Moscow project wins ISOCARP Award for Excellence

The Russian capital has received the Award for Excellence from the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP). The award goes to the Digital Copy project for high achievements in urban development, Deputy Moscow Mayor Natalya Sergunina noted. The winners were announced during the ISOCARP World Planning Congress.

“Technologies currently used in major metropolitan areas may seem unobtrusive but they are already indispensable for raising the standards of living. Our project that has won this international prize is an interactive 3D model of Moscow with buildings and infrastructure. The model makes it possible to plan the city’s comprehensive development,” Sergunina said.

According to the deputy mayor, prestigious awards and high positions in various rankings confirm that Moscow is one the global leaders in terms of implementing cutting-edge digital technologies and creating a smart-city ecosystem.

Moscow’s Digital Copy is based on the city’s photogrammetric model and an archive of street panoramas. BIM (Building Information Model) technologies expand the visualisation with detailed descriptions of each building and structure programmed into the software. As a result, feasibility studies conducted before the construction of metro lines or other important infrastructure facilities can take into account as many parameters as possible and help create various scenarios.

Founded in 1965, ISOCARP unites acclaimed experts in urban design and development from over 85 countries and aims to exchange experience and professional knowledge.

The ISOCARP Awards for Excellence was established in 2005 to promote urban and regional planning projects in their development stage. Architecture firms and urban development companies, government agencies, specialised departments of higher education institutions and R&D organisations can compete for the prize.