"Parizhskaya Kommuna" is one of the most remote factories from the center of Vyshny Volochok. It is located on the picturesque bank of the Tsna River and, together with the neighboring Church of the Assumption of the Virgin (1864-1868), is the oldest building in the district, which in the 20th century was built up with panel houses. Evgeny Gerasimov recalls that from the very beginning he set himself a double task - not to destroy the historically valuable environment when adding a modern function, and at the same time not to imitate it, not to mimic it. “The basis of our work with this territory was not the principle of similarity, which was so widespread during construction in the historical environment, but the principle of contrast,” the architect admits, “and instead of blind copying, we sought to rethink the fundamental principles of Vyshnevolotsk architecture and supplement it with iconic buildings of the 21st century.”
In order to implement the conceived aesthetic program, the authors keep on the territory of the factory only objects built in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and demolish numerous Soviet-era buildings and nondescript barracks. At the same time, as true Petersburgers, Evgeny Gerasimov and Partners are forming a new geometrically verified system of axes on the site and introducing a front pedestrian square into the complex. The latter is located just at the intersection of the projected streets, one of which runs parallel to the Tsna embankment, and the second connects the factory with the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin and the water area. The entrance to the square from the side of the busiest Steklozavodskaya street is decorated with "Propylaea" - information pavilions, and the pattern of its paving resembles the patterns of fabrics that were produced by the "Paris Commune" for many years.
This square, as conceived by the authors, connects the "past" - the picturesque buildings of the textile factory (they house the hotel and lofts) and the "future" - the clear geometric volume of the congress center and the bionic forms of the school of arts. Interestingly, in architecture itself, the theme of the dialogue of the old and the new is played out many times. Thus, a new volume of the central atrium is cut into the main factory building, and the school of arts consists of a red-brick rectangle of a concert and exhibition hall (these are the former baths) and an egg-shaped one welded together. classroom buildings. And if the "insert" into the main building is finished with glass, then the school facade is decorated with an openwork mesh of architectural concrete, in the drawing of which the motives of traditional ornaments of the Tver province are used.
In a Petersburg-like manner, the clear and strict structure of the square's landscaping is contrasted with the smooth lines of the pedestrian embankment, which gradually descends to the river level by level. The building of the fitness center, which also has an oval shape, closes the space of the embankment. It is "hidden" in the relief of the embankment and not only emphasizes with its shape the natural line of the coast, but also plays the role of a retaining wall. The flat roof of the fitness center will be greened and become a new city square.
In their work on the project, the architects strictly adhered to the terms of reference received from the curators. And yet, some innovations were not without. In particular, it was the Yevgeny Gerasimov & Partners workshop that came up with the idea to build a dwelling house on the territory of the reconstructed factory. The fact is that it now exists, and the factory workers live in it, - explains Evgeny Gerasimov, - We decided that the social mission assigned to the project would hardly be fulfilled if we deprive people of their homes. Therefore, we have kept the house, however, moved it to another place in order to provide residents with better living conditions."
