Press / Italy
Grigory Revzin has spoken about Italy twice this week. First, in an interview with Slon.ru, he talked about how St. Petersburg was ahead of Italy and London, and how the city might look if it remained the capital. Then he published in Kommersant Weekend the long-awaited response to the exhibition of architectural drawing "Only Italy!", In which the academic exposition, as often happens under the pen of the famous critic, begins to sound alarming, poignant and emotional, if not politically.
Meanwhile, many are preparing for the Venice Biennale. The Strelka Institute, which oversees the exposition of the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale, spoke about the idea and even a little about the details of its implementation. Details can be found in the Archi.ru report, as well as on the pages of Kommersant and UrbanUrban.
For the first time at the Biennale, the “Antarctica Pavilion” will be presented,”says Kommersant. Its commissioner is artist Alexander Ponomarev, curator is English art critic Nadim Samman, the exposition was designed by Alexey Kozyr, and objects of famous Russian and foreign authors (including Alexander Brodsky, Totan Kuzembaev, Sergey Skuratov, Zakha Hadid) participate in the exhibition. The theme of Antarctica, I must say, was outlined by Ponomarev and Kozyr in Venice two years ago, in the exposition of the pavilion of Ukraine (see article by Sergey Khachaturov).
Skyscraper, shopping mall, hotel
RBC talks about the Emporis Skyscraper Award for 2013: the winners were chosen from 300 buildings over 100 meters high. The London skyscraper Shard was recognized as the best, the Moscow “Mercury City” took the seventh place.
The website of the Moscow Architectural Council, following the work of the chief architect, spoke about three shopping malls: on the 3rd Silikatny proezd (now it is being designed by Vladimir Plotkin), on Kashirskoye shosse, 61 (UNK project & Jerde) and the Karusel hypermarket on Ozernaya street (project of CJSC "Urban Engineering"). Along the way, listing the new requirements for the buildings of the shopping center: the addition of trade with other functions, an attractive appearance, an adequate transport scheme, compliance with new standards for the placement of signs; it is desirable to hold competitions.
"Fontanka" writes about the beginning of restoration work in the building of the Stables Department in St. Petersburg. It turned out that the project provides for the creation of about 40 new windows, as well as the demolition of two internal buildings, the addition of attics and the redevelopment of historic 100-meter galleries. By the end of 2015, the building should be converted into an elite apart-hotel. All permissions have already been obtained. Sankt-Peterburgskie vedomosti writes that the emergency meeting of the public scientific expert council of VOOPIiK, which took place the day before, looked more like a protest rally than a meeting of scientists. Deputy Director of the Institute "Spetsproektrestavratsiya" Mikhail Milchik said that VOOPIIK intends to conduct a new historical and cultural expertise and is considering the possibility of litigation, primarily with KGIOP, which has agreed on all permits.
Tower
On May 22, the project for the transfer of the Shukhov Tower was announced to have entered the stage of the so-called “anti-corruption expertise”. Realizing that this means an aggravation of the threat of relocation (and experts are sure that the dismantling will lead to the loss of the original monument), the defenders of the tower held a rally on May 29. Yopolis and MK talk about him. Alexey Polikovsky recalled the history of the issue in Novaya Gazeta, and Arkhnadzor sent an open letter to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. In the meantime, striving as much as we can to help protect the "melting tower", we have published fragments of a guide to the avant-garde architecture of Shabolovka, compiled by the Shabolovka initiative group, and a project for a cultural cluster that this area could turn into.
Blogs
Tatiana Belyaeva talks about the amazing concept of the development of the museum of wooden architecture in Kizhi from the English architect Ben Hayes, who proposed to establish a conveyor plant for the processing and restoration of two hundred and fifty wooden churches that have survived in the Onega region. He recounted and parameterized the temples and designed a universal hangar workshop suitable for all 250 cases. According to the project, the hangar workshop should move along special rails inland, stopping at the right place for assembly or repair. Monuments are proposed to be delivered by water, for which it is necessary to build docks. According to the architect, all this should dramatically enhance the experience of visitors. In the comments to the post, readers are seriously afraid that the idea might really appeal to some official, and are upset that so much creative energy is wasted.
Alexander Lozhkin submitted for discussion to the RUPA community of planners the article "The Myth of Pruet-Igo", the author of which argues that it is not modernist ideals that should be blamed for the failures of social construction. According to Lozhkin, the problem is not in architecture, but also not in the financial crisis, and, moreover, not in the "lack of service and the deterioration in the material situation of residents." He considers Pruet-Igo not a myth, but a case, moreover, very important, since Russian cities are now reproducing Pruet-Igo in thousands of copies, and officials harbor illusions that mass production of concrete can solve the problem of housing shortages.
Marina Ignatushko in the blog of the Nizhny Novgorod newspaper "Delovoy Kvartal" discusses the "gift deer" - a sculpture by the Hungarian artist Gabor Miklos Soke, which the city authorities plan to put on the embankment of Nizhny Novgorod without any discussion with the townspeople, and gives many examples of preliminary study of the place and open public discussions, which the Nizhny Novgorod deer turned out to be bypassed.
Denis Galitsky reports that in Berezniki there is no longer a wooden miracle of engineering - a monument of Soviet constructivism at the Avangard cinema. "Restoration" destroyed the unique wooden structures made of larch, which were in perfect condition, and now they will be replaced by metal trusses. According to the author, the monument could become the main attraction, but now he hopes that at least a couple of farms will be set up right in the park near the cinema: "so that they remember what their ancestors could do."
We find a more accurate approach to heritage in the blog of the Mokovo regional branch of VOOPIiK - there was published a report on the visit to the Aigins' Talitsy estate in the Pushkin district, which was the first in the Moscow region to be rented out under the “Ruble per meter” program. The user was given a 7-year restoration period starting in 2013. The buildings are being adapted for a manor-style apart-hotel; it is planned to restore the park, gardens, and clean up the pond. A detour of the house left the impression that they were trying to preserve everything possible: mosaic floors, stoves and fireplaces, ceiling stucco rosettes and old wooden doors discovered under the flooring. Experts have found out that a large-scale development of the surroundings is planned, in connection with which they have a question - will the original manor buildings be lost against the background of numerous new, albeit stylized ones.
Maxim Katz tells how to create many good public spaces in Moscow. In addition to a 32-step step-by-step guide, it offers an inspiring selection of the cutest public spaces in Western cities. According to the blogger, the secret is simple: the places are not typical and are not designed by municipal workers or construction workers, but by specialized architectural bureaus.
