On June 1, 1962, the opening of the Moscow Palace of Pioneers took place with the participation of N. S. Khrushchev. The inspection of the park and the building ended in the foyer of the concert hall, where the head of the party and state was shown a model of the complex and sports facilities of the second stage. The authors hoped that he would order the financing of the construction. However, this instruction was not followed. Fifty-six years have passed since then. The leaders of the Soviet Union and Russia, as well as the mayors of the Union and the Russian capital, were replaced many times, but the Palace complex still remains unfinished. But today a new situation has arisen, in which there are chances for its completion.
They arose in connection with information that the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Semenovich Sobyanin and the head of the Talent and Success Foundation, Elena Shmeleva, signed a cooperation agreement with the Sirius center in Sochi. In doing so, I am guided by the following considerations:
- The Sirius Educational Center and the former Palace of Pioneers, now called the Vorobyovy Gory State Educational Institution, are related organizations and are called upon to achieve a common goal of preparing young people who have shown talents in science, art and sports for successful activities. We can say that "Vorobyovy Gory" is the first stage of revealing and educating talents, and "Sirius" is the second, highest.
- Their joint placement on the territory of the former Palace of Pioneers will be mutually beneficial and will ensure a comfortable stay in a landscaped park space, in which there is enough space for the development of this function. I propose to place the building of the Moscow center "Sirius" here, taking into account the peculiarities of the natural and town-planning circumstances prevailing on this site. Below are two specific suggestions:
The first of them concerns the former sports area of the Palace, where it is proposed to build an extended block of the Moscow Center "Sirius", containing the necessary premises for science, art and sports. It is placed parallel to Vernadsky Avenue and, in order to preserve the park that has grown here over the past years, raised in the form of a bridge structure above the existing trees.
This structure rests on elevator shafts, and at ground level, within the supports, are the vestibules of its various departments. The position of the elevator shafts on the site is specified according to the taxation of green spaces, as was done when the axes of the main building of the Palace were broken down. The mirrored floor of the building reflects the zenith view of the park. Soaring above the ground, permeated with light and opening up magnificent panoramas of the capital, the Sirius building will become a landmark object of the complex.
It should be said that this compositional technique has historical roots. In 1923, one of the brightest masters of the Soviet avant-garde, L. Lissitsky, proposed building "horizontal skyscrapers" in the center of Moscow. And this is the best illustration of my proposal. Then - almost 100 years ago - it was a dream. Today it can become a reality.
The second proposal - in a little more detail - is to demolish the school built here in the first half of the 1930s (this could not have been done during the construction of the Palace) and the freestanding gymnasium that served 56 years (all sports functions will be concentrated in the aforementioned facility). to build on this site a new building of the Center for Technical Creativity, the creation of which will allow organizing the work of the corresponding classrooms here. Thus, "Vorobyovy Gory" will receive additional space, which will remove the unnecessary load on the main building of the Palace, which exceeds its capacity.
The demolished object, consisting of two unconnected buildings with separate lobbies, is located 5 m below the entrance alley and the parade square and is practically excluded from the composition of the complex. The new building (moreover, it is covered with tall trees) will be an active element in the composition of the architectural ensemble. Let us also note that the building standing in a rhombus, located between the extended block of "Sirius" and the equally long facade of the Palace, will become something like a hinge of the entire composition.
The new building is oriented on the diagonal axis of the alley that limits the parade square from the side of Vernadsky Avenue, the building plan is also built along the diagonal axis. The CTT is connected to the entrance alley of the Palace through a bridge leading to the main - the second floor of the building, where the lobby and the three-light assembly hall with two tiers of balconies around the perimeter and zenith lighting are located. This is a space of mass action and Christmas trees.
The four-story volume with a light basement floor is equal in height to the school and the concert hall building. Recreational spaces and small classrooms adjoin the atrium at 2–4 floors, and large classrooms and laboratories are located along the outer perimeter of the building. On the ground floor, it is proposed to arrange an auditorium for 500 seats with the same surroundings, and in the light basement floor there is a cafe and premises for utility services.
The third floor balcony, energetically brought forward, ends with an inviting portal. Along with the portico of the main entrance of the Palace and the canopy of the concert hall, it, like the Center itself, will become the third accent element of the parade square ensemble.
Of course, this is a scheme, but not knowing the timing of the possible implementation of this venture and what architecture will be in that future, I executed it in the spirit of the main building of the Palace (as if the building had been designed at the same time), with the isolation of the basement and first floors as a stylobate, with a pronounced rhythm of the frame of the entrance floor and glazing of the stained-glass windows of the upper two. The monumental work in the entrance niche of the building and the skylight of the atrium echo similar compositional subjects of the Palace.
The construction of the CTT building will require the movement of two mature trees from the courtyard between the school and gym buildings, in the direction of the slope of the entrance alley. For the construction of the entrance bridge, two trees must be sacrificed.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Semenovich Sobyanin is known as a leader with powerful creative energy. If he wants, he can complete this unfinished construction for more than half a century and give the young talents of the capital a generous gift. They will be grateful to him.
This is the last project for me. But in my 91 I will definitely not build it. I am an architect of the twentieth century. Colleagues of the XXI! How many of you will undertake the implementation of this idea and who will bring it to the attention of the mayor of the capital?
Children come to the Palace and Sirius to dream of their future. Opened 56 years ago, the Moscow Palace of Pioneers carried its features and in some way has preserved them to this day. New structures should carry the spirit-lifting image of the coming decades.
