This week Ogonyok published Grigory Revzin's reflections on how public-private partnerships are organized in our country and why nothing worthwhile comes out as a result. Among the examples, the critic cited the reconstruction of the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky Theaters: “Everywhere there is an insulting misunderstanding in the sense of what happened. Especially compared to what was thought."
The theme of the second scene of the Mariinsky was also touched upon this week by Izvestia in a conversation with the director of the Hermitage. Commenting on the situation with the new building, Mikhail Piotrovsky said that it owes its appearance to … the public: “This is a terrible story that is associated with the exaggeration of the role of the public. You don't need to trust the public, you need to find a working mechanism."
Meanwhile, another architectural and urban planning scandal flares up in St. Petersburg. Fontanka reported about a new round in the history of Alla Pugacheva's Theater. The deputy of the ZakSa Alexei Kovalev sent a statement to the court with claims to the project of the Theater. The construction of the building, according to the parliamentarian, contradicts the General Plan of the city and, most likely, will lead to a transport collapse.
Continuing the theme, the Internet newspaper Karpovka came up with an interesting initiative this week. The publication launched its own competition in four nominations. Readers are asked to choose the best and worst buildings built or reconstructed in the historical center of St. Petersburg in 2012. The voting results will be summed up in a month.
But let us turn to the events covered in the capital's press. Afisha published a philosophical note by Evgeny Ass. The architect drew parallels between cities and computers, characterized the overwhelming majority of Moscow post-Soviet architecture as "occasional poems", and also noted the loss of spatial meanings.
Nevertheless, it seems that Moscow architecture has a chance to reach a qualitatively new level. At least, Moscow Perspective wrote, the city authorities set themselves exactly such goals, planning to make architectural competitions regular. Both Moskomarkhitektura and the chief architect of the city hope that this will not only improve the quality of architecture and the urban environment, but also raise the prestige of the profession.
Continuing the theme of metropolitan architecture, let us mention another controversial situation around the winning project of the Cathedral of New Martyrs on the territory of the Sretensky Monastery. As Izvestia reported, the architectural community took the project with hostility: claims are made both to the external decoration of the temple with large mosaic icons, and to its proportions, which make experts doubt the appropriateness of such a structure in the historical center of Moscow.
Meanwhile, "Afisha" spoke about the plans of the ZIL Cultural Center for the improvement of the Danilovsky district of the capital: the development of the concept was entrusted to the students of the Academy of National Economy. The studies have already begun, architects and urbanists have been involved as consultants, in the future, it is planned to involve officials from relevant departments.
Another notable event related to the improvement of urban spaces was highlighted by "Expert". At the symposium held in Irkutsk as part of the 14th session of the City Planning University, the main topic for discussion was the creation of a high-quality urban environment. One of the problems of Russia, according to the participants of the symposium, is the lack of professionals who could equip the city in accordance with the actual needs of the people.
In conclusion, a few words about heritage preservation. Sankt-Peterburgskie vedomosti spoke about a roundtable discussion where heritage conservation specialists and developers discussed the adaptation of historic buildings to modern use. Developers talked about the need to shorten the terms of approval procedures, experts - about the relevance of developing a special law for the reconstruction of monuments, since now construction norms and legislation on the protection of monuments often contradict each other. By the way, this week Alexander Sokurov announced the termination of city protection activities due to the fact that the demolition of historical buildings in St. Petersburg is not decreasing, - RIA Novosti reported.
In Moscow, the legacy situation seems to develop differently at least in some cases. This week there was information about the fate of BSA "Luzhniki". Gazeta.ru found out that the arena, most likely, will not be demolished, but reconstructed. The project is planned to be prepared by May, the estimated cost of the work is $ 1 billion, but the investor has not yet been found.
In the meantime, the capital's city protection movement is also on the alert. "Arkhnadzor" announced the opening of a school for city rights defenders - a series of 5 lecture-seminars, to which everyone has been invited since mid-March.
