Inteco teams up with Spanish architect Bofill

Russian developer Inteco has teamed up with Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill in an ambitious residential project in Moscow. The partnership is aimed at developing affordable housing that meets 'the highest modern comfort and aesthetics requirements'.

Inteco has invited the Russian state to take part in the development so that it may become a pilot project for a model of 'efficient cooperation' between the private sector and the state. At a presentation at Mipim last month, Bofill said the project would be exemplary in terms of organization, innovation and cost-efficiency through the integration of city planning, architectural design and industrial technology.

Inteco described Bofill's style as 'a fusion of neoclassicism and elements of the traditional Mediterranean architecture'. Bofill's innovative prototype projects have found a home in no less than 56 countries round the world including France, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden. In France, Spain and the US state programmes of building affordable housing are done through cooperation with developers with the state providing the land and loans, he pointed out.

'Even a very large private company is not capable of completing more than one or two house-building factories simultaneously,' noted Oleg Soloshchanskiy, Inteco's vice-president responsible for construction. 'Now is the right time for the state and private business to come to an agreement in terms of forming a production basis for the house-building industry which is the only way to deal with the current housing problem in Russia.'

The residential project in northern Moscow which Inteco is developing with Bofill covers a surface area of 660,000 m² and will contain 11,850 apartments upon completion. The construction period is scheduled for 2012-2020. Inteco plans to extend the experience accumulated in its Moscow projects to other regions in Russia with a strong need for affordable housing including Leningrad Region, Krasnodar and Samara. The company has already formed a land bank for this purpose and envisages construction of approximately 750, 000 m² each year.

To read the full story, click here to subscribe to PropertyEU Magazine.