A week ago, Grigory Revzin published a deceptively non-architectural article in Russkaya Zhizn, in which he told readers about what the building of the Moscow State University Library looks like inside, namely: magnificently, luxuriously, the walls are covered with tapestries, and the chairs - with curls and fabric with embossed ornaments; but no readers. According to the critic, confirmed by observations of the interior and reviews of rare visitors, “… this building was not built as a library and is not intended to be used as such. This is the House of Receptions, which is used for special occasions. Since it was built by Rector Viktor Sadovnichy, I believe that this is the House of Receptions of Viktor Sadovnichy."
This week, Novaya Gazeta published an interview with writer, designer and artist Vladimir Paperny. In an interview, he spoke about his relationship with his father, the famous literary critic Zinovy Paperny, about the sources that prompted him to study the topic of totalitarianism, about the world crisis of art and about architecture as an integral part of culture. According to Paperny, today in Russia "Culture Two" is taking shape in view of the merger of church and state, the return to the practice of show processes and pronounced boundaries - "the world of good is within our borders, the world of evil is outside them." However, the writer expressed the hope that Russia will still be able to come to something in between - to Culture Three, to find "its own resource or, as Nikolai Fedorov wrote," the philosophy of a common cause."
Another interesting interview this week was published by berlogos Magazine. One of the founders of the Tatlin magazine, Eduard Kubensky, told how the magazine was created, how the “field of the Russian architectural press” was conquered, after which an office was opened in Moscow, and why, being a successful publisher, Kubensky feels himself, first of all, an architect …
On the architecture of Soviet modernism 1955–1991. tells the exhibition presented at the Architectural Center Vienna. Deutsche Welle writes about the exhibition “Soviet Modernism 1955-1991. Unknown Stories in Vienna. As conceived by the curators, the exhibition allows you to take a fresh look at the totalitarian architecture of this period, to reveal its unique and unexpected features, poured into concrete.
"Komsomolskaya Pravda" found out new details of the development of the "Peninsula ZiL" project from Vladimir Resin (who now bears the title of State Duma deputy and advisor to the mayor of Moscow). Resin is convinced that the concept, which today seems "fantastic", will soon become a reality and "will initiate an active reorganization of urban industrial zones, turning them into multifunctional centers."
The continuation of the story with the project of the new building of the NCCA is presented in the article "Expert No. 4". At the end of last year, Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky said that the NCCA will be built on the Khodynskoye field. And last week there were open hearings, where it was decided to hold an international architectural competition for the concept of the museum building.
And on the very Khodynskoye Pole, the construction of the first section of the Third interchange metro circuit has now started, and a park with an area of about 40 hectares along Khodynsky Boulevard will be laid out on the site of the previously planned giant shopping and entertainment complex. The chief architect of the city Sergey Kuznetsov told Vedomosti journalists about this.
Artemy Lebedev won the competition for the design of the Moscow metro layout. According to Izvestia, Lebedev's project received twice as many votes as the work of his rivals following a nationwide Internet vote. The article also states that the designer has been cleared of all plagiarism charges related to the development of the corporate identity for Gorky Park, and this spring the project will be implemented. We will remind, earlier bloggers saw the similarity of Lebedev's project with the corporate identity of the National Parks of New York Harbor brand, after which the proceedings followed.
Moscow 24 shows the first capsule hotel, which opened in Moscow on 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street. It is compared with Japanese prototypes, but you can stand up in it and put your luggage in it, and, unlike Japan, not only men, but also women can stay in the Moscow capsule hotel.
Petersburg 3.0 announces the creation of an urban planning council in the northern capital. The new institution will include more than 70 people, including St. Petersburg scientists, businessmen, representatives of public organizations, as well as a number of Smolny officials. The main goal of the Council is the publicity of discussions and the adoption of important urban planning decisions.
Petersburg 3.0 also informs that the buildings of the Supreme and Supreme Arbitration Courts will now be built on the site of the Quarter Naberezhnaya Evropy.
Neva24 tells how the second scene of the Mariinsky appeared in front of Petersburgers after the removal of the scaffolding. The author of the article, Olga Pershina, writes that instead of the "imperial theater" on the embankment of the Kryukov Canal, a "provincial house of culture", a "monster" that residents of the northern capital did not expect to see, given the purpose of the facility and the enormous funds invested in its construction, has grown.
The active public of Karelia is concerned about the fate of the unique monument of wooden architecture of the Kizhi Museum. The new director of the museum has been appointed Andrei Nelidov, the former governor of Karelia, with whose name several scandals are associated. Pravda.ru ponders whether the museum-reserve will turn into a park-hotel. But already this fall, according to RIA Novosti, an open tender will be held to develop a concept for the development of Kizhi.
And, distracting from the burning topics, "Moscow News" offers readers a beautiful selection of the most famous buildings in Moscow, built in the pseudo-Russian style.
