On January 15, a round table dedicated to the upcoming reconstruction of Triumfalnaya Square was held in the building of the Moskomarkhitektura. Anyone could take part in the open discussion, so the large hall, which usually hosts the meetings of the Archcouncil, was full to overflowing. The reason for the discussion was the decision taken by the Moscow authorities to reconstruct the square and hold a creative competition of ideas in this regard. And the round table was supposed to collect suggestions and wishes on this topic, which, as promised by the organizers, will be taken into account when drawing up the competitive terms of reference.
According to the data announced by the head of the Department of the Architectural Council of the Moscow Committee for Architecture
Evgenia Murinets, Now the TK is being finalized, but it is planned to complete the work on it by January 20, and then the competition will start. Corrections in the TOR will be made based on the results of this round table. Acceptance of applications for participation and competition works will last until February 23, after which all received projects will be evaluated by a group of experts and a jury. Its members will name a winner and three finalists on the last day of the last winter month.
The organizer of the competition with the support of Moskomarkhitektura was the Department of Overhaul of the city of Moscow, and the customer was GKU "Directorate of Overhaul".
The discussion was opened by the chief architect of Moscow
Sergey Kuznetsov, which immediately outlined the main goals and objectives facing the city in connection with the reconstruction of one of its main squares. In his opinion, Triumfalnaya Square deserves the status of one of the central not only in view of its location, but, first of all, due to its artistic qualities and a variety of activities that can attract townspeople here: “The square is not just a horizontal surface with paving, landscaping and urban furniture, the area in the city-wide context is the surroundings, building facades, functional filling of the first floors”. Today the pedestrian has been forced out of the square, which has turned into a parking lot. Also, there is almost no public and commercial front, which is why this place cannot be considered public. The task of the contestants is to reverse this situation by putting forward a variety of bold ideas, including proposals for the restoration of demolished buildings. Sergey Kuznetsov also outlined the approximate timeframe for the implementation of the idea: it is planned to complete all work in the fall of 2014.
The key point of the competition is the need to take into account the historical context. Today, the square houses such objects of cultural heritage as the monument to Vladimir Mayakovsky, the Tchaikovsky concert hall, the Pekin hotel, the Aquarium garden, as well as the Khomyakovs' tenement house.
A detailed historical excursion was presented
Elena Solovieva, head of the research and design association "Regulation of urban planning activities in historical territories and territories of protection zones of cultural heritage objects".
She spoke about the main stages of development of the territory of the current Triumfalnaya Square. This square was formed at the intersection of Tverskaya Street and the Garden Ring, on the site of the Tverskaya Gate of the Zemlyanoy Gorod, which met Russian emperors and empresses arriving in the old capital. On this occasion, wooden triumphal arches were erected, from which the name of the square came. At different times there were private buildings, shopping malls, government agencies, and only in the 1820s a space was formed that was close in character to a real city square. With the advent of Soviet power, a small square first appeared on the square, crossed by a tram line, and later they began to actively build cultural facilities - theaters, concert halls and cinemas. The appearance of the square has changed several times throughout its history, and the most radical transformations took place in the 20th century: with the expansion of Gorky Street, the square itself increased significantly. However, in the second half of the 20th century, as a result of the demolition of the Sovremennik theater and the puppet theater, a kind of wasteland was formed here, and the dominant cultural function was gradually replaced by the administrative and economic function.
Also in her speech, Elena Solovyova presented a number of competitive works of the 1st half of the 20th century, proposing very bold and radical projects for the reconstruction of the square. The main features of almost all proposals of that time were the creation of a large, integral public space, for which it was proposed to close the 1st Brestskaya and break through the 2nd Brestskaya streets. The authors also took into account a small relief difference, which in many projects was played up with additional structures or a stylobate.
Partner of KB Strelka
Alexey Muratov, who acted as a moderator of the discussion, summed up Solovieva's report, noting that Triumfalnaya Square had not been formed over the years of its existence. Even today it is a wasteland that I would like to turn into a habitable public space.
Artem Ukropov, one of the founders of the Megabudka architectural bureau, remarked that he, as a resident of Moscow and as a representative of a new generation of architects, had already offered his vision of the development of the square as a public space. The main points that, in his opinion, should be paid attention first of all, are the surroundings of the square and its character. Today the square seems uncomfortable, it is uncomfortable to be on it. At the same time, it is surrounded by beautiful historical buildings, the view of which should in no case be obstructed. Therefore, in his project, Artem Ukropov avoids using objects above ground level. Part of the square even turns out to be somewhat recessed relative to street level, protecting the townspeople there from traffic noise. In addition, according to the architect, it is imperative to fill the area with a variety of functions and be sure to lay out a green square - for example, at the parking lot in front of Beijing. The passage to 1st Brestskaya Street, which cuts the square into two parts, should be closed - in this sense, the young architect is in solidarity with his predecessors of the 1st half of the last century.
Alexander Skokan, the director and chief architect of the Ostozhenka bureau, knows the history of this place firsthand: he himself observed many, sometimes tragic transformations of it - from the appearance of the monument to Mayakovsky in 1958, the construction of a tunnel and the demolition of Sovremennik to the current state of the square, which turned into “cultural ruins . At the same time, Skokan is confident that this place has great potential - despite all the existing obstacles. Firstly, it must be taken into account that this is a serious transport junction; it is unlikely that it will be possible to remove automobile traffic from here or radically change it. Secondly, the entrance to the metro is located here, which should also be taken into account: because of it, there is a constant and intensive transit traffic of pedestrians across the square.
Regarding the very fact of this discussion, Skokan noted that it would be more correct to discuss the ready-made technical task of the competition, and in his absence it would be very difficult to make any specific proposals. An architectural critic agreed with this opinion.
Grigory Revzin:
he considered the announcement of a competition at such a level of preparation within the specified time frame a profanation. According to Revzin, it takes at least two months to prepare the technical assignment, and only a well-thought-out terms of reference can guarantee the receipt of high-quality projects, and in this situation, one cannot count on this. The future competition can only be a reason for thinking about the state of the square. If we talk about specific proposals, then it is worth first deciding which way to go. Triumfalnaya Square is a place of conflict between two logics: the Stalinist one, formed near Peking, and the provincial-Moscow one, which is set by the space around the Mayakovsky monument. These are two different areas, combined by chance. And here you can either continue the line set by Shchusev's project, or return to the human scale of old Moscow. Revzin noted that the second option is closer to him.
Responding to the remarks of his colleagues, Sergey Kuznetsov emphasized that the organizers deliberately chose the format of the idea competition, avoiding the rigid framework of the technical task. At the current stage, I would like to receive just a wide range of options, including proposals for transport and development. “It would be possible to find some solutions for Tverskaya Street - for example, to cut stripes, think about where and how to place green spaces, correct the shape of the square, etc. In a historical retrospective, the architects did not hesitate to suggest the most daring options - even the placement of high-rise buildings here,”Kuznetsov referred to the report of Elena Solovieva.
"The terms of reference should be based on those architectural and urban planning studies that will be the result of the competition of ideas," believes
Mikhail Posokhin, General Director of "Mosproekt-2" them. M. V. Posokhina. "It is now important to define an ideological approach so that life and functional diversity reappear on the square." As for the idea of Grigory Revzin to return to small-scale development, then, according to Posokhin, this would be a mistake, given the already existing large objects: for example, the building of the Moscow Committee for Architecture and Construction.
Head of SPEECH Bureau
Sergey Choban
agreed that Triumfalnaya Square is an example of a place where scale completely disappeared as a result of demolitions during the 20th century. However, according to Choban, today one can go in two ways: the first, proposed by Grigory Revzin, is the restoration of this lost scale, further low-rise development of the territory, the emergence of several new urban quarters that form a more intimate environment, that is, the creation of an image that everyone likes in European cities. However, this path of development also has its significant disadvantages. Developing the thought expressed by Mikhail Posokhin, Choban emphasized that “during the time that the square was a wasteland, a place with a very interesting character has emerged. The point of perception of the panorama of the Pekin Hotel and the Mayakovsky monument from Tverskaya Street is one of the postcard views of Moscow, which, probably, cannot be spoiled by further development, including the restoration of the Sovremennik Theater."
The second development path outlined by Choban is the creation of a large-scale area. Here it would be correct to analyze the success and failure history of the most famous squares in the world. Plaza della Stars in Paris, Plaza Catalunya in Barcelona and many others have the same disease. At their core, they are islands of safety in the middle of traffic chaos, and it is usually difficult to break through to these “islands”. The same situation exists on Triumfalnaya Square. But Trafalgar Square in London, as Tchoban said, positively differs from others in that it adjoins the National Gallery with one of its front and this cultural saturation gives it a huge advantage, which should be taken into account when developing a project for the reconstruction of Triumphal Square. First of all, Choban proposed to carefully change the direction of traffic flows: to close the exit from the Garden Ring to Tverskaya Street and, if possible, from Tverskaya to the Garden Ring. Only a space accessible to pedestrians, which can be reached without the difficult crossing of traffic flows, bridges and crossings, can become the key to the successful functioning of the square. Choban considers the closure of 1st Brestskaya Street to be wrong, in his opinion, it is necessary to develop the square in a different direction, creating a "magnetic field" near the Concert Hall. P. I. Tchaikovsky, garden "Aquarium" and theaters of Satire and them. Mossovet.
Andrey Gnezdilov, Chief Architect of the Research and Development Institute of the General Plan, in his speech, he returned the discussion participants to the issue of the timing of the competition. He expressed confidence that “it is impossible to complete all the works by the day of the city. During this time, it is possible to do only some improvement of the territory. However, in no case should you limit yourself to paving and placing lanterns. It must be a comprehensive and large-scale approach."
The President of the Union of Moscow Architects is of the same opinion.
Nikolay Shumakov:
he is convinced that here it is necessary to solve, first of all, urban planning aspects, and not issues of improvement.
Sergey Nikitin, the founder of the Moskultprog and Moscow Architectural Velonnight projects, as well as Yegor Korobeinikov, the head of the UrbanUrban project, paid special attention to the fact that before announcing a competition it would be worthwhile to identify and involve all persons interested in the reconstruction of the square. At the moment, this project, apart from the city authorities, has no investors. “In this process, in addition to the Moskomarkhitektura, the theatrical community, representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development, and the management of the Beijing Hotel, the reconstruction of which is also not far off, should participate,” Nikitin explained.
As a practical suggestion
Egor Korobeinikov
put forward the idea of using American experience: “The concept of experiments and temporary use is being actively implemented in New York. For example, temporary measures are taken there to improve this or that area, and then, within 2 - 3 months, observations are made on how people use this space. With Triumfalnaya Square, a similar experiment could be carried out during the coming spring and summer, in order to understand what the townspeople expect from this square."
Speaking on behalf of the townspeople, Varvara Melnikova, Director General of the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design, noted that people need convenient walking routes, and “not to come and sit on a bench next to a gas-polluted road, but to leave the concert hall without fear that you will be splashed with mud by passing cars, walk to Brestskaya street and sit somewhere in a cafe."
Summing up the results of the discussion, Sergei Kuznetsov promised that all the ideas expressed will be taken into account. The project for the comprehensive reconstruction of Triumfalnaya Square can be implemented in several stages: it would be more correct to postpone large-scale transformations to a more distant time, but the primary measures for the arrangement of this territory must be taken up today.
