I had a task to design a story “with history”, to correctly enter Gorki-city into the theme of big Sochi. The logic is simple, it goes back to Soviet times, when the global development plan of the coastal territory of the city was implemented. Then along the coast, “Roman imperial villas” - sanatoriums of the Stalin era were built. And I thought: why not develop this idea in the spirit of continuity? Why not build an “Italian historical city” in the mountains above? Such as it could be in conditions of natural development, the layering of times, the succession of eras. For me, it was important to build a polis — a city — not as a set of buildings to accommodate a certain number of people, not a settlement for temporary residence, but a living urban organism — with a children's park, museums, a theater, a temple complex, an outlet, and a host of other modern “ recreational "zones. (In Soviet times, a recreational approach did not work out in Sochi.) And we managed to create a conceived city — at an altitude of 2000 meters and an area of ​​600 thousand square meters.

All houses in Gorki-city are different. The facade line imitates a natural historical building, where houses arose spontaneously and at different times and in which, nevertheless, there is stylistic unity. The most important for me was the concept of beauty. Without it, any, even the most high-rise, most capacious buildings are devoid of meaning and historical perspective. The city is beautiful if you want to draw it. But to make him want to draw, you must first really draw it! This is how I always do, in any of my projects. I draw it.

If desired, I set the task to build forever. This is actually a normal goal for an architect. In a sense, Gorki is a basic project for me. I am convinced that designing such a cultural – natural – living environment is possible. Moreover, it is claimed and successful. My design experience in Moscow (a residential complex on Marshal Rybalko Street and the Italian Quarter) is proof of that. Of course, the old Russian cities, built up with high-rise buildings, dream of changing their monotonous appearance that has developed in the second half of the twentieth century. I have always argued that just the town-planning practice of the second half of the twentieth century is utopian, that it did not justify itself in terms of strength, usefulness, beauty, although it was she who wanted to use it and benefit. Nothing prevents to create an individual human environment for people, and it is not at all necessary that it be a dense multistory mass. Modern urban myths claim that beautiful architecture is impossible today, that it is technologically very expensive and that nobody needs it. This is not true, I am ready to prove it time after time. ”

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