Masterplan Strategy for the Berezniki-Solikamsk-Usolje Conurbation

KK Architects was chosen as the winner out of three competing leading architecture firms in a design competition, organised by the Perm regional government and UralKali – the largest mining company in the area, for the BSU (Berezniki, Solikamsk and Usolje) agglomeration in Russia. Following this, a masterplan is currently being developed for the area in collaboration with Buro Happold and local companies. The BSU cities form an agglomeration with a quarter of a million inhabitants located 200 km north of Perm on the western side of the Ural Mountains. The main industry is directly linked to the large potassium and magnesium mines in the area. The agglomeration faces considerable challenges: the mining has caused an unstable geological situation, the population is declining and industry, housing and infrastructure are in need of modernisation. KK architects have chosen a strategy whereby investment is directed into the existing urban area aiming at compact cities. In this way present qualities can be taken advantage of, infrastructure costs are kept low and new investment can create spin-offs inside the existing neighbourhoods.