Konstantin Mikhailov, the coordinator of the Arkhnadzor public movement, argues that an interesting situation has developed in Russia: the state and society are to blame for the destruction and loss of the historical heritage, but at the same time they must also protect it. According to this logic, the defenders of the heritage turn out to be enemies of the state and society, and according to official statistics alone, about 200 monuments of history and culture perish in Russia every year. As if in confirmation of this sad statistics, the blogger olga-ne-anton says that the Pestova House was destroyed on the very day of the monuments in Vologda. This wooden house with rich eclectic décor was under government protection and had the status of an identified cultural heritage site. The building was supposed to be upgraded in the near future, but it was not profitable for the owner.
Portal "Modernism" tells about the lost and abandoned monuments of Soviet Sochi. The resort city on the eve of the Olympics is changing literally before our eyes, losing its ensemble unity, public spaces and unique monuments that served as Sochi's calling cards. Among the latter, for example, the Institute of Balneology and Physiotherapy, built according to the project of Alexei Shchusev, the sanatoriums "Intourist" and "Caucasian Riviera", a funicular and singing fountains.
Continuing the topic, the portal writes about the reconstruction that threatens the bus station in the British city of Preston. It was built in the late 1960s in the brutalist style; its memorable appearance is formed by the relief tiers of loggias. All attempts to take the building under state protection and include it in the list of national heritage sites were rejected due to poor communication between the bus station and pedestrian paths, as well as low occupancy of buses. Now the fate of the bus station in Preston is concerned with the World Monuments Fund (WMF).
Arkhnadzor tells how the Old Moscow Commission defended the historical heritage in the first quarter of the 20th century. The members of the commission created a generalizing document necessary for placing monuments on protection, and only in the 1920s they identified more than 80 civil buildings of the 17th-18th centuries that deserve protection status. However, the activity of "Old Moscow" was not limited to assessing the significance of the development. The section collected historical, local history, archaeological and geographical materials, made reports, published scientific works on the history of Moscow, organized exhibitions and excursions. "Old Moscow" existed from 1909 to 1930, and in 1990 the activities of the Commission for the Study of the Capital were revived on the basis of the State Public Historical Library.
Bolshoi Gorod magazine writes about the hostel of the Institute of Red Professors, which is located opposite the First Medical Institute on Bolshaya Pirogovskaya Street in Moscow. The hostel was built according to the project of constructivist architects Dmitry Osipov and Alexei Rukhlyadev and was intended for students of the higher educational institution of the Central Committee of the party. The complex consists of eight six-storey buildings, arranged in a checkerboard pattern and connected at the inner ends by galleries - for this layout, the hostel was nicknamed "House-saw" (another popular name is "Pirogovka"). Currently, the complex is going to be demolished, explaining this decision by the impossibility of restoration. The old residents of the house claim that Pirogovka was built from very high quality materials and it can stand for another century.
A modern private house in the village of Vatutinki, Moscow Region, designed by Pavel Abramov and Olga Kalina from the Ardepo bureau, is described in the blog of the Architecturial digest magazine. Architects are supporters of natural materials and discreet forms. The façade of this exquisite volume is finished with bleached larch, dolomite and black tuff, and all furniture is made of maple. The interiors of the house are minimalistic, but at the same time they form a comfortable and functional space.
The Urbanurban blog discusses how decommissioned aircraft and industrial vehicles can be used. Thus, in Malibu, during the construction of the 747House, the architects used a Boeing 747-200 aircraft. The wings of an airplane serve as the roof of the house, and the signal lights on them act as night lights. And in Rotterdam, Holland, 2012Architecten designed a playground called Wikado from parts of a windmill. Thanks to the use of industrial elements of the same type, children received a variety of mini-climbing walls, caves, slides and labyrinths.
In the blog "Walks in Moscow" another story about the metropolitan areas is devoted to Shchukino, most of which is occupied by the "district-forming" Kurchatov Institute. The architecture of Shchukino is diverse: in it you can see both "stalinkas", "Khrushchevs" and small private houses, as well as skyscrapers. The Bolshoi Gorod magazine and the Arkhnadzor blog also write about the walks in Moscow on the day of the monuments. The first one reports on the excursion around Zamoskvorechye, which was led by the professor of Moscow Architectural Institute Vladimir Sedov, and in the second Natalya Samover talks about an educational event dedicated to the history of Povarskaya Street.
