Brusnika started developing Zareka, a historical district in Tyumen, in 2023 by constructing a housing estate under the same name. The Zareka estate, a project in integrated territorial development, is an area approaching 30 hectares, with housing, infrastructure, public amenities, a riverfront and a park.

Zareka, aka Old Zareka, Bukharskaya settlement, or the Left Bank, is an old historical part of Tyumen. It acquired its first houses in 1586, not long after its foundation. The district has a marked identity: as the locals say, it is a village inside the city. Indeed, since its origins, the predominance of wooden one-storey houses in high proximity has been typical for the neighbourhood.

With modern housing development, the district is experiencing a drastic changeover. The new accommodation types are a striking contrast to the old lifestyle inherent to the district — as if two historical eras have met each other halfway. In addition to old cottage houses, Zareka boasts a distinct natural character, with the Tura River surrounding the district from three sides and the Tikhoye Lake, newly revitalised by Brusnika. The former toponym, Gypsy Lake, dates to when a large gypsy community populated the area. Even though most of the ethnical group has left, this part of the city has retained associations with it. The district houses an old tannery built in 1864, but its buildings hold no cultural or historic value and currently accommodate warehouses and repair shops. The preserved landmarks are the Lovers’ Bridge, the Ascension Church of St George and the heritage Kolmogorov’s House.

Having won the competition for integrated territorial development in 2022, Brusnika started developing the Zareka district, replacing it with the eponymous housing estate with an area approximating 30 hectares. The new district borders on the 2nd Lugovaya, Beregovaya and Urayskaya streets. One side of the plot neighbours the private cottages area, while the other adjoins a high-rise housing development with all core public amenities: schools, kindergartens, clinics, several shopping arcades and public transport stations.

The architects conceived Zareka as a self-sufficient city hub with abundant amenities. It will house quarters with descending heights approaching the river. On the side of the overpass, the buildings move inwards stepwise, creating a buffer between the built-up area and the tall bridge and shaping cosy streets along the river bank. The same method applies from the riverside — with the houses stepping towards the bank, thus aligning the new buildings with the neighbouring frontages and creating a picturesque silhouette along the riverfront. Due to variously sized quarters, we have achieved a sideways, or axial, shift to avoid straight corridors abutting onto a motorway, thus reducing its negative impact on the residential development and accommodating quiet spots leading to the green boulevard.

The high-rise development strategy incorporates city landmarks, featured by three 25-storey towers defining the estate, sited in its northern, southern and central parts. With echoing 14- and 17-storey sections, the rest of the development offers housing of varying heights, ranging from urban villas 5-storey high stretching along the riverfront to 9-storey sections hugging the streets and the boulevard. The district will feature two integrated kindergartens for 135 and 150 children and a school catering for 1800 students. Retail-specific ground floors accommodate supermarkets, cafes, and restaurants, complemented by fitness and medical centres. Two free-standing retail pavilions complete the estate amenities list.

The development will provide the parking amenity with three options: ground- and first-floor parking lots inside residential buildings, on-site parking, and free-standing multi-level parking garages. This strategy will satisfy the parking needs within the development area by regional regulations.

Linear Park will function as an events hub. It is a shared communications framework, linking traffic flows and granting access to the Tura riverfront for northern and southern district parts. It features core play and sports grounds, meeting places and recreational zones.

Linear Park within Zareka leads to the riverfront, which is a municipal area. Brusnika is planning its redesign jointly with another developer and the city authorities. The waterfront development offers multiple opportunities: an accessible civic space at the river, a new pedestrian route across the dam, and a series of preventive measures against water logging, a pressing problem for the district. The company engineers uncovered old topsoil drainage canals in the plot. The landscaping plan suggests their conservation and overhaul with modern systems to collect, purify and divert excess water with rain gardens and wadi. The treated water will flow into a catchwater pond or the river.

All public spaces and courtyard areas in Zareka blend regular and scenic landscaping styles. The regular style features clear and neat lines in design, geometric shapes, simplicity and modernity. We applied it to Linear Park, alleys and all the front parts of the estate. The scenic style mimics a natural wildlife landscape with layered planting and diverse plant species. It pertains to cosy pocket parks, inner recreational courtyard zones and the riverfront area.

According to the master plan, a shared pedestrian framework links Zareka with the neighbouring park in the European Quarter and Tikhoye Lake and the civic spaces around the House by the Lake. Adjacent to the overpass, a new pedestrian boulevard shapes a green buffer of tall trees — blocking noise, dust and car fumes.

Scheduled in seven phases, the Zareka estate will see completion in 2026.

Project team
Developer: Brusnika
Masterplanning, architecture, interior and landscape design: Brusnika.Design
Visual rendering: Brusnika.Design

Volumetric data
Plot area: 28,8 ha
Saleable area: 417 500 m²
Residential area: 313 800 m²
Retail ground-floor area on residential premises: 32 230 m²
Retail pavilions: 2 250 m²
Residential parking lots: 37 600 m²
Garage with ground-floor retail premises: 17 750 m²
Public amenities: school — 1800 places; 2 integrated kindergartens — 150 and 135 places
Landscaped area within the housing estate: 112 500 m²; public municipal areas: 48 500 m²
Estimated occupancy rate: 8150 residents

Design: 2022 — up to the present
Completion: 2023 — 2032