The meeting of the Architectural Council was entirely devoted to discussing the architectural concept of reconstruction and development of the Pushkin Museum. It was an unusual council of architecture: firstly, it was visiting, and secondly, the journalists were not allowed to the meeting, having informed them of the result at a press conference that took place after a three-hour discussion of the project. As we were informed in the press service of the Moscow Committee for Architecture and Construction, the museum management insisted on holding a discussion of the project behind closed doors. The journalists also failed to see the tablets: only the layout was shown.
At a press conference held following the meeting of the Architectural Council, the chief architect of Moscow, Sergei Kuznetsov, told reporters that after a three-hour discussion and inspection of all the museum buildings and sites intended for construction, the council managed to develop a further development strategy for the project (the project was selected at a competition in 2009, see about it
an article by Grigory Revzin; but the project has not started in the past 4 years). However, first of all, Kuznetsov stressed, it is necessary to resolve the issue of the composition of the team - since representatives of Foster's bureau did not participate in the discussion, the project was presented to the council only by the Russian co-author Sergei Tkachenko.
“The council members recommended that the museum find clear answers to the question of Sir Norman Foster’s participation in the project, because today there is extremely contradictory data on whether he is in the process or not,” said Sergei Kuznetsov, “or Foster will appear at the council meeting for next consideration. and will personally defend his project, or we will have to decide which team will work on this project in the future. It is likely that if Norman Foster refuses further cooperation, we will be forced to hold a new competition."
At the same time, Sergei Kuznetsov emphasized that the council is in no way opposed to the development of Foster's project, his candidacy does not raise any questions for anyone. The only problem is in the personal attitude of the architect. Just having a Foster label isn't enough. Only the personal involvement of the author from start to finish can guarantee the quality of the project. And the city's task is to create a modern museum of the highest level, Kuznetsov emphasized.
In addition, the volumes of new construction and preservation of existing facilities are not yet quite clear. The Council has unequivocally recommended that the existing buildings be retained, but the scope of heritage conservation and planned demolitions will be considered further. In any case, as it was said at the press conference, it is already clear today that the project will not be implemented in the form in which it is presented.
Another issue is the development of a gas station site next to the territory of the museum. The participants in the discussion agreed that it should be built up with new museum buildings, but separately noted that the site is located in the protected zone of the federal monument and that this fact must be taken into account.
At the end of the press conference, the director of the Pushkin Museum Marina Loshak promised that in the near future the museum will contact Norman Foster, clarify the situation, and it is possible that the famous Briton will attend the next discussion of the project, scheduled for mid-September.
