Last week in St. Petersburg, controversy again flared up over the program for the preservation and development of the historic center. On December 6, the Concept was discussed at a meeting of the Council for Cultural Heritage. There were some misunderstandings. As the deputy of the Yabloko faction Boris Vishnevsky told IA REGNUM, he and his colleague from the LDPR were not allowed to attend the meeting. This was done by order of the head of the KGIOP Alexander Makarov, who said that "he does not need a scandal." The event was not attended by members of the Committee for Economic Development, Industrial Policy and Trade (KERPPiT) - the department that was actually involved in the development of the Program. During the meeting, according to Karpovka, the architect Nikita Yavein presented the project for the development of two territories of the historical center, Konyushennaya and Severnaya Kolomna - New Holland, developed by his studio and won first place in the competition. To the comments of the townspeople that the changes incorporated in the project contradict the law, the architect replied: with such a law "the city will slowly and calmly die," and proposed to form a new city council in St. Petersburg, which would allow deviating from the existing urban planning legislation.
After Yavein's speech, according to IA REGNUM, thanks to the co-chairman of VOOPIiK Alexander Margolis, it turned out that the Studio 44 project and the Development Program were not coordinated with each other. Moreover, the Concept contains not a word about restoration, but only about reconstruction and major repairs. Summing up the results of the meeting, the members of the Council decided to appeal to Governor Georgy Poltavchenko with a request to transfer the development of the program from KERPPiT to the specialized departments - KGIOP and KGA.
An interesting article devoted to the same burning topic of the development of the historical center was posted by Novaya Gazeta SPb. It turns out that a similar program has already been developed, no less than 25 years ago. Created slowly, over seven years, by a team of specialists headed by the city planner Valery Nazarov, it implied a much more careful attitude to the historical development of the city.
Architect Yuri Zemtsov (one of the directors of the Zemtsov, Kondiain and Partners bureau) said in an interview with Karpovka: “I have a negative attitude towards mass reconstruction. To preserve the center, reconstruction must be carried out on separate land plots, separate houses. " He also noted that he was skeptical about the attempts of modern architects to build buildings in the style of bygone eras: “Each time has left and is leaving its traces in St. Petersburg. And in this historical depth lies the interest of the city. And now it is wrong to do so that no one would guess when it was built."
I studied the problem of preserving the historical buildings of St. Petersburg during the week "My District". Citing very apt words of the editor-in-chief of Karpovka Dmitry Ratnikov: “Any building must have an owner who can close the windows, build a roof, and so on,” the publication says that there are at least 5 options for adapting such buildings to modern use: as tenement houses for housing and communal services workers, social housing for young people, business offices, budget hotels and, finally, cultural institutions. Moreover, some of the options are already being successfully implemented in St. Petersburg.
But let's move on to the capital news. An international urban forum was held in Moscow on December 4 and 5. Industrial zones of the city became one of the main topics for discussion. According to RBC Daily, the mayor's office announced a strategy for the development of industrial zones for Moscow and the annexed territories. According to this plan, within the Moscow Ring Road, one industrial park will be created every two years, and four new industrial zones will appear in the "new Moscow". "High-tech companies with highly qualified personnel" will be attracted there as residents. Also at the forum there was a presentation of the updated project for the reconstruction of the ZIL. According to Afisha, according to the new concept, the territory of the peninsula will be divided into 4 parts: the Nagatinskaya Poima Park will be supplemented with infrastructure for vacationers, a third of the territory will be left for an industrial function - the production of cars will continue here, another part will be occupied by the technopark, which includes the developing Nagatino I- Land”and, finally, the rest of the area will be given for the development of residential and office premises. The architectural monuments located on the territory of the plant are planned to be preserved.
Afisha also cites the words of the chief architect of Moscow, Sergei Kuznetsov, that it is vital to develop the southeastern regressing industrial territories: “In the southeast there is a whole conglomerate of industrial zones that have ceased to fulfill their main function - providing people with jobs, the opportunity to earn money, and live without constantly moving around the city. We need to balance the situation, bring interesting projects there”. According to Vesti, the ZIL reconstruction project has already been called unique, since nowhere in the world has there been any experience in transforming industrial zones of such a scale.
In addition to discussing gray belts issues at the forum, they talked about the general plan and the master plan of Moscow that is currently being developed. RIA Novosti published a statement by Sergei Kuznetsov, who said that some of the participants in the competition for the concept of the development of the Moscow agglomeration will be involved in the development of the master plan. And "Moskovskie Novosti" presented to its readers excerpts from the speech of the head of the capital's construction complex, Marat Khusnullin. He spoke about the differences between the master plan and the master plan, about the mistakes in the existing master plan, the upcoming development of the transport infrastructure and whether the historical center will be built up.
As you know, the issues of transforming industrial zones are currently relevant not only for Moscow, but also for St. Petersburg. At the last forum "Future Petersburg", four groups of students-architects, working in an experimental workshop, prepared projects for the development of the "gray belt", namely: the Baltic railway station and the square within a kilometer radius around it. The Village spoke about the projects. In the first, it is proposed to develop the territory in a targeted manner, by creating so-called "centers of attraction" in former industrial buildings. The second implies a comprehensive and phased transformation, with a gradual transition from low-cost projects to large-scale construction. According to the third concept, industrial zones will be made attractions. And finally, the fourth option is to create a furniture design and production center on the territory, which is supposed to unite the area.
Izvestia last week acquainted its readers with several initiatives of the Moscow authorities. Pedestrian crossings on major metropolitan highways will be removed underground. Pedestrian spaces are planned to be divided into an inner zone, where pedestrians will be given priority, and an outer zone. Public spaces in Moscow can be covered with transparent roofs that let in ultraviolet rays and trap cold. The publication also writes about the possible arrangement of underwater parking lots in Moscow and that a new type of social housing will appear in the sleeping areas of the capital - the so-called "corn" houses with rounded shapes and parking lots on the two lower floors.
As always, this week has not been without a talk about heritage. With cautious hope, Arkhnadzor wrote about the work now being carried out at the Circular Depot: “This is the beginning - as we hope - of restoration work …”. The historic building of the 19th century is being freed from later layers, and, probably, very soon the "first locomotive depot in Moscow" will appear in all its glory. At the same time, the fate of the building has not yet been finally determined; the threat of demolition of almost half of the building is still real. Although, as city rights activists note, Russian Railways is ready for dialogue, which gives hope for the preservation of the entire building.
On the contrary, the news from Veliky Novgorod was not so happy. The TV Center TV report tells about the deplorable state of the Peter and Paul Church on Sinichya Gora, a unique monument of Russian architecture of the 12th century, protected by UNESCO. "For 900 years of its existence, the church has survived fires, floods, invasions of foreigners, two world wars and revolutions, and, behold, it risks falling apart in the year when the 1150th anniversary of the founding of the Russian state is celebrated."
