At the very beginning of the week, Citizen k magazine published an article by Grigory Revzin "Theater of one spectator", in which the architectural critic summarized the discussion of the reconstruction of the Bolshoi Theater and resolved many of the perplexities that arose earlier when reading articles devoted to this topic. Indeed, why are journalists and the Minister of Culture delighted with the reconstruction, while the actors are terrified? It turns out that the reconstruction of the theater was uneven: the main stage is amazing, and the foyer and rehearsal section are bad. The first ones are inconvenient for the audience, the second ones are cheaply finished, dark and the ceilings there have become twice as low as they were (the words of the Bolshoi soloist Nikolai Tsiskaridze become clear: “you can't lift the ballerina because she will bang her head against the ceiling”). Grigory Revzin, as always, brilliantly describes both the resulting interiors and the situation, and in conclusion he draws a conclusion that is more social and political than art criticism: the renewed Bolshoi Theater is a theater of enlightened absolutism and is intended for one person - the emperor. “We cannot build the 21st century because we do not know what it is. This is when, besides the emperor, there are still many people, and you have to think about them, but there may not even be an emperor at all. And we do not understand how it can not be. And who then show the theater? " - concludes Grigory Revzin.
The second architectural theme of this week was the reconstruction of the Pushkin Museum. Pushkin. As you know, at a time when a spontaneous rally of protest against the results of elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation was gathering on Triumfalnaya Square, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin went to a meeting with the beautiful, namely, he visited an exhibition of Caravaggio's works. Taking advantage of the moment, the director of the Pushkin Museum Irina Antonova showed the second person of the state a model of the museum quarter and asked for assistance in the implementation of this project. According to Gazeta. Ru, "Vladimir Putin was almost able to solve some of the problems associated with the expansion of the museum complex right at the meeting." At this meeting, the estimated budget of the project was also announced - about 23 billion rubles. However, according to the Prime Minister, these funds will be allocated only after the concept for the development of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts is discussed and agreed upon in various instances, from the State Duma to public urban protection organizations.
Irina Antonova's reaction to this demand was, oddly enough, ambivalent. Gazeta. Ru quotes the director of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts that the voice of the public will be heard, and even: “… let us be corrected if we have gone too far.” An article in Izvestia also conveys other words of Antonova - that "she has already shown the project to public organizations …, for example, to Arhnadzor, and they approved the project." On Friday, Arkhnadzor corrected the director by publishing a statement in which the movement categorically denies its agreement with the existing concept of reconstruction of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, calls it done as if there are no laws on heritage protection in Russia, and proposes to radically change the concept of the museum's reconstruction, bringing it in line with Russian heritage legislation.
On December 7, the Moscow State Duma officially approved the new borders of Moscow. Starting from July 1 next year, 22 municipalities near Moscow, including the city districts of Troitsk and Shcherbinka, will become part of the capital. On December 27, the Federation Council is to consider a final agreement on this issue. In the meantime, the Moscow authorities have already begun adjusting the General Plan for the development of the capital until 2025, adopted a year before the idea of annexing part of the Moscow region appeared. However, according to Deputy Mayor Marat Khusnullin, over the past year, the city authorities have already managed to change a lot. "Moscow has refused the volume of construction provided for in the General Plan", - quotes the official "Moscow Perspective". Now the Moscow mayor's office will: develop transport infrastructure, build garages, parking lots, social and temporary housing, and Marat Khusnullin intends to cut the construction of commercial and office buildings by almost half.
On December 8, the first meeting of the newly formed commission of the Moscow mayor's office was held to agree on the demolition and reconstruction of historic buildings in the capital. In addition to officials, it included Konstantin Mikhailov, a representative of Arkhnadzor, and Galina Malanicheva, chairman of the Central Council of VOOPIiK - however, they were given the right to vote, but were not included in the working group. The same Marat Khusnullin became the chairman of the commission, Alexander Kibovsky, the head of the Department of Cultural Heritage of Moscow, became the deputy. This composition of the new structure did not suit the city defenders at all. "The working group does not represent either city rights activists or experts - this is practically a body of the Moscow Heritage Committee with the addition of several officials from related departments," Izvestia quotes the opinion of Arkhnadzor coordinator Rustam Rakhmatullin. The head of the Moscow Heritage Committee responded to these claims right during the meeting. “It all started with an angry rebuke from Mr. Kibovsky. He rumbled that he did not understand why "wearing a tie and a jacket are second-class people." “It wasn’t you that the investors called with threats,” he shouted, but didn’t address anyone personally,”Kommersant reports from the scene. In addition, at the meeting, the plans of the commission were announced: it intends to revise 204 previously issued permits for the demolition of buildings in the historic center and 209 building permits, to protect about 20 identified cultural heritage sites and deal with 120 requests for the demolition of buildings. enrolled this year. And within the next three years, it is planned to completely stop new construction in the center of Moscow.
In St. Petersburg on the same days, the projects of the interiors of one of the most famous long-term construction projects of the city - the new stage of the Mariinsky Theater, were finally announced, on the project of which the Canadian architectural bureau Diamond and Schmitt and the VIPS Group of Companies are now working. The sketches of the interiors of the new theater were published on the Online 812 portal, and the renderings for this publication were commented on personally by Michael Treacy, chief architect of the Mariinsky-2 interiors project. In particular, he said that the chairs, walls and ceiling of the auditorium were designed in the "sea wave" color scheme, and a Swarovsky chandelier worth about 100 thousand dollars would be placed above the "royal box".
It is possible that in the coming years, the landscape of St. Petersburg will be supplemented by another building, built according to the project of a foreign architect. The famous Spaniard Ricardo Bofill, who has more than once tried to conquer Russian capitals, is now working on a project for a large multifunctional complex to be built near Smolny. “This is a light 9-12-storey building in the traditional for St. Petersburg style of modern classicism, which will be built in 2013”, - this is how the architect himself described his idea to “Business Petersburg”. Bofill also has other proposals for the city, which he himself considers one of the most beautiful in the world, although they are still under discussion: “The project of the Konstantinovsky congress hall in Strelna is delayed. It was decided to move the building of the Maritime Academy. Makarov to carry out construction. This idea is being discussed now. There is no specifics yet, but we are not abandoning the project. In addition, we are developing a concept for a project for a quarterly development in the city center for one of the companies."
Argumenty i Fakty published an interview with the chief architect of Chelyabinsk, Nikolai Yushchenko, who spoke about the urban planning problems of this city and the prospects for its development. According to him, Chelyabinsk, which has earned a reputation as one of the most inexpressive and "motley" cities, is "not yet ready for architectural provocations." “Here I would have transferred the Parisian Defense on my shoulders to Chelyabinsk! We need the same business center on the outskirts to relieve the city center and redirect traffic flows. We will create such centers”. The main thing that now, according to Nikolai Yushchenko, the city needs is a well-thought-out urban planning policy that will help to fit the original ensembles into the existing environment.
