On October 2, as part of the business program of the International Construction Forum 100+ TechnoBuild, a session of the Metropolis company was held. It called «The role and functions of the general designer using the example of the implementation of technically complex and unique objects».
The main stakeholders of the construction process were invited to discuss the need to develop the general design institute. There were investors, customers, developers, users, representatives of science, education and government bodies, including the Chief Architect of Moscow Sergey Kuznetsov, Deputy Head of the Department of Civil Construction of Moscow Igor Baziy, Head of the Laboratory of Standardization, Reconstruction and Monitoring of Unique Buildings and Structures of the Kucherenko Central Research Institute of Building Construction Mikhail Farfel, Director of the Technical Customer Service of the Ametist Group Sergey Katsman, General Director of the sports operator Olimpico Alexander Pankov, Deputy General Director – Head of the Development Business Unit, Gals-Development Group Ivan Zuev, First Deputy General Director / Director of the Construction Directorate of the VELESSTROY company Dejan Radojevic and Vice-Rector for Youth Policy of SPbGASU Marina Malyutina.
«We raised the issue of the role and functions of the general designer, since at the moment this term is not defined by Russian legislation. There is a fairly well-established position on who it is, but there are no clear responsibilities. We want to listen to the opinion of the entire professional community in order to formulate requirements and a draft document for public discussion together with customers, design companies, and we hope that over time it will become an industry standard», - CEO of Metropolis group Alexander Vorozhbitov said.
Representatives of the industry community actively shared their opinions, setting out their expectations and the criteria by which they select a general designer.
«Complex and unique objects are not the core business of investors. Therefore, customers expect the general designer to understand all the nuances - not only in the area of design passing inspections, but also in the context of operational, marketing and financial components. And, if it is necessary, they shoul adjust the project», - noted Alexander Pankov, CEO of the sports operator «Olimpico». For several years, Alexander was the CEO of Rhythmic Gymnastics Palace of Irina Viner-Usmanova, for which the Metropolis company was also involved in design and engineering solutions at all stages of the design.
«The investor has a need for the building, the technical customer has obligations to comply with the requirements of the legislation. The general designer must conduct consultations, collect all available experience from the market, negotiate with all participants in the construction. The key task is to consider the needs of all parties and combine them with technology, ergonomics and architecture in one project», - explained Sergey Katsman, director of the technical customer service of the Ametist Group of Companies.
He also spoke about his joint work with the Metropolis company using the example of such a large-scale healthcare facility as Moscow clinical scientific and practical center named after A.S. Loginov. The creation of this huge and diverse medical institution required strict compliance with thousands of state standards; the design documentation alone took up 523 volumes.
A representative of a major developer, Ivan Zuev, Deputy General Director and Head of the Development Business Unit of Gals-Development Group of Companies, also expressed his point of view: «We expect the general designer to be independent when coordinating projects with city government structures. The problem is that the level of design has dropped significantly, so developers are trying to work only with proven companies. With those with whom they have implemented more than one project and who can perform the work on a turnkey basis, including developing special technical conditions or assessing the impact of the facility on the surrounding development».
One of the landmark joint projects of Metropolis and Gals-Development was the multifunctional complex Iskra-Park, where the Gals head office is located. The Metropolis team was involved in the project to develop design solutions and internal engineering systems for the complex at the Concept, Design and Working Documentation stages. Our specialists also developed energy efficiency measures and a construction organization project.
Representative of the general contractor, First Deputy General Director / Director of the Construction Directorate of VELESSTROY Dejan Radojevic spoke about the difference in the design of civil and industrial facilities, as well as about the cultural center GES-2, on which Metropolis and VELESSTROY managed to work together.
Based on the experience of implementing the Luzhniki sports cluster facilities, Mikhail Farfel, head of the laboratory for standardization, reconstruction and monitoring of unique buildings and structures at the Kucherenko Central Research Institute of Building Structures, noted that the process of scientific and technical consultation requires high-quality synchronization of all participants in the process from the general designer, especially if the work is carried out with the involvement of general contractors.
The city government expects the general designer to be responsible for the decisions he made. This concerns both compliance with deadlines and compliance with the approved budget. Thus, Deputy Head of the Moscow Department of Civil Construction Igor Baziy emphasized that the error is measured in billions of rubles and the social effect. «After all, what is a hospital built on time? It is thousands of lives saved every month», - the official said.
Chief Architect of Moscow Sergei Kuznetsov emphasized that it is useful to establish in law the role of each participant in the construction process: «In my opinion, it is necessary to describe the role of the general designer and other participants in the process - from creating a sketch to cutting the ribbon», - he noted.
The discussion was concluded by the Vice-Rector for Youth Policy at SPbGASU Marina Malyutina, who spoke about additional points of contact between students and employers during the study. «There is a certain gap between fundamental training within the university and the real economy. In order to overcome this gap, to make a seamless transition and save time for the graduate to enter the production processes, it is necessary to establish constant interaction with future employers», - Marina Malyutina notes.
Metropolis has been building a strategic partnership with the country's leading industry universities for several years now. And the mentors involved in the process have already noted positive dynamics in the professional development of young specialists. Thus, in 2024, Metropolis became the initiator and strategic partner of the Student League of the Architecture, Design, Construction and Housing and Public Utilities direction of the CASE-IN International Engineering Championship. This season, the case developed by Metropolis was solved by 85 teams from 25 universities in 19 cities of Russia and the Republic of Belarus.
At the end of the session, the participants expressed hope that the theses voiced by the professional community will subsequently form the basis of a new industry standard. «This will be our first step towards the formation of a full-fledged general design institute in Russia. If in a year an industry standard or prototype appears that will form the basis of a federal law, this will be of great benefit to all of us», - Alexander Vorozhbitov said, summing up the discussion.