Shukhov tower
Soon the fate of the Shukhov tower should be decided: on Monday, March 24, the Russian government will consider a decree on its "dismantling", or rather, as experts say, demolition, since a riveted structure, for which there are no detailed drawings, cannot be disassembled and assembled in a new place in the same form. This is not a wooden blockhouse for you, although legitimate doubts arise about its authenticity after the bulkhead. Most likely, the tower will be cut into pieces and replaced with a dummy, experts say. Last week, the number of letters for the preservation of the tower increased: foreign stars, ICOMOS and societies for the history of building and engineering art joined Russian experts and citizens. 2904 signatures were handed to Putin's reception, 2394 to Medvedev's reception. Russian publications responded to the story of saving the tower with an overview of Shukhov's work (Afisha-Gorod), the story that led to the idea of dismantling (Vedomosti). Anna Bronovitskaya told Kommersant about the deplorable fate of other, apart from the tower, monuments of the Russian avant-garde: they are destroyed, but more often they lose their authenticity during illiterate reconstruction or spontaneous repairs. Arhnadzor has published a list of international documents and publications related to the rescue of the unique structure. Let us also mention the interview with the historian of Shukhov's work Yekaterina Nozhova, published by Archi.ru yesterday.
The most important message of recent days, the historian of modernism Anna Bronovitskaya called the speech of Galina Rostislavovna Shelyapina, head of the communications structures department of TsNIIPSK, on March 19 at a round table at the Union of Architects. Galina Shelyapina spoke about an economical project for the reconstruction of the Shukhov Tower, which excludes its dismantling. UrbanUrban writes about this, the recording of the speech can also be viewed here.
There seem to be even more articles in the foreign press devoted to the rescue of the tower on Shablovok than in the Russian one. Michael Kimmelman at the New York Times, Ross Wolf at the Metropolitan Magazine, Alec Lund at the Guardian, Jean-Jacques Larochel at Le Monde, and others have spoken out in defense of the monument.
Grigory Revzin (the editors posted his article on the Kommersant website before the print version was published) reacted to the situation in an ironic manner, calling the possible decision to move the tower a turning point, a transition to "a completely innovative type of vandalism" in comparison with the vandalism of Luzhkov's Moscow, all the subtleties whom the critic once jealously tracked down. “Do you understand what I'm getting at? In addition to the fact that all Moscow monuments need to attach skis. Make it a kind of mobile nature reserve. And carry. I brought it, sold it, you can take it further. What good will it be, eh? " - Revzin writes, although by the end of the article, for those who do not fully understand irony (and for some reason there are more and more such people), the critic still stipulates that "from the point of view of the so-called civilized norms, this is a complete guard and vandalism."
Sochi
This week in "Lente.ru" published the last article of the "Sochi series" by Grigory Revzin ("Unfortunately, on another Lente, but there is a cycle," the author commented on his Facebook; the series was ordered by Galina Timchenko). This is a detailed, very thorough article about the mountain towns of Filippov and Atayants, probably summarizing the critic's thoughts on the work of his absolute favorites and favorites, classic architects, in Sochi. And the conclusion is: “For all the architects who built the Olympic Park, this construction is one of the main disappointments in life. But I can say one thing - we got 50 kilometers of Europe on our territory."
MIPIM
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor for Urban Development Policy and Construction Marat Khusnullin in a "big interview" with the M24 TV channel assessed the situation more than positively: according to him, the inflow of investments is actively going on,over the past year, 8.6 million square meters were built in the capital. meters of real estate, which exceeded the pre-crisis figure, so it's time for other megacities to learn from us how and what to do, the deputy mayor said optimistically. In his interview to the same TV channel, the chief architect of Moscow, Sergei Kuznetsov, noted that the MIPIM exhibition is becoming more and more Russian, so it's time for us to hold similar events. Among the most discussed topics Kuznetsov called the project for the development of the ZIL industrial zone and the development of the territories of the Moskva River. The portal of the Moscow Archives Council prepared an overview of the most important theses expressed at the exhibition regarding the transport development of the capital. The MIPIM Awards were awarded to the project of the Dynamo stadium and the integrated development of adjacent territories (VTB Arena), the Moscow authorities have already given permission for its construction, RIA Novosti reports.
Big projects
Perhaps the stadium being built in Rostov-on-Don will also collect its awards. According to RBC, the Russian Green Building Council has started working in the city. The council members state that the Russian green building market is still at the initial stage of formation and is developing rather slowly. Therefore, such a megaproject as the Rostov stadium, which is being built for the 2018 World Cup, was chosen as the main reference point. One of the mandatory requirements of FIFA is the certification of major sports facilities for compliance with green standards.
Kommersant writes that a draft design for a new zoo has been approved in St. Petersburg. The sketch for Smolny was made free of charge by the English architect Philip McCormick. He proposes to divide the menagerie into zones covered with huge domes; inside, the landscape familiar to animals will be recreated. Now a survey is being conducted among the townspeople where it is better to place a futuristic structure.
In Omsk, a conflict flares up over the construction of a high-rise hotel in the historical center of the city. According to the investor, such a building is a chance for the city to break out of the usual stereotypes. Architects and historians, wondering who can occupy 45 floors of a hotel in Omsk, criticized the project. Oleg Freidin noted that the decision of a single skyscraper was 50 years late. However, the city town planning council finally approved the general concept of the hotel. The detailed design, number of floors and height will still be discussed.
Pskov Hero of the Novosibirsk Festival On March 15, Novosibirsk summed up the results of the Golden Capital festival. The Grand Prix and the Audience Award went to the project of the Orthodox Church of Faith, Nadezhda and Lyubov and their mother Sophia, made by Pskovgrazhdanproekt and the workshop of Yuri Shiryaev. The projects of an eco-hotel in Gorny Altai, a cargo terminal in Tolmachevo and the book "Constructivism in the history of Novosibirsk" won in other nominations. During the festival, a lot of round tables and discussions were held, which resulted in collective proposals for the development of the city "Five for the Mayor", - writes "Novosibirsk News".
Excursion
Pavel Gerasimenko gave Art1 a virtual tour of the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic, which is about to be evicted from the building of the Nikolskaya Unified Church in St. Petersburg. The museum has not been provided with any other premises; it is not clear what will happen to the collections; meanwhile, the exposition was created in the 1930s and is also a kind of monument. However, the virtual tour allows you to see both the details of the exposition and the magnificent interiors of the 19th century.
