The history of Gostiny Dvor, located on Lenin Square in Serpukhov (before the revolution - Trade Square) is complex, confusing, and full of dramatic events, just like the history of any architectural monument in our country. This Gostiny Dvor was erected in the middle of the 19th century by the project of the architect D. F. Borisov. The building was made in the spirit of late neoclassicism; its appearance was distinguished by its monumentality and severity. In 1910, Serpukhov's Gostiny Dvor was reconstructed by the architect Appelrot, while its appearance changed beyond recognition - neoclassical facades were replaced by facades in the style of "Russian brick neo-Gothic". Such a radical restructuring of Gostiny Dvor was due to the need to expand the area, and, of course, the tastes of the customer played an important role here. In addition, apparently, Appelrot himself wanted the new architecture of Gostiny Dvor to echo aesthetically with the architecture of the 1854 brick church of Alexander Nevsky that stood opposite. Why am I talking about the church of Alexander Nevsky in the past tense? It was demolished in the 1920s. Gostiny Dvor itself was rebuilt several times during the Soviet era and, as Ilya Utkin himself noted in an explanatory note to his project, it was “barbarously renovated”. Thus, Gostiny Dvor in its present form is only a pale shadow of the original of 1910 - many architectural details of the facade have been lost, the original walls have been destroyed. Yes, and the surrounding square for two hundred and twenty years (it was designed back in 1783) has lost its former functional purpose - before there were shopping arcades, but today it is more of a park with a roundabout for vehicles (in the post-war years, a roundabout transport traffic).
In the same explanatory note to the project, Ilya Utkin writes: "Now the demolition of architecture that has historical value is a crime … Preservation of the historical heritage is an urgent need today." This phrase very accurately characterizes his approach to architecture in general. All of his work in recent years, it seems to me, is aimed at resurrecting in the memory of people the images of the lost, to induce them to think about the value of an architectural monument. In general, in my opinion, the architecture of Ilya Utkin is a memory. She has something of a dream. She is cold, rather gloomy, there is some kind of detachment and melancholy in her. At the same time, she is surprisingly touching and noble. Ilya Utkin is a kind of knight of modern Russian architecture.
He seems to be the only architect who puts heritage preservation above personal ambition. Indeed, his project for the reconstruction of Gostiny Dvor in Serpukhov contains practically no author's statement. There is not a single hint of self-expression in it. This is an example of an authentic restoration of a monument based on original drawings and old photographs - in this case, the neo-Gothic project of Appelroth of 1910 was taken as the basis, since most of the materials on the neoclassical project of Borisov in 1845 have been lost.
True, in his project, Ilya Utkin proposes to build a new chapel on the foundations of the destroyed church of Alexander Nevsky instead of carrying out a scientific restoration of the mentioned monument. But this is due to the fact that there are not enough materials to carry out a competent scientific restoration of the Alexander Nevsky Church - in the archives the author was able to find only "a few muddy photographs."
Ilya Utkin also proposes to reconstruct the improvement of Lenin Square itself, namely, to make it more attractive for recreation of residents and tourists by placing cultural and entertainment-tourist facilities in its central part, and to remove transit transport from the square. As for the last point, the author sees the construction of an underground parking lot for 630 cars under the square as one of the solutions to this problem.
Under the same square, Ilya Utkin designed a multifunctional complex - it will be possible to get there through a rectangular recess in front of the historical facade of Gostiny Dvor, into which the main staircase descends from the square mark.
Ilya Utkin returned the former look to the facades of Gostiny Dvor, at the same time completely redoing the existing layouts of this building and increasing its area - in a word, he pleased both historians and customers. Who still can do this in our time?
I think it would be great if Ilya Utkin was entrusted with the reconstruction of monuments in the center of Moscow, given his sensitive attitude to heritage. And it is a pity that he was not entrusted with this earlier - I am sure, if he were at the head of this process, we would not have lost so much.
PS. From the explanatory note:
“By the decision of the Councils of Deputies of Serpukhov, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral must be restored.
And our project proposal includes a plan to rebuild a church that was destroyed in the twenties. But in fact, this decision requires serious analysis. First, there are no necessary materials for scientific restoration. Only a few muddy photographs can be found in the archives. And the construction of the remake will have no historical value. Secondly, compositionally, the place for the temple is not entirely successful. And thirdly, does the shopping and entertainment center of the city need a remake temple at all, when there are so many genuine churches around in need of attention and restoration? I believe that it is possible to build a chapel over the foundations of the destroyed temple. Ilya Utkin
