The presentation was one of the events dedicated to the preservation of the heritage of the Moscow avant-garde, organized by the Russian-Italian project "Mosconstruct" earlier this week. In early March, at the University of Rome La Sapienza, a seminar was held on the topic of reconstruction of the territory adjacent to the monument of the avant-garde era - DK ZIL, built according to the design of the Vesnin brothers in 1931-1937. Over the course of three days, eight teams of urban design students surveyed the area, thought out concepts, and drew tablets. The students worked without seeing the place “live”. At the end of the seminar, three best projects were selected, and the main reward for their authors was a trip to Moscow - thus they got the opportunity to finalize their projects “on the spot”. At the presentation at the Garage gallery, only two projects were presented, which took first and second places - a project by the Nature & Co team, developed by Federico Tria, Lucho Lorenzo Pettine and Andrea Jacobelli, and a project by Maria Beatrice Andreucci, Francisco Carlos Pfannl Crosky and Daniela Giovinale.
The conversation about the fate of the avant-garde monuments in the center of contemporary culture "Garage" that evening had a symbolic character. Not long ago, the garage of the bus depot of architect Konstantin Melnikov was abandoned and gradually destroyed. Now it is one of the largest exhibition spaces in the Moscow art scene. Under its roof, the conversation about the monuments of the avant-garde sounds more confident and justified: "Garage" by its example confirms every word said about the preservation of the heritage of the avant-garde. But, oddly enough, that evening at the presentation they did not talk about the state of the avant-garde monuments, there were no frightening photographs and facts. The emphasis was placed on changing the existing position of these buildings in modern development, landscaping the areas around them, as well as attracting people's attention to the monuments of the avant-garde.
Nevertheless, the main theme of the event was the display of works dedicated to the improvement of the territory of the ZIL Palace of Culture. They were represented by the authors - Italian students. The project, which won first place, was demonstrated by two members of the Nature & Co team. The third participant at this time was busy finalizing the project at the Moscow Architectural Institute. According to the Nature & Co concept, various functions existing on the territory of the ZIL Palace of Culture are intertwined into an extensive spatial network that forms the unity of the territory. Residential buildings, a sports complex, a park of "industrial archeology" (a phenomenon widespread in Western architecture) interpenetrate, uniting the old and the new.
The project of Maria Beatrice Andreucci, Francisco Carlos Pfannl Krosky and Daniela Giovinale, which took second place, examines the territory of the Palace of Culture ZIL through the prism of attracting investments. According to the authors of the second project, in order for this urban space to become attractive for residents and investors, it is necessary to instill in it a new function, and maybe even several new functions. And also create infrastructure and new jobs.
Following the projects of the Italian students, the works of the students of the Moscow Architectural Institute, who were engaged in the arrangement of another territory of Moscow - Shabolovka with the Shukhov tower, were presented. The most interesting proposal turned out to be: to turn the tower into a work of art, an urban sculpture that would rise above the area without any additional function, as a dominant and a monument to itself. For a more advantageous exposition of the Shabolovka tower, students suggested creating an artificial lake at its foot so that it would be reflected in the water. A museum with a transparent ceiling should be located under the lake, through which - and through the water column - it will be possible, according to the authors' plan, to see the Shukhov Tower in a refracted form.
In addition to specific urban planning proposals for the improvement of areas adjacent to the monuments of the avant-garde, ideas of performances, aimed at drawing public attention to the monuments of avant-garde architecture, suddenly appeared. Today these monuments are lost among the modern buildings. For example, according to the conviction of the authors of one of the proposals, the club them. Zuev on Lesnaya Street is now much lower than the neighboring houses, which makes it an “invisible” building. It is necessary to draw from it bright blue stripes along the roadway and sidewalks. The monument marked in this way will not be passed by, students say.
Another project proposes to put up signs on the streets in the form of a man with an outstretched hand pointing to a particular avant-garde monument to passers-by. According to the authors, it is not worth signing what exactly is indicated - so that people become interested on their own and set off in search of new information for themselves.
This is how students-architects try to influence the psyche of city dwellers by means of contemporary art - in order to draw their attention to the buildings of the avant-garde era.
I must say that, as a rule, events dedicated to the protection of monuments are gloomy-focused and pessimistic. In contrast to this familiar impression, the atmosphere at the presentation at Garage was friendly and not tense at all. Many would say that young people do not understand the seriousness of the situation, they take it too lightly. They would probably be right. But it is possible that such ease could be a good help for serious "guardians". You can play important things too.
