Archi.ru:
"Metro, Moscow metro …": everyone is used to thinking that the face of the Moscow metro is Stalin's palace, a piece of a better life, which the inhabitants of communal apartments saw on the way to the military plant, and then hid there from the bombing, thanks to God and the party for deep burial … What would you add to this look? What else is identical in the Moscow metro?
Sergey Kuznetsov:
- Of course, the Stalinist period is in the focus of attention, which is understandable, the stations of the 1930s - 1950s set the theme of the palace for the Moscow Metro. They are also the most interesting stations in the minds of the townspeople and the most visited by tourists. But I am absolutely sure that the face of the Moscow Metro has been and is being shaped all the years of its existence. After the Stalinist period, there was still sixty years of the history of the Moscow metro, this is Khrushchev's minimalism, and Brezhnev's monumentalism, and the eclectic and often controversial stations of the post-Soviet era. Without all this, it is impossible to talk about the identity of the Moscow metro.
Perhaps, in the last ten years there have been several projects, online and offline, dedicated to the Moscow metro - how is your project for Zodchestvo different?
- Project “Moscow Metro. 80 Years in Search of Identity”shows the architecture of the subway not as“frozen music”, but as a result of a living creative process. The focus of the project is the search for architects: we show ideas, both implemented and not, the creative process that resulted in the appearance of metro stations. In fact, these are materials from the desktop of architects at different times. For example, we will show for the first time some sketches and drawings from the Metrogiprotrans archive. In addition, we urge everyone who is not indifferent to the topic of the metro to send materials that they have, it can be photographs, as well as scans of postcards, sketches, articles, etc. We use the most interesting materials in our exposition. Within the framework of our project, recent searches will also be shown, including the results of a competition held for the first time in many years for the design of metro stations - "Solntsevo" and "Novoperedelkino", which was organized by the Moscow Construction Complex. This competition continues not only the modern Moscow competition practice, but also refers to competitions for the first metro stations.
Speaking of navigation and identity: one of the features of the Moscow metro is that it is perhaps the most confusing. Once I met a crying French woman there, she could not understand how it could be two stations of the Arbatskys … Now Artemy Lebedev solves navigation problems with stickers, and they have almost been erased in about a year. Are you going to ask questions point-blank, or is your project more narrative?
- I do not think that the decal wear is the main problem, especially considering the passenger traffic of the Moscow metro. Moreover, all issues related to urban navigation cannot be solved at once. As part of this special project, we do not focus on the topic of navigation, but in my professional activity, like my colleagues from other departments, I pay a lot of attention to this issue. These are signs with street names, navigation in public transport, including the metro, and rules for the placement of signs and signs - what can be called a city design code. In general, this is part of the global work on the formation of the city's identity. For example, now we are actively working on the modernization of industrial housing construction and on projects related to the Moscow River. One of the most successful tools in shaping and searching for identity is the contests that we hold to solve problems of a very different scale - from urban planning projects and large complexes to facades and even individual elements of buildings.
What can the audience expect from your exhibition, what is its main meaning?
- Obviously, the format of the three-day festival "Zodchestvo", saturated with various exhibitions and events of the business program, does not provide an opportunity to dive deeply into the material. Our task is to identify the topic, remind, interest the visitor, both professional and simply interested in architecture. I would like the visitor to go online after visiting Zodchestvo and read about the history and prospects of the Moscow metro, or simply look at the metro station that he passes every day with a new look. Let me also remind you that the materials of all exhibitions that the Moskomarkhitektura does are available at
the portal of the Moscow Archcouncil. There you can see photos and descriptions of the expositions that we did at the "ArchMoscow", in the Museum of Architecture. A. V. Shchusev, at the Venice Biennale, etc. Thus, the project and theme continue to live on. By the way, in this regard, I would like to thank the team that helps to implement our projects: Agniya Sterligova, Irina Kuznetsova, Alexander Zmeul, Igor Son.
Do you think it is right to look for identity and uniqueness now, or maybe it would be more logical to focus on the quality of life? Or, on the contrary, on common human problems, forgetting about the originality?
- I am sure that it is possible and necessary to combine both: in the end, the priority task of the Moscow government is to create a comfortable environment for people. By 2020, it is planned to build more than 160 km of metro lines and 78 new stations in the capital, 13 of which have already been opened. This will reduce the load on the existing metro network, as well as provide “walking distance” to stations for 93% of Moscow residents. That is, we solve quite applied problems, while not forgetting about the aesthetic side. And the competition for Solntsevo and Novoperedelkino is an example of this approach.
