This week in Ogonyok, Grigory Revzin reflects on the industrial and post-industrial metropolis: their specifics and differences from each other. About the situation in which the capital found itself: when a large industrial city turned into a post-industrial city and “suddenly” became uncomfortable for millions of people living in it. Modern Moscow, in his opinion, is “a contradiction between the material structure and the relations that arise on it. Post-industrial software programs are loaded into the industrial hard disk. " The critic also raises the question of how "guilty" the authorities are in this state of affairs.
Continuing the theme of the development and improvement of Moscow, "Afisha" on its Internet pages published an interview with the Deputy Mayor for Urban Development Policy and Construction Marat Khusnullin. The official, in particular, spoke about the transport strategy: why the development of the metro will continue to be in the first place, while the railway and bus transport will be given attention in the second place, and explained for whom the roads are actually being expanded. In addition, Khusnullin told how industrial zones will be improved in the capital, why the authorities do not intend to abandon the construction of panel housing and how long it will take to make Moscow a comfortable city: “Moscow will need at least 10 years, and it won't be immediately noticeable. The main thing is to set priorities, because if you do everything at once, there will be no result."
Wanting to know the opinion of a foreign expert on the improvement of Russian cities, Gazeta.ru talked with the designer of the urban environment, who took part in the Moscow Urban Forum, Dutchman Gert Urhan. In his opinion, the most viable and comfortable model of a city for residents is a polycentric model, in the implementation of which a person has the opportunity to live, work, and rest within his district. A similar model has been implemented in large European cities, but Urkhan drew attention to the fact that "you cannot blindly copy the experience of London, Paris or New York, Russia has its own culture and its own identity." The specialist also spoke about the importance of public transport development, improvement of coastal urban areas and the essence of his concept of "spontaneous city".
This week, the press again raised the issue of the location of federal and city authorities in the capital. The Itogi magazine published an interview with the head of the Russian Federation President Vladimir Kozhin. Commenting on the possibility of moving the authorities to the "new" Moscow, Kozhin said that, most likely, two administrative centers will be created: key ministries and departments will remain in the "old" Moscow, and less significant ones (Rospechat, Rosarkhiv, etc.) will move beyond the Moscow Ring Road. When asked about the fate of Zaryadye, the department manager replied: "There is no final decision." Nevertheless, according to him, the wasteland is considered as one of the options for a parliamentary center. Well, if a park is nevertheless set up here, it will “correspond to this place, unique”. In addition, Kozhin confirmed the information that the move of the judiciary to St. Petersburg to the "Embankment of Europe" is a settled issue. The official also told how the restoration of the building of the Middle Trading Rows, which will house the Moscow Kremlin Museums complex, is proceeding.
Continuing the topic of the relocation of government bodies, Moskovsky Komsomolets writes about the meeting of the "tolerable" commission, dedicated to the reconstruction of the Catherine Hospital. According to the newspaper, the position of the city authorities is categorical: the building will be restored only if the Moscow City Duma moves into it after restoration. Moreover, before the start of work, experts must agree on the demolition of 11 auxiliary premises - some of them, according to experts, need to be investigated additionally to make sure that they are not of historical value. At the same time, the newspaper notes, the deadlines for implementation are already running out: "the project for the reconstruction of the main building should be ready by the end of February."
During the outgoing week, the press highlighted important events related to the preservation of the architectural heritage. Arhnadzor held a round table, at which city rights activists, government officials and experts discussed the results of 2012 in the field of monument protection. At the event, according to Moskovskie Novosti, the main architectural losses of the year were named, including the Dynamo stadium - its historic walls were demolished by 3/4 - and Detsky Mir, whose priceless interiors were destroyed. The publication also cites the words of Nikolai Pereslegin, adviser to the head of the Moscow City Heritage Site, who said that, in his opinion, no losses happened: “On the contrary, this year, for the first time, nothing was demolished. Not a single architectural monument was destroyed this year. " In addition, as reported by "Interfax", the round table also raised the issue of building up Zaryadye - city rights activists consider the appearance of a concert hall there unacceptable, especially if a UNESCO protected zone is created around the Kremlin. The best solution, according to activists, is to break up a park on the site of the former hotel.
The fate of the Luzhniki is still uncertain. According to Vesti, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that the arena will still be demolished. However, Izvestia writes, the city authorities have denied this information. The publication cites the opinions of experts who are categorically against the demolition. In particular, the architect Yevgeny Ass says: “I believe that in any case Luzhniki should not be demolished. All over the world, on the contrary, the tendency prevails as far as possible to preserve objects, to conserve resources, to preserve what has been built, to try to adapt what exists to modern needs”. In an interview with The Village, which also interviewed specialists, architect Yuri Grigoryan speaks out more sharply: “This is immoral. They didn’t build - it’s not for them to break. All statements that something supermodern will be built on the site of the Grand Sports Arena do not convince me: everything that is being built supermodern on the site of the old turns out to be two orders of magnitude worse.
Good news came during the week. According to RIA Novosti, the Moscow government approved the land use regimes and town planning regulations in the Kadashevskaya Sloboda - now the building height on this territory cannot exceed two or three floors.
The portal also publishes an interview with the head of a volunteer organization engaged in the revival of wooden churches in the North. Priest Alexei Yakovlev talks about churches, their current state, and how real the danger of complete loss of buildings is. Answering the question about how professional the community is, Aleksey emphasizes: “We cooperate with leading architects in the field of wooden architecture, both with scientists and practitioners. And everything that we do is primarily coordinated with the architects, who suggest how and what to do, and also control the work process. We are trying to preserve the cultural monument as much as possible so that it does not turn into a so-called remake”.
