The Arkhnadzor public movement continues to fight for the integrity of the Dynamo stadium - city rights activists are confident that it is not necessary to demolish its outer walls in order to effectively adapt a historical structure to the requirements of the sport of the 21st century. Dutch architect Erik van Egeraat, the author of the initial reconstruction project, which, despite all its innovation, assumed the preservation of the stadium's historic walls, also expressed his disagreement with the destruction of Dynamo. Meanwhile, the developer of the reconstruction, CJSC VTB Arena, emphasizes that the main task of the work is to return the legendary stadium to its original purpose to Muscovites, as well as to restore and improve Petrovsky Park. The developer is discouraged by the accusations against him: "This only causes bewilderment and a large number of questions, since all the necessary documents were presented to the public to start work."
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced his version of what could be built on the site of the Rossiya Hotel. In an interview with Channel One, the mayor said that, in his opinion, a Big Concert Hall, a cafe and underground parking should appear in Zaryadye. True, not all experts share this point of view. For example, according to the scientific director of the Research Institute of Transport and Road Facilities, Mikhail Blinkin, only a chamber hall can be built on this site, while most of the territory should become a pedestrian zone. The Strelka Institute held a whole expert meeting on the topic “The Future of Zaryadye: a Park for the City”, during which most experts came to the conclusion that the main task is to treat the history of this unique place as carefully as possible. For example, the coordinator of the Arkhnadzor social movement, Pyotr Miroshnik, proposes to open a part of the preserved Kitaygorodskaya wall and recreate the Yauza embankment with cast-iron fences, as it was in the 19th century. It is curious that the other day, during excavations on the territory of the former hotel "Russia", archaeologists discovered a fragment of the Kitay-Gorod wall, as well as an element of a 15th century manor house. The chief archaeologist of the capital, Leonid Kondrashev, noted that the found objects may be exhibited in the new park. Meanwhile, the activists propose to the Moscow Committee for Architecture and Architecture more and more new themes for the future park, including: a park of architectural miniatures, a park in the form of a reduced copy of Russia, a park with alleys made of Ural cedar, a closed park with a Mediterranean climate.
The Moscow building complex has finally officially summed up the results of last year and announced plans for the future - a special board of the department was dedicated to this. According to the Moscow Perspective newspaper, the city will build roads, new metro lines, housing, sports and social facilities, parks and industrial zones. In addition, within a year, it is necessary to develop and approve the main construction document - the Rules for land use and development, establish modes and regulations for work within the boundaries of cultural heritage sites. Evaluating the results of last year, Sergei Sobyanin said that the rethinking of urban planning policy last year led to the abandonment of many "unnecessary and expensive objects." The approaches to the formation and implementation of the city order have changed: “First, we intend to build only what the city really needs. Secondly, the budget will pay for construction exactly as much as it costs. Thirdly, only the most qualified contractors will be involved in the work”. Marat Khusnullin, deputy mayor of the capital for urban planning policy and construction, told Vedomosti about the continuation of the course taken last year by the Moscow authorities. According to the official, new construction projects are possible only in case of urgent renovation of quarters, overhaul and re-profiling of real estate.
This week Marat Khusnullin also approved the composition of the expert group of the competition for the development of a draft concept for the development of the Moscow agglomeration. It included nine specialists, including the President of the Union of Architects of Russia Andrei Bokov, the chief architect of Moscow Alexander Kuzmin, the head of the department of urban planning at the Moscow Architectural Institute Ilya Lezhava, director of the "Greater Paris" working group Bertrand Lemoine, deputy director of the regional planning department (Madrid, Spain) Alberto Leboreiro. On February 20, the expert group is to select ten teams that will be engaged in the development of the "new Moscow" project. “At the same time, we do not want to choose one out of 10 projects. We want to summarize the best of these groups. And to create on the basis of this some kind of common vision of architects of both ours and the world's urbanists,”Sergei Sobyanin said in an online interview with Gazeta. Ru. And the chief architect of Moscow, Alexander Kuzmin, said on the air of the Moscow-24 TV channel that 67 applications from all over the world from companies and workshops wishing to offer their ideas were submitted for the competition.
In the conflict over the possible transfer of part of the funds of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts to Skolkovo, a compromise has emerged: an exhibition center and a small branch of the museum may appear in the innovation city, reports IA Rosbalt. The architectural critic Grigory Revzin was skeptical about this idea: “As a result of such compromises, something is lost for the sake of which everything was started. A branch without a collection is not viable. The Pushkin Museum's collection is small - this is not the Hermitage. They are unlikely to take the Impressionists to Skolkovo. A good exhibition should be shown in Pushkin, and if it is bad - why build a building for this?"
The first stage of the reconstructed hotel "Moscow" is being prepared for the opening. The name and the facade - that's all that remains of the old "Moscow", "Vesti" notes with regret. The first visitors to the hotel will see three levels of shops, a separate entrance from the Teatralnaya Square and modern interiors. The second stage of "Moscow" will be opened in mid-2013, according to RIA Novosti.
At the end of the review - about new exhibitions and books. The RBC daily newspaper writes about the exhibition "Praise of Stupidity" by the artist Diana Machulina, which has opened in the M&Y Guelman Gallery. And in the Kremlin, for the first time, art of the 20th century is shown - the works of the famous British artist and sculptor Henry Moore. Also this week, two new books were presented: “Moscow through the eyes of an architect” by Vladimir Rezvin and “Savva Morozov and Fyodor Shekhtel. The story of a masterpiece”.
