The SPbGASU Department of Architectural Design has launched a master's program dedicated to the development of cities in the Far North and the Arctic.

This academic year, complex topics on the development of tourist and recreational clusters in several Arctic regions have been proposed for diploma design: these are the Murmansk region, the Taimyr Peninsula, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

Master's studies take two years. Master's program involves solving a major current problem with the integration into a single complex of urban planning, volumetric design, problems of the architectural environment design.

The most important competence and feature of the master's program of the Department of Architectural Design is the collective work on the concept of development of cities in the Far North and the Arctic. Students conduct a joint study of the selected design area, urban planning analysis, study its history and strategic directions of development. Then master's students complete architectural designs for the general plan of the territory, as well as residential and public buildings. Depending on the results, it is determined which specific project will be accepted for more detailed development as part of the diploma design.

Aleksandra Eremeeva, Associate Professor at the Department of Architectural Design, and Yana Elizarova, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Architectural Design, PhD student

The master's program 2023–2025 includs the results of the research work of Aleksandra Eremeeva, Associate Professor at the SPbGASU Department of Architectural Design, “Architectural organization of tourist clusters in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation”, conducted as part of a grant competition for the implementation of research work by the SPbGASU scientific and pedagogical staff in 2023.

“Currently, there is a world trend of a cluster approach to tourism development. Tourist centers of small towns in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation are unable to ensure a long stay of tourists in the region individually. An interconnected network of tourist centers united into a cluster is needed, which would create a synergistic effect from the interaction of the participants included in its composition,” concludes Aleksandra Eremeeva.

Depending on the characteristics of tourism resources (historical attractions, natural features of the area, indigenous culture, industrial heritage), it is necessary to create appropriate tourist centers. It is in tourist centers or on their territory that most of the services provided by the tourism industry are implemented. The quality of the organization of a tourist center is key for many consumers when choosing a travel destination. Tourist centers help to reveal the existing tourist resources of the region and make them available. Such centers can also be intended for the local population to host leisure and business events, which will improve the standard of living in the Arctic region.

Master's students from the Department of Architectural Design are faced with the task of developing several tourist centers united in a cluster. Thus, solving local problems will jointly enhance the quality of the tourist environment in the Arctic zone of Russia.