Grigory Revzin this week wrote two articles dedicated to the last exhibition "Arch Moscow". In one of them, he talks about identity "from above". Under Yuri Luzhkov, it was expressed in the "Moscow style". And under the current mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, in his attempts to establish a dialogue with the creative class, using the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure as a platform. But at a critical moment, the creative class went to Chistye Prudy and Barrikadnaya, without even thinking about the park. This, Revzin writes, can be considered a failure of the Sobyanin project. The critic wonders how this is all related to the exhibition. And he himself answers - no way. And if “what is happening in Moscow has nothing to do with Arch Moscow, it means that Arch Moscow has nothing to do with what is happening in the city. And this is strange for an exhibition called Arch Moscow, which is busy looking for a new identity. " The second article by the critic is devoted to the exhibition of neoclassical architecture, first presented at Arch Moscow, which was curated by Maxim Atayants. In the time of Yuri Luzhkov, architects who turned to historical styles were the "rump of architectural opposition." Now this small part of the architects, who are trying to find out among themselves which of them is better, is just an opposition. The critic makes comparisons with the political opposition. So, Maxim Atayants is the best, because he builds entire cities, he is the only one who had the idea to gather everyone and perform together, and he believes that it will make sense. This is Vladimir Ryzhkov of neoclassical architecture. Mikhail Belov is the best, because he built the most, he considers it necessary and correct to cooperate with the authorities, to influence their tastes, he is a man of great personal charm and charm. And therefore he is the neoclassical Ksyusha Sobchak. He compares Dmitry Barkhin with Lyudmila Alekseeva, and Mikhail Filippov with Boris Nemtsov. And while all these architects are figuring out which of them is better, without forming a movement, there are no prospects. As well as there are no prospects in the life of ordinary people, the critic concludes.
The third seminar on the development of the Moscow agglomeration took place last weekend, the Izvestia newspaper writes. This time the architectural teams participating in the competition focused their attention on the transport problems of the capital. For example, the French team Antoine Grumbach et Associes proposed the idea of building a large railway ring and four new stations in the near Moscow region, as well as a new high-speed metro ring in the city center. The American team of Urban Design Associates went further in the development of railway junctions: the architects believe that the giant station could be located on the site of the demolished Rossiya Hotel. In addition, the Americans proposed to launch part of the Moskva River into new territories. “This, as they say in youth jargon, is a joke. I assure you, these are very serious people, and in some respects it was a joke,”commented Vyacheslav Glazychev, a member of the expert group of the competition, on the proposals of the American team. Andrey Chernikhov said in his speech that the stations located in the city center should be closed or turned into museums. And new stations should be built closer to the Moscow Ring Road. One of the co-authors of the concept for the development of the Moscow agglomeration, presented by Chernikhov's studio, architect Alexei Ginzburg, said that their team, with their proposals, is trying to restore its face to the city. For them, Moscow is, first of all, a historically significant place. Alexei Ginzburg does not exclude the possibility of transferring the power structures to the territory of the "new" Moscow, but at the same time emphasizes that this will not solve the problem of the capital's transport overload. (See the material of Archi.ru about the third seminar of Greater Moscow). Meanwhile, a source in the city administration told Moskovsky Komsomolets that the authorities are disappointed with the preliminary results of the competition. So far, there are few constructive proposals, and those that exist were obvious even without the involvement of expensive foreign specialists. Nevertheless, officials are already preparing to move to the territory of the "new" Moscow. They recommend including the State Duma building on Okhotny Ryad in the list of cultural heritage monuments, so that after the move not to give the building for offices.
Several interviews were published by the media this week. Afisha magazine talked with the head of New York's Central Park, Douglas Blonsky, who came to the Moscow Biennale of Architecture at the invitation of Friends of Zaryadye. The American expressed his proposals on the future of the park in Zaryadye. He believes that Red Square could get its continuation and contact Green Square. But first, it's worth understanding who will use the park. Douglas Blonsky proposes to make it for Muscovites, who are still few near Zaryadye, but it is the park that will become the catalyst for the development of the area, provided it is accessible. The expert is also sure that the park should be free space, without severe restrictions for visitors, it should have water and a developed underground space.
The new president of the Union of Moscow Architects (UMA), chief architect of Metrogiprotrans, Nikolai Shumakov, told RIA Novosti that he considers his main task in his new post to consolidate all the architectural forces of Moscow. Today, the profession of an architect is being destroyed, and the very word “architect” has already become almost a dirty word both in the construction sector and in the sphere of power structures, says Nikolai Shumakov. Customers do not understand why spend extra money on creating a quality environment that the architect creates. In the whole other world, a completely different attitude towards the environment and, accordingly, towards the architect.
Creative Director of the Seattle office of Frog, an interactive design company, Scott Nazaryan shared his vision of the cities of the future with Theory and Practice. He believes that cities need to be built like computer programs so that they have the flexibility they need. The city, in his opinion, should adapt to its inhabitants, city functions should move depending on the needs of people. And the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma told the Izvestia newspaper about the creation of a new type of harmony and a new intellectual style of interaction between materials and humans. He believes that both Japanese and Russian architects have all the possibilities for this, who could unite their efforts. Russia has enormous potential in the use of local materials due to its natural resources. And Kengo Kuma's new image of the environment connects primarily with materials, and not with forms. In Japan, local materials have long been actively used in construction - bamboo and rice paper.
Very soon, in early autumn 2012, Muscovites will be able to see with their own eyes an example of Japanese architecture made of paper. Japanese architect Shiregu Ban designed the temporary pavilion of the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture in the Park of Culture. Gorky. The pavilion will be based on paper columns (pipes) produced by the St. Petersburg factory. As a result, the columns form an oval-shaped building with a total area of 2.4 thousand square meters. m and a height of 6 m. The architect uses paper in his projects, including load-bearing structures. But this time, the outer paper wall does not bear the load, the roof rests on the inner steel walls.
The best building and winner of the All-Russian architectural and construction award Best Building Awards 2012 was the "House on Mosfilmovskaya" in Moscow, designed by the bureau of Sergei Skuratov, writes The Village. The selection of projects took place in three stages. At first, the Public Council, led by architect Andrey Bokov, chose 30 houses. Further, the nominees were evaluated by the Expert Council, headed by the architect Sergei Tchoban, who identified 12 finalists. The winners were determined by an open online voting. According to the organizers, 33 thousand people from 20 countries of the world took part in it. In addition to the House on Mosfilmovskaya, the Moscow Planetarium was awarded in the category “Reconstruction of the Year”, as well as the capital's center of pediatric hematology, oncology and immunology in the nomination “The Brightest Social Object of the Year”. (See also the text of Archi.ru about the awards of the House of the Year).
Petersburg is actively discussing the opening after three years of reconstruction of the Summer Garden. Allocated from the federal budget 2.3 billion rubles was enough for the restoration of 92 sculptures and the production of their copies, the treatment of the green massif, the repair of pavilions, the restoration of bosquets and fountains, the recreation of Peter's Havanets and the launch of wi-fi. But for the restoration of the Summer Palace of Peter and Peter's house on the other side of the Neva, the allocated funds were not enough. Their restoration will be the next stage of work. The newspaper "Moscow News" writes that the historic Summer Garden, which Pushkin saw, is lost forever. By the 19th century, it was no longer regular, there were no Sable cells and fountains in it. It was a picturesque, airy park. But today's authorities, apparently, are closer to strictness, regularity and forgeries instead of originals. The author concludes that "the Summer Garden in its current form is the direct heir of the Constantine Palace, Putin's residence, where there is not a single historical thing at all." Aleksandr Margolis, co-chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of VOOPIIK, is also dissatisfied with the reconstruction: “The transparency that has been inherent in the Summer Garden over the past century and a half has completely disappeared. Now the Summer Garden is some kind of collection of dead ends formed by future tapestries, which at the moment are simple fences”. And the deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg Konstantin Sukhenko assesses the reconstruction positively. He says that the Summer Garden has become more diverse and multifunctional, turned into an open-air museum.
