At the end of March 2013, the Museum of Architecture together with Project Russia magazine announced a competition for the concept of the Melnikov House museum. On the evening of July 16, the winners of the competition were announced at Melnikov's house. The jury chose three projects: Citizenstudio (together with Nina Fedorova), AgitArch Studio and Ginsburg Architects bureau. In addition, the museum has awarded four special prizes.
In total, 19 projects took part in the competition, among which were both the works of invited eminent architects, and projects of lesser known, but not indifferent specialists, as well as students of architectural universities.
The format of the competition - "competition-consultation", involves the use of several projects of the winners at once while working on the creation of the museum. The main task of the contestants was the development of the Melnikov Museum with a careful and very delicate attitude towards the famous masterpiece of the Russian avant-garde.
We present the projects of the winners and participants of the competition with the author's descriptions.
1st place. Citizenstudio Bureau
Architects: Mikhail Beilin, Daniil Nikishin, with the participation of Nina Fedorova
“The Melnikov Museum already exists. It has been operating since 1929. And regularly receives visitors. The very idea of this building is a House-Museum. Museum of the Architect, Museum of Construction Technology, Museum of Individualism in the Land of Collectivism. At the museum, caretakers change, but its essence does not change: this is a Museum-House. The font on its facade reads: Konstantin Melnikov. Architect. And there is no space for other architects to work here. The temple must remain a temple. The architect's mission is not to try to write the alien history of a place, but to keep the creation alive. Even a minimal intrusion into the fragile world of the monument is unacceptable. Yes, the House requires salvation - from destruction. And this is the case for professionals - engineers and restorers. The situation tolerates neither delay nor amateurishness! This is medicine. The rest of the museum is ready.
And we see for ourselves as architects only one opportunity to participate in his life: he lacks slippers. Soft flannel slippers over shoes, as in every house - a museum in the former USSR. The lightest trace, an element that takes on the character of home comfort, but designed to serve the public. Slippers - that's all. The Melnikovs Museum is open to visitors."
2nd place. Agit Arch studio
Architects: Yuri Avvakumov, Tatiana Soshenina
“The main exhibit of the experimental house-workshop with an area of 300 sq. m is the house itself, its space, the play of the light falling inside the house and the shadows that appear inside. Here you can get acquainted with the history of the construction of the house, see the documentation of his difficult life in photographs of Rodchenko and Palmin, hear the living voice of Melnikov himself. The area around the house is completely covered with a meadow lawn with several fruit trees; in winter, paths are trampled in the snow for tourists. The house accepts one-hour excursions for 7-10 people. The amazing house is visited by 18 thousand visitors a year. Registration and payment for excursions is made on the website of the Museum of Architecture. Shchusev. There you can also download a free smartphone application "Architect Konstantin Melnikov" with a complete list of projects and buildings of the great Russian architect and navigation around Moscow. Taking photographs in the house is permitted, and the posting of photographs taken on the Internet is encouraged.
The fund of works by Konstantin Melnikov goes to the general fund of the Museum of Architecture for the earliest possible inclusion in the exhibition and research turnover. The state is obliged to immediately accept the bequeathed house and archive without any onerous conditions and to provide worthy protection and maintenance. The house should have a board of trustees, and Sergei Gordeev, who bought it from the heirs and transferred a significant part of the house and archive to the state, has the right to receive the first invitation to it."
3rd place. Ginsburg Architects
“The proposed structure of the Museum includes 3 components: gallery, garden and house.
In the gallery, in addition to utilitarian premises (entrance lobby, cash desk, administrator), there is an exhibition space, which displays models of buildings, Melnikov's, photographs and drawings, and a store with books and avant-garde souvenirs. The garden around the building offers the possibility of holding seminars and exhibitions in the open air, and there is also a path around the house for viewing the House from the outside. The House itself is planned to be restored with the restoration of the original planning structure and the preservation of the exhibits of the life of the Melnikov family. Exhibitions of the originals of Melnikov's works will be organized inside."
Special awards of the Museum of Architecture were awarded to:
For the large-scale coverage of the creative heritage of Konstantin Melnikov
AB People's Architect
Architects: Alexey Kurkov, Anton Ladygin, Dmitry Selivokhin, Tamara Strelkova
“We have developed a draft design for a“gallery”encircling the courtyard of the house at the expense of the external adjacent territory, leaving its internal space free, giving visitors the opportunity to view the architectural monument from all sides. The gallery houses additional areas for employees and visitors of the museum: a reception with a lobby, a cafe, a bookstore, a hall with a permanent exhibition dedicated to the process of creating a house, including sketches, models, and initial versions of the project. The narrow aisles between the rooms are filled with temporary thematic displays. In the summertime, the courtyard space can serve as a continuation of the cafeteria zone, transform into a lecture hall.
In the apartment of house No. 12, it is planned to arrange premises for the administration, a wardrobe, bathrooms, a permanent exhibition dedicated to the buildings of Melnikov in Moscow. Directly in the Melnikov house itself, it is planned to organize several additional exhibition and public premises: on the first floor - in the kitchen, dining room, children's rooms - an exposition on the theme of "constructivist" life; in the bedroom on the second floor of the mini-exhibition of paintings by Viktor Melnikov, in the living room of the architect's paintings, in the studio - space for lectures and seminars, as well as the installation of a non-cluttering mobile media exposition on the theme of Konstantin Melnikov's work (projection)."
AB Rozhdestvenka
Architects: Narine Tyutcheva, Petr Popov, Sveta Zezyukina, Gleb Galkin
“Organization of a museum in the modern sense of this technology in the House is impossible, because special engineering communications would have seriously damaged him. Therefore, all organized museum functions - administrative, storage, etc. - we carry out in a separate volume. Considering the modest size of the plot, we propose to create a kind of "fence house", spreading it along the rear borders, aligning it symmetrically with respect to the axis of the House. In our opinion, this new object should not "complement" the Master's house. On the contrary, it should rather be a part of the surrounding buildings “negative” for the house - therefore, the material is rubbed brick, as on the surrounding ends, I would like to make the ends of the object in one color. The volume designed by us solves not only functional tasks, but becomes a kind of informational and temporary "portal".
Entering the site through the gate, we find ourselves in the world of the Master, in his life, in his time. But we do not immediately enter his house. Starting the movement along the fence, going down the ramp, we enter a space with a panoramic window, we have a view of the House. Drawings of the house made by the Master are shown on the music stand along the panoramic window.
The reception is also located here. Proceeding further, to the semicircular stand-book, we get acquainted with the work of the Melnikovs. Behind the stand, in the most closed place, there is a zone of lectures, seminars and coworking. Studying the works and moving on, we always see the House-Master, gradually approaching it. Going out into the street, we have the opportunity to go further into the house, or go up to the roof-terrace."
For the continuation of the tradition of artistic combination of audacity and rationality
Art group Stone
Architects: Vadim Grekov, Irina Tatarkina
“On the front wall of the building, adjacent to the site of the Melnikov house, there is a structure made of metal and glass, which functions as a gallery for museum exhibits and an observation deck in front of the house, which becomes the main exhibit. Spectators take a glass elevator to the upper level of the gallery structure, from there the house is visible in plan. Then they go down the stairs, bypassing the tiers of the gallery, where the exhibits are located - projects, photographs, sketches, models.
The architect's house opens from different points and angles. The shape of the museum (inclined facade, complex geometry of the plan) is due to the desire not to "squeeze" the space of the Melnikov house. The silhouette of the museum on the wall of the building repeats the triangular contour of its upper part (as it was in the 1920s). The original texture and color of the brick wall has also been recreated."
For the delicate thoroughness of the introduction into the zone of influence of the monument
Architectural workshop ARTE +
Architects: Vladimir Yudintsev, Irina Polyanskaya
“The location of the museum complex is most expedient on the site near Melnikov's house. This will provide a constant outdoor view of the house and museum visits regardless of the possibility of visiting the interiors of the house. The north-western part of the site is a zigzag, the outline of which is read as the letter "M". The device in this corner of the semi-underground museum can be considered minimal interference with the environment of the house. Access to the museum is provided from both sides along a perimeter bypass path that gives a circular view of the house.
The entrance is located at elev. -1.2 m, for which the path is lowered by two short ramps. From the entrance mezzanine to the level of -3.85 m there are 2 stairs and a lift for the disabled. Museum storage is located under the mezzanine. The inclined amphitheater can be used for displaying models and arranging seats for spectators. All walls, except for the entrance glass window, are intended for exhibitions and screen display. In general, the museum should have a "home" character. Total area 188 m2.»
Other participants in the competition:
ArchGroup
Architects: Krymov M. D., Goryainov A. V., Shapkin T. O.
“We believe that people all over the world should have the opportunity to study closely one of the latest masterpieces of constructivism, one of the cornerstones of modern architecture. To do this, we propose to transport it to a major world museum center in Europe, leasing it for 499 years under the obligation to restore it and open it as a museum. We hope that after the expiration of the lease term, the situation in the homeland of the monument will change for the better and it will be able to return to its place. In the meantime, let his life continue where he is needed most.
On the site where the Melnikov house was, instead of an architectural monument, we propose to create an architectural monument. This is a negative, emptiness, a cast from the house. This is an inverted concept of architecture. The entire area around this void is filled with concrete to the full height of the building that stood here. The entrance is carried out along a narrow corridor in the thickness of the concrete volume. The space on the site of the Melnikov house is a courtyard inside this volume. It is a fossil, a memory of a bygone time. A massive concrete volume will reliably protect this memory for many years - there is nothing more to break, deteriorate, grow old. This monument excludes this area from the urban fabric, preserving the memory of this place for many years and leaving the opportunity to someday return the monument itself from forced immigration."
Speech
“The primary task in the creation of a museum is not so much the search for the possibility of placing the museum squares, but the salvation of the Melnikov house itself. Today, the small volume of the monument in comparison with the buildings growing around it, is under constant destructive influence from the changing environment. Primarily, it must be protected from this impact by enclosing it in an underground bastion and creating its own safe high-strength foundation underneath. Thus, the monument will receive an external protective thermos and will no longer be affected by changes in the level of groundwater or soil precipitation due to neighboring construction. The resulting underground space can be used as a museum area, for which it is proposed to place an entrance pavilion in the far part of the courtyard, as correctly as possible adjacent to the monument.
To prevent further settlement and related deformations of the building, it is proposed to reinforce the foundation structures and "hang" the building on bore-injection piles. In the case of significant deepening of the piles, it becomes possible to construct an underground part within the boundaries of the site under the protection of a fencing “wall in the ground”, including under the existing building. Technological sequence of construction works: injection grouting of foundation masonry and upper structures; execution of bored-injection piles on both sides of the existing strip foundation, with the deepening of the end of the piles below the level of the bottom of the future excavation; execution of a reinforced concrete grillage-frame with the transfer of the load from the building to the grillage through the transverse beams; execution of the enclosing "wall in the ground" along the perimeter of the site; development of a pit to ensure the stability of the existing building resting on the piles; construction of an underground part with a phased dismantling of temporary structures."
Winfried Brenne Architekten
“To perpetuate the name of Melnikov, his buildings and extensive creative heritage, as well as the legacy of his son Viktor Konstantinovich, the museum should be created within the original site in Krivoarbatsky lane, for which we propose a property development project with a functional division into three parts:
Melnikov's house
The rectangular section in Krivoarbatskiy lane is oriented with the narrow side towards the lane. The cylinders of the Melnikov House, slightly receding from the street, are located in the middle of the site. In the back of the plot there is a small clearing with 2-3 trees. Melnikov's house, as such, should remain unchanged and autonomous without giving it additional functions. It must be renovated in accordance with generally recognized scientific principles (Venice Charter 1964, ICOMOS Madrid Document on Approaching 20th Century Heritage 2011, etc.). The house must be accessible individually or in small groups of up to 5 people accompanied by a guide.
Information Center - Museum
The project envisions a small museum building at the rear of the property, which will also house the World Heritage Visitors Center. In order not to overload the Melnikov House, the maximum number of visitors should not exceed 50 people per day. Tourists will first be directed to the Information Center. There, they will be able to leave their outerwear and bags in the lockers and view the exposition dedicated to the work of Konstantin Melnikov, as well as listen to a short lecture. At the same time, a view of the rear facade of the Melnikov House will open from the exhibition hall. The Center can also accommodate a small gift shop and mini-cafe.
Use of the area in Krivoarbatsky lane, 12
It is proposed to create a small administrative office and a repository for exhibits and documents that cannot be exhibited either in the Center or in the Melnikov house in the additional space in the neighboring house No. 12 on Krivoarbatsky lane. In particular, original drawings can be stored there, which are still presented in copies in the Melnikov House itself. In addition, a small scientific center for visiting researchers with a possible guest room may be envisaged. There are several examples of the implementation of a similar concept in Europe (for example, the Le Corbusier Foundation in Paris)."
Alexandra Dodonova, Arseny Brodach, Igor Kokarev
“The house designed and built by Melnikov is an exhibit in itself, so any intrusion into its appearance is unacceptable. It is worth returning all the interiors of the house to its original state, relieving them of long-term layers of everyday life, recreating and restoring pieces of furniture and other objects according to the author's idea. Minor interpretations are possible in finishing materials and lighting, which have technically evolved since the construction of the house.
The paving of the site envisaged by the concept consists of 1x1 m concrete slabs, forming a coordinate grid that allows you to feel the space more sharply. From the paving, the mesh crawls onto the vertical plane of the firewall, which is the backdrop for the house. Partly on the wall, partly on a transparent glass structure, there is a projection of a detailed cut section corresponding to the house by coordinates. Some paving slabs have integrated QR codes containing 3d images, drawings and other information about all of Konstantin Melnikov's projects.
In the back of the courtyard there is a summer cafe, next to it is a stage and seating under a canopy. Lectures and film screenings on the topic of architecture can be held here. Outside of events, the courtyard becomes just a place for gathering and communication of creative youth.
The apartment at 10 on Krivoarbatskiy lane can be easily converted into an exhibition space with a temporary exposition without imposing any radical redevelopment. It can also accommodate a cafe and lecture space in winter. The cafe can also function as a coworking space for those wishing to work next to the masterpiece of architecture."
Egor Egorychev, Elina Mukharlyamova, Nikolay Vasiliev
“The organization of the work of the Museum“House of the Melnikovs”should be based on the following principles:
1. Complete preservation of the building of the house (Krivoarbatskiy lane 10), including memorial household items and personal belongings of residents, primarily KS Melnikov and VK Melnikov;
2. Restricting simultaneous access to a house for 7-8 people in a group to guarantee the safety of the physical integrity of the house;
3. Exposition of graphic, photo, painting and other materials in a separate room;
4. Keeping the collection of the entire family archive, including architectural design graphics, in the Museum complex;
Due to the impossibility of a new large-scale capital construction on the site (and the requirements for the preservation of materials), the exposition of the Museum Funds should be carried out by means of a constant monthly change of the exposition in a relatively small Pavilion.
The pavilion is located on the northern border of the site, if possible without cutting down the trees of the historic garden. Pavilion building without basement and deep foundation on a light steel and / or timber frame. In the upper tier of the pavilion, there is also an open terrace-observation deck-summer cafe. Part of the Pavilion's structures can be used to demonstrate constructive solutions and units made by Konstantin Melnikov buildings - exhibition pavilions of Makhorka, USSR at the Paris Exhibition of 1925 and in Thessaloniki, as well as in his own house-workshop."
Alexey Kozyr
“At the time of scientific restoration and settlement of property disputes, we propose to erect a multifunctional pavilion“Kiot”around the building.
The pre-fabricated pavilion is a temporary, non-capital structure on piles (foundationless), the main enclosing structures of which are wood and glass. Roofing - rolled aluminum sheet. Interior decoration - plywood (ceiling) board larch (floor) panels with canvas (walls).
The exhibition space is built around a circular principle. At the entrance and exit to the pavilion there are technical rooms, a cafe, a kiosk and bathrooms."
Architectural Policy
Architects: Anna Medleva, V. Fomin, D. Nurullin
“The house is becoming a part of the exhibition, which is developing on the territory adjacent to the house. We propose to place the Melnikov Museum in the depths of property 39, building 1, 2 and property 41, where construction work is currently underway. A part of the developed territory is supposed to be given for landscaping, having organized a small green oasis in the immediate vicinity of the museum.
On the ground floor of the newly erected building, it is planned to place the administrative and introductory part of the exposition. It is also planned to place book and souvenir shops, a lecture hall for mass events, lectures, presentations, temporary exhibitions and competitions here. From here, from the first floor, you can either go directly to the territory of the House-Museum, bypassing the exposition dedicated to the work of the Melnikovs, or get through the gallery into the exposition space.
The second floor (double-height space) opens to visitors in the form of an open mobile exposition of the architect Konstantin Melnikov, where his projects are presented. The perimeter of this exhibition (gallery walls) is used to display his paintings and graphics. It is proposed to place a cafe at the level of the second floor, near the glass wall of the building, which opens a view from the museum building to the house-museum. From there, from the cafe, you can immediately go down to the courtyard of Melnikov's house."
Icing architects
“Konstantin Melnikov attached particular importance to the role of sleep in human life, and in order to fully immerse in the meaning of its architecture, it is necessary to spend the night in the house, and it is better to live and work. We propose to organize a residence for artists and architects in the Art House with the possibility of a daily or weekly stay.
The underground parking lots surrounding the site block the flow of groundwater. You can't fight it, but you have to live with it. Surround the foundation of the House with waterproof walls in the ground, excavate the entire site to the required depth and let it flood with water. Leave a couple of elevated islands with garden trees. From the gate, throw the bridge to the porch. Tie the boat at the porch. The house turns into a castle-donjon. As beautiful as the bell tower in Kalyazin. Walls of more ancient buildings are visible under the water. The pond is the result of a war with an aggressive environment, it becomes a defensive moat from the same circumstances."
Architectural workshop of Totan Kuzembaev
“We propose to build a concrete wall with a height corresponding to the smallest of the adjacent buildings (about 10 meters). Its task is to protect Melnikov's house from the attacks of dishonest developers, firmly securing the boundaries of the site. A ramp is built into the wall along which you can climb and inspect the Melnikov house and the surrounding buildings. The entrance to the ramp is through the first floor (museum). The wall is open from the side of Krivoarbatsky lane. This creates a public space that serves as a place of recreation for people. The square cannot be accessed by cars due to a bench placed along the edge of the sidewalk. This also makes parking impossible. As the squares in front of the Gothic cathedrals are accessible to everyone, so the square on which the Melnikov house stands should be open to the public around the clock. The bench has a temperature by which the state of Melnikov's house is determined. The normal state corresponds to a temperature of 36.6 s. The worse the condition of the house, the closer the bench temperature is to the ambient temperature. Thus, at any time of the year, you can find out the state of the house by sitting on a bench.
It is also necessary to strengthen the foundation with a thick monolithic reinforced concrete slab. As the study showed, the soils are unstable, saturated with abundant water, therefore, we envisage the construction of a museum of Melnikov's creativity under the house at the level of the existing foundation. Accordingly, all the soil is dug up, and the surface is replaced by a slab on which the grass grows. There is a slot in the slab, where you can get into the museum space along the ramp. Entrance directly to the house itself is carried out by tickets in groups of no more than 7 people."
Maxim Khazanov
“Constant construction activity in the area of Krivoarbatsky lane, on the street. Arbat, incl. On the plots adjacent to the property in which the Melnikov house is located, have led to a serious destabilization of the structures of the monument, and continues to have a negative impact on it.
Measures to protect the structures of the monument from further serious transformations must be coordinated and linked with the ongoing construction on the site adjacent to the area of ul. Arbat, as well as the problem of implementing protective measures to preserve buildings located on the sites adjacent to the historical possession of the Melnikov house (Krivoarbatsky lane).
Considering the forthcoming significant amount of capital investments required to carry out the necessary conservation, restoration, reconstruction, construction work related to the protection of the existing structures of the monument and structures of the surrounding buildings, it seems expedient to use the underground space under historical ownership to accommodate the underground premises of the museum named after the architect K. Melnikov. The basement of the house-museum is supposed to be connected with the underground rooms of the Melnikov museum. In case of transfer to the museum. K. Melnikov's apartment located in the next building and the space of this apartment, and the underground space under it, should also be attached to the museum."
Fourth dimension
“To prevent external influences on the House and the penetration of groundwater around the perimeter, the necessary technical measures are being taken. Above the ground on three sides along the boundaries of the site, we put a high wall almost at the height of the House. The wall is built of natural stone - dark polished granite, preferably graphite tone. A glass bypass gallery is created along the perimeter of the wall, "allowing" to move along it one after another. The feeling of the 1920s-1930s is created by projecting views of the city's Arbat buildings of that period onto the wall surrounding the House. From the front side of the House, moving along the gallery, the visitor will be able to get acquainted (in reflections on the wall) with the "pictures" of the construction of the House. In the niche that appears in the far right corner of the plot (thanks to its geometry), it is planned to put a model of the House in section. Here, on the screens of the monitors, drawings of the House and photographs are shown. On the second longitudinal wall of the gallery it is proposed to place (again - in reflections) the design drawings of K. S. Melnikov for Arbat Square.
The creation of a bypass gallery and the improvement of the site can be ahead of the restoration of the House or be combined with it in time. The entrance to the gallery and the exit from it are located in the plane of the glass barrier, erected at the level of the red building line, in the place of the current fence. The movement of visitors through the gallery is organized in one direction (clockwise). The section of the street (lane) in front of the House-Museum is raised above the level of the carriageway to the height of the sidewalks, highlighted in white and bounded on both sides by a speed bump. Thus, in front of the House there is “a stretcher” on which the architect's creativity is realized. On the opposite side of the alley, there is a space for communication and conversation. There are two long benches and next to them, on a common podium with them, but there is a separate chair - a chair for Konstantin Stepanovich."
Evgeniya Shchepenok and Alexander Kolganov
“We would like to make the house the centerpiece of a museum display for a small complex. First of all, the restoration of the house itself is necessary (special attention must be paid to the foundations and the roof). All replaceable structures must be made of original materials according to original drawings.
We envisage the construction of an additional light pavilion on the site, which could include exhibition spaces and a lecture hall. Recalling the project of the Zuev club, we tried to use a similar scheme: one cylinder and a rectangular pavilion with a round colonnade opening an overview of the house. The construction of the pavilion made of wood does not imply a foundation and connection of any communications other than electricity. At the same time, all service premises that require communications are located on the first floors of the neighboring building at 12 Krivoarbatskiy pereulok. In addition, we would like the pavilion design to demonstrate the design features of the displayed object: non-sewn cellular ceilings and parts of the ceilings on the first and second levels; part of the brickwork in the bookstore on the first level. In the pavilion, the visitor gets acquainted with the work of the architect: for this, on the first level there are exhibition spaces and a bookstore, a wardrobe; the second level contains a small auditorium with 44 seats with the possibility of organizing lectures or documentaries. And only then the viewer gets inside Melnikov's house."
composed by Nastya Mavrina
