On September 10, the Biennale opened and caused a pilgrimage of architects to Venice. Only this time the impression was created that they were going to see not so much at foreigners as at the installation of Alexander Brodsky. The theme of the Biennale, set by Richard Burdett, seemed a bit dry to many, more worthy of a research institute than a Venetian show. And Brodsky suggested, on the contrary, something very artistic, nostalgic, beautiful and clever - either by going against the strict theme, or by finding a completely special style of expression for it. Something similar already happened, four years ago, when, contrary to M. Fuksas's socially responsible theme “… less aesthetics”, one of the prizes was taken by Ilya Utkin, also a former “wallet”. This year, the intrigue is added by the fact that the Biennale's management has finally abandoned the straightforward principle of announcing the winners before the opening, and everyone has the opportunity to guess what will happen until November.
Simultaneously with the Venetian mega-exhibition in Moscow throughout September, there was an exposition of another "former paper" architect - Mikhail Belov, an anniversary, complete, beautiful retrospection of his works, from the conceptual graphics of the 80s to the village of "150 palaces", more precisely, well-made Palladian villas, through early, Russian avant-garde-inspired projects of color and joy. The exhibition caused a lively discussion, which focused mainly on how the heroes of conceptual projects practice, and also how modernism and classics coexist within the work of one master. It must be said that Belov's exhibition shows that confident mastery of architectural form and bold, free use of color successfully reconcile both directions.
Along the way, in September, another intensification of the struggle for the Moscow heritage took place: a whole series of events of a completely different plan took place in this field. First of all, the leadership of the Moscow Heritage Committee, based in the mansion on Pyatnitskaya, was almost completely replaced. The change in the composition of an entire organization is not something that is unthinkable, but it happens infrequently (otherwise no one would simply be able to work) - it is noteworthy that radical personnel perturbations in the Moscow security organs appear (although no one officially announced this, of course) inspired by activity unofficial Moscow "guardians", which were soon called for a meeting with the new leadership of the Moscow Heritage Committee. At the meeting it was announced that now the opinion of the public will be listened to and everything will be fine with the monuments.
All this was preceded by the performance of young people at the demolished "Teplyi Ryadi" (the building of the shopping malls next to GUM), when many were taken to the police and even about to be tried, but in the end they changed their anger to mercy, turning their eyes in the opposite direction. And also - the publication by the project "Moscow, which does not exist" of the book "From Prechistenskie to Arbat gates", the first part of the conceived guide to the lost and disappearing Moscow. It seems that the movement in defense of old Moscow, weakened in the nineties, has not only revived in new forms (its leaders are the aforementioned project "Moscow, which does not exist" and "MAPS" are both based on Internet resources), but also began to bear fruit - different, from a sincere local history publication to a change in the leadership of security agencies. It would be good if this trend consolidated and continued, already bearing purely practical results - in the form of a total change in Moscow and then Russian policy in relation to heritage. So far, everything is not so simple. In particular, the plans of the Moscow Architectural Institute are in danger of creating a museum of architectural education in the Maroseyka area in the house of M. F. Kazakova - the mayor's office unexpectedly changed its decision and decided to give the house, for some reason, to the Dynamo society.
Returning to the world of modern architecture: in September, the “Freedom of Access” project was launched, the initiators of which Alexander Zmeul and Maria Fadeeva organize excursions to construction sites of interesting objects and photo excursions behind the modern architecture of Russian cities. An excursion to "Moscow City" and a seminar dedicated to the new Kazan, called the fashionable and incomprehensible word "trend bazaar", have already taken place.
Everything is so good that it looks like the reports of the Soviet five-year plans: one of the famous "wallets", almost a guru, is arranging an installation at the Biennale, the other - an anniversary exhibition in Moscow; in response to the activity of the public, the composition of the security bodies is changing, enthusiasts are seeking the opportunity to arrange excursions to construction sites and even take pictures there … Chickens, as you know, are counted in autumn, and autumn is still ahead. In October we will see a bountiful harvest of scientific conferences, several interior exhibitions and Zodchestvo.
