The topic of improving the urban environment is currently being discussed especially actively in Omsk, where mayoral elections will take place in the near future. “Moreover, the conversation is not taking place in the context of economics, social policy or some even more incomprehensible phenomenon, people have become interested in the topic of creating a comfortable urban environment, that is, something that was previously discussed in Russia only at lectures at architectural institutes,” writes aliksumin in the "Community of Architects" and offers his own scenario for the transformation of urban space. According to the blogger, first of all, the transport system of Omsk, its architecture and ecology, as well as the ideology of creating comfortable spaces for pedestrians and cyclists, need a radical transformation.
Mickelson proposes to add to this list also the exploited roofs of residential buildings, with the help of which it is possible to create very interesting public spaces and viewing platforms that help residents get to know their city better. As an example, the blogger cites the JDS architects project, implemented in Copenhagen, where a spectacular captain's bridge, a sunbathing area and a lawn were placed on the roof of a residential building. However, commentators did not hesitate to point out to the author that, in relation to the Russian, this project can hardly be considered successful: “You brought a project whose location in the urban fabric provides completely different opportunities for socialization and a sense of the common good than those of the ordinary Russian housing. This can be done in mid-rise block buildings. And in the multi-apartment towers of the Soviet and post-Soviet construction, not to mention any khrushchobs, it is better not to, so as not to be disappointed. " More categorical opinions were also expressed: “Moreover, if we take into account the Russian mentality of the average citizen, it can be simply dangerous. We have barbecue and rest, there is alcohol without measure. Who needs drunken idiots to fall from these exploited rooftops?"
It's no secret that Moscow ranks last in terms of safety and living standards and first in terms of its high cost in the city ratings. However, Michael Schindhelm, director of the Urban Culture research theme at Strelka Institute, believes that this does not mean that life in the Russian capital is so bad. Rather, it is very specific, and it is necessary to adapt to this specificity. “The quality of a city depends on what its residents think about it. The city is not only houses and streets, the city, as Shakespeare says, is people, the researcher writes in the Gazeta.ru blog. - It is no coincidence that the ratings are topped by cities in Canada, Australia, Central and Northern Europe. Much of what operates in Zurich, Amsterdam or Frankfurt works because it was initiated and carried out by people, not officials. The quality of a city's life is measured ultimately by how much the population is involved in urban change.”
The Urbanurban blog, in turn, reflects on the possible future of "Red October" and examines the world examples of the conversion of similar complexes. Among the latter, the famous Museum Quarter in Vienna, The Digital Hub in Dublin, Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam, which has been functioning for several years as a park and multifunctional space for business in the field of creative industries and culture, Kaapelitehdas in Helsinki, which has become the largest cultural center in Finland, and the former Manufactura factory located in Lodz (Poland). The latter, thanks to a good marketing component, has become one of the most successful projects for the restoration of production facilities: the complex with a total area of 110,000 square meters, including 300 rooms, is considered the main cultural attraction of the city of Lodz.
The same blog publishes a story about an unusual method of filling up cracks in buildings, invented by the German artist Jan Formann. Jan's building material is a Lego set: the small parts of the set allow the artist to assemble elements that exactly follow the shape of the hole in the wall and fix them there. As a result, the wall is covered with bright "patches" that hide façade imperfections and give them a memorable look. Indeed, what is not a way to diversify the familiar look of the building?
Artem Dezhurko in his blog on the portal of the AD magazine writes about the project of a design museum in Moscow. As one of the founders of the museum, Alexandra Sankova, told the journalist, the Council of the Museum is currently being formed and negotiations are underway on the first exhibitions. The author also publishes the style studies of the museum, which were made by the Dutch LAVA Design. “They decided that a carved crystal decanter was the symbol of Russian design,” Dezhurko comments on these illustrations.
The blog "Soviet Architecture" published a post about the fate of Hinnerk Scheper, a professor from the Bauhaus Dessau, who in the summer of 1929, at the invitation of the Malyarstroy trust, came to work in the USSR. His main project in the Land of the Soviets was the house of the People's Commissariat of Finance - Sheper led the work on color experiments with the interiors of the commune house.
Darriuss in the same blog publishes material about the Museum of the Soviet-Polish Military Commonwealth, located in the village of Lenino, Mogilev region. Built in 1968 by architects Yakov Belopolsky and Vladimir Khavin, it is a dome 11 meters high and 34 meters in diameter, reminiscent of a soldier's helmet.
And bdb_2000 continues a series of posts about the Moscow master plans. “I was surprised to find that the majority of today's youth do not know anything about the master plans for the development of Moscow, considering last year's Sobyanin plan to be the first, only and best,” the author explains the motives that prompted him to start this series of publications. This week, the blog posted material on the plan of the famous Le Corbusier and the proposal of the German architect Ernst May. Corbyu places the new Moscow on the territory of the old one, retaining only the Kremlin and Kitay-Gorod, and does not increase the territory of the capital, but rather decreases due to the number of storeys of buildings that it surrounds with a green zone. On the radial-circular layout, Corbusier imposes a rectangular grid of streets, and clearly zoned the territory: in the north there is a new political center of the city, to the south there are four large residential areas, then the historical center, to the south of which there is an industrial zone. A very different plan was developed by Ernst May, who was a proponent of deurbanization. He proposed leaving the administrative and business center within the existing boundaries of the city, and creating a kind of drabant around the city - satellite cities with low-rise buildings, between which green and agricultural zones were located.
Zizis in his blog talks about the village of Pyantag. This is almost the oldest settlement in the northern Urals, which was once the capital of the Komi-Permyak state. Naina_gorynych writes about the architecture of Kremenets, stressing that this Ukrainian town "is extremely picturesque, the creations of people here are harmoniously inscribed in the landscape, and if the historical center is relatively bustling, then peace and tranquility reign on the mountains." And TrendyMen talks about Tel Aviv in spring, its architecture and the most famous tourist spots, as well as where in the only Israeli metropolis it is best to spend April days and evenings.
