Architect John Thompson & Partners is to design a suburban settlement on the banks of the Moskva River in Moscow.

The scheme will be the British architect’s second major development in the Russian capital. It is already designing a 450 ha town of 8000-11,000 homes on Moscow’s western outskirts, called Novo-Arkhangelskoye.

JTP’s latest development, in north-west Moscow, is for an undisclosed number of homes. The site lies on a 150 m wide strip of land that extends 1.5 km along the river in front of a new estate of precast concrete tower blocks. It faces a new local government building across the river.

John Thompson said that the plan was to build at high density, but not with high-rise buildings. “There is a huge property boom in Moscow and a massive demand for the English dream of a garden in the suburbs.”

Thompson said that his practice’s low-rise scheme would bolster the value of the tower block properties next to the site. Botanical gardens are also planned for the scheme.

The architect is also working on the development of Russian precast concrete building systems. Thompson said: “We want to influence the way system building develops. The opportunities for modern methods of construction are bigger and better in Moscow.”

JTP is working with a multidisciplinary team including American landscape architect SWA on the first phase of more than 1000 homes at Novo-Arkhangelskoye. JTP said the architects chosen to work on the detailed designs could include other British practices.