This week, Moskovsky Komsomolets published an interview with the ex-mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov. After his resounding resignation, much was said and written. Lev Kolodny decided to personally talk with the former mayor of the capital about what was and what was not. The topic of the conversation, in particular, was the most high-profile architectural and urban planning projects carried out under Yuri Mikhailovich. How was the Cathedral of Christ the Savior built? Why not in St. Petersburg, but in Moscow a monument to Peter I was erected? Who came up with the idea of building Moscow City and Okhotny Ryad? Yuri Luzhkov also told about how the Bolshoi Theater was reconstructed, how he "in protest" left the Board of Trustees, and then again at the personal request of Dmitry Medvedev took up this facility, "because no one could complete it." “Since then, almost every Saturday detour began with the Bolshoi Theater,” recalls Yuri Mikhailovich. - We parted with inept contractors, attracted companies tested in Moscow, municipal and private. The work went in three shifts, as at the Cathedral of Christ. Soon no one doubted that the Bolshoi Theater would raise the curtain on time … True, they forgot to invite me to the opening ceremony …”Other rather scandalous topics were also discussed in the conversation, for example, the demolition of Khrushchev houses and the felling of the Khrushki forest for the construction of Leningradka. The latter, according to Yuri Luzhkov, became "the last straw of hatred, which resulted in the removal from power."
The chief architect of Moscow, Sergei Kuznetsov, told Afisha about those places in the capital that will be remodeled in the near future. Airpolises with expo centers, business and technology parks will be created around the airports. The ZiL territory will become a pilot project for the development of industrial zones, where housing, jobs and cultural facilities will appear in the future. Moscow City will gradually expand to the Big City, moving beyond the Third Ring to the Flour Mill and further to the outskirts of Moscow. Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye, according to Sergei Kuznetsov, can no longer be a "city for millionaires", now it will become a city for people. The nature of the development of the Golden Island will also change - it should become a place of rest, life and work at the same time. And finally, in the city center, the chief architect proposes, first of all, to prohibit parking on the sidewalks, to supply high-quality urban furniture, to make good lighting, to work with advertisements and signs. The main thing, says Sergey Kuznetsov, is that the center does not become completely "mothballed": "The more diverse life is, the better." Moscow Perspective writes about the ideology of transformations in the capital, which was discussed at the board of the construction complex last week. At the center of the discussion is the capital's master plan, which will be revised by the end of 2014. Based on the experience of world capitals, along with the master plan, it is proposed to adopt a generalized master plan. The head of the Moscow construction department, Andrei Bochkarev, called the further construction of the metro a top priority in the development of the transport system. The next step is the construction of transport hubs and the reconstruction of outbound highways, primarily the Varshavskoye, Kashirskoye, Yaroslavskoye, Shchelkovskoye, Leningradskoye Highways, Entuziastov Highway and the Balaklavsky Prospect - Rublevskoye Highway section.
And in St. Petersburg they continue to discuss the future of the frozen project "Embankment of Europe". According to City 812, instead of Boris Eifman's dance palace, the buildings of the Arbitration Court and the Supreme Court may appear on this territory, which are supposedly to move from Moscow to St. Petersburg by the end of 2014. Against this background, "Moskovsky Komsomolets" has already included the embankment in the list of the most ambitious, but never built objects in St. Petersburg over the past three hundred years. Local historian and historian Sergei Babushkin told the Komsomolets correspondent about them.
"Kommersant - St. Petersburg" informs about the announcement of an open tender for the development of a project for the restoration of the ensemble of the Menshikov estate (First Cadet Corps) and the building of the student canteen, as well as for the development of a project for overhaul and reconstruction of the buildings of the complex. The initiator of the competition was the St. Petersburg State University. According to the terms of the competition, it is necessary to develop "a campus project that includes a library, a medical center, a canteen, a reading room, a presentation complex, and a conference room." In addition, the winner of the competition will have to think about how to restore the fence of the Botanical Garden. Applications for participation in the competition are accepted until December 3, 2012, the results will be announced on December 6.
In Moscow, talk about the fate of Zaryadye continues. Let us remind you that in the early 2000s, ST Development was going to build a multifunctional hotel and recreation complex with a total area of 360 thousand square meters on the site of the Rossiya hotel. For about 10 years, entrepreneur Shalva Chigirinsky and ST Development have been trying to first implement their commercial project, and then return the rights to the construction site. Today, according to RBC daily, the city authorities are ready to put an end to this epic by paying Chigirinsky compensation and thereby freeing 13 hectares of land near the Kremlin for a park and the construction of a parliamentary center. By the way, according to Sergei Kuznetsov, a new competition will be held for Zaryadye in the very near future. Its terms of reference will require participants to propose "something related to culture, green space and transport."
Petersburg is also looking for territory to create a new creative cluster. The Village analyzes the pros and cons of potential sites where such a cluster could be created. In particular, the publication focused on the water tower and the rope shop of the "Red Nail Art" in the southwestern part of Vasilyevsky Island.
Karpovka. Net writes about the resumption of the project for the development of underground space under Vosstaniya Square in St. Petersburg. The construction of a shopping center and underground parking here has been planned for about ten years. The project stops and starts again. Today, according to the source, he received the approval of the Governor Georgy Poltavchenko. And the head of the architectural bureau "Zemtsov, Kondiain and Partners" Mikhail Kondiain expressed his readiness to again take up the development of the concept. Karpovka. Net quotes the architect: "This project is a historic chance to improve the urban environment of this area, which should not be missed."
And in Moscow underground it is planned to place many new parking spaces. Moskovsky Komsomolets writes that it is planned to build parking lots mainly under the roads and squares of the capital. 44 potential sites have already been identified, in particular, under Turgenevskaya and Khokhlovskaya squares, under Akademik Sakharov Avenue, Tverskaya Street and even under Gorky Park. Currently, public hearings are being held in the Central Administrative District, at which residents of the district can participate in choosing the most optimal places for the construction of parking lots. And Novaya Gazeta tells how the City Projects, initiated by the municipal deputy Maxim Katz and the photographer Ilya Varlamov, are trying to make Moscow more pedestrian-friendly.
Izvestia talks about the initiative of Russian Railways to turn Moscow railway stations into recreation and entertainment centers. According to the discussed project, there will appear not only shops, but also cinemas, billiard rooms, shooting galleries, playrooms for children. All this, according to Dmitry Pisarenko, an official representative of the railway stations directorate, is intended to improve the image of Moscow stations, which today is clearly lame.
State TV and Radio Company "Culture" talks about the completion of the next stage of restoration of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Kizhi. The temple has already been erected on a new concrete foundation. The monument itself has been mothballed; work will resume only in the spring. In the meantime, the work of restorers to save the masterpiece of wooden architecture continues in the workshops.
