Vereya is one of the oldest and the smallest towns in Moscow region.

The major goal of this project is to create an attractive public space in the center of a historic town. We have renovated ancient pavements, recreated the sidewalks, expanded greenspaces so that the inhabitants could feel more comfort.

The small town’s central square has regained its original aspect with a pavement of quarry stone which was here centuries ago. The developers have removed a 3 feet layer of asphalt on order to reveal the ancient paving stones. The renovated square united the major landmarks of the historic downtown – the buildings of the administration, the historic museum, the bazaar which are all heritage assets. A considerate approach to combining the old and the new has allowed to adapt the elements with historic background and message to the up-to-date utilitarian comfort requirements. For example, in order to accommodate people with restricted mobility and mothers with carriages, the square received several walkways made of contemporary paving stones, level with the original quarrystone. 

Apart from the square, we put into shape the century-old public garden which supports the rather open square. The garden’s children’s playground was renewed, it grew in size and gained new playing scenarios. In order to avoid a discordance with the historic buildings, the materials of our choice for the playground were wood, ropes and sand. We installed a wooden open-air stage in the garden, which also serves as a street library, where you can hold medium-sized events – festivals, fairs, unplugged concerts which are favorite in Vereya. The roadway is now lined with an eco-parking and a bike lane that binds together all the functional zones. An eye-catcher of the square – unique benches in the form of a historic tethering post, where horses were stalled long ago during fairs. They helped to recreate the historic aspect of this square featured in the ancient photographs.

Commissioned by The Ministry of landscape and public space development of Moscow region