Located on the Black Sea coast, connecting Russia with the Mediterranean, Atlantic Ocean and Suez Canal, the city of Novorossiysk is the nation’s largest shipping port and the third busiest in Europe by turnover. With direct links to Russia’s rail and highway networks, Novorossiysk has also developed into an important centre of industry.

Documented in antiquity as a port specialising in grain, Novorossiysk rich history and traditions as a centre of trade are continued in this masterplan that integrates new public spaces and amenities for the city’s residents and visitors to enjoy the seashore with facilities to host international conferences, trade fairs and business congresses, as well as professional and academic seminars.

With its buildings orientated perpendicular to the sea front to maintain existing sea views from the city, the masterplan is interwoven with Novorossiysk’s urban fabric in a porous configuration that reconnects the city with its coast, inviting residents and visitors to traverse the site via public plazas, gardens and parks.

By restricting vehicular access, the design creates opportunities for outdoor leisure, sports and recreation in the city’s coastal subtropical climate throughout much of the year.

The masterplan unites its recreational, cultural, corporate and ecological functions within a coherent composition that reinstates the city’s embankment promenade as important civic space reflecting Novorossiysk’s maritime heritage. A new fishing port, marina and piers are integral to the masterplan, enabling residents and visitors to enjoy the seashore on which the city was founded.

The 13.9ha masterplan is a phased development of nine principal buildings with a total floor area of approximately 30ha. Applying the concept of ‘instancing’ in which nine iterations of a single form evolve in a gradient across the site, the configuration of each building is established according to its unique function, conditions and requirements.