing issue related to prolonged project approvals: «A separate problem is the extended approval timelines in Moscow and the region, which cause developers to incur losses due to site downtime. Architectural concepts are often approved without a proper assessment of construction costs, leading to the need for costly revisions at the working documentation stage and ultimately increasing the project’s overall cost,» — the expert noted.

According to the analysis conducted by «Metropolis», fewer than 30 major companies operate in civil design, with some of them being integrated into developer holdings and not participating in the open market. Alexander Vorozhbitov estimates the volume of the open general design market at approximately 600 billion rubles.

«The general design market is relatively small, especially compared to the mobile phone market, which raises rhetorical questions about how much this structure can actually change and whether it is even worth changing,» — he notes.

The session was moderated by the Head of the TASS Ural Press Center, Sergey Khramushin. The discussion among key market players received a strong response from the audience, confirming a high professional interest in addressing systemic design issues in Russia.