The material is part of a series of texts about the structures of the pavilions of the All-Russian Exhibition of 1896 discovered at Strelka in Nizhny Novgorod. We have also published materials about their history and the town-planning significance of Strelka.
The warehouses on Nizhegorodskaya Strelka, which "inherited" their designs from the pavilion of the All-Russian Exhibition of 1896, are a rare type of structures donated to us by the 19th century. Until recently, this species was under the threat of extinction almost everywhere, and in our country this threat, alas, is now more real than ever. Until the 1970s, utilitarian buildings with a metal frame (station landing stages, railway stations, markets, warehouse and exhibition pavilions, etc.), with rare exceptions, were not recognized as a special property. They either quietly lived out their days, gradually decaying, or gave way to more modern and, as it seemed at that time, more perfect structures.
However, at the turn of the 1960s – 1970s, attitudes toward these buildings began to change. In 1963 in New York City, despite public outcry, the Penn Station building, built by the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White in 1901–1910, was demolished to make way for the ugly Madison Square Garden.
In the early 1970s, the central market Les Halles, the legendary “Womb of Paris”, was dismantled in Paris in the pavilions of Victor Baltard and Félix Callet, erected between 1850 and 1870. Despite active protests from Parisians and sympathizers, only one of the 12 pavilions was preserved, and even then only at the cost of moving it to the Parisian suburb of Nogent-sur-Marne.
Even less fortunate was the old building of the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin, built in 1865–67 according to the design of Friedrich Hitzig as a market pavilion, and in 1918–19, which underwent a "stalactite" reconstruction by Hans Poelzig for the Max Reinhard Theater. However, neither the rich history nor artistic merit saved the building from demolition, the decision on which was made after a new complex of reinforced concrete panels was built in the neighborhood in 1980-85.
These and many other losses inevitably had to lead to a revaluation of values, and more and more people began to realize the significance of the buildings of the 19th century. To the abstract need to preserve the historical heritage was added admiration for the engineering genius of the creators and the romantic beauty of these buildings, born of the “age of steam and iron”, whose images are well known to us from childhood thanks to the novels of Jules Verne and the films of Karel Zeman.
Since then, many of them have been renovated, continuing to fulfill their original functions: train stations, markets (both open and walled), greenhouses, exhibition pavilions, spa galleries … Others have been more or less deeply reconstructed and adapted for a new purpose, profitably using the spatial capabilities of large-span structures and glazed ceilings. Some were disassembled and reassembled in a new location, following the example of the Crystal Palace in London.
Here is a short selection of the most famous projects of this kind.
Baltar's Pavilion
Paris
The only one of the 12 pavilions of the Le Halles central market, which survived during the radical reconstruction of 1971-1979, was bought by the municipality of Nogent-sur-Marne from the city hall of Paris and moved to a new location in 1976. Today it is used for meetings, concerts, exhibitions and others. cultural events.
Carreau du Temple
Paris
Until recently - a clothing market, built in 1863 by architects Ernest Legrand and Jules de Mérindol on the site of the "Rotunda Temple", a trading and residential building of the late 18th century within the boundaries of the former Templar fortress. In 2008–2014, after archaeological excavations, the building was reconstructed according to the project of Jean François Milou into a universal concert, sports and exhibition center.
Orsay Museum
Paris
The construction of the station on the site of the Palais Orsay, which burned down in the days of the Paris Commune, was timed to coincide with the opening of the 1900 World's Fair. A project by architects Lucien Magn, Émile Bénard and Victor Laloux served as a model for the creators of Penn Station in New York. The railway service functioned until 1958, after which the building was used for various needs: from temporary housing for the homeless to a theater. In 1970, it was decided to demolish the dilapidated station, but already in 1974 Georges Pompidou approved the idea of placing within its walls a museum of art of the mid-19th - early 20th centuries. The building was reconstructed in 1981-1986 according to the project of Gae Aulenti, and today it is one of the most visited museums in the world.
Atocha train station
Madrid
The old part of the main metropolitan station was built in 1892 by the architect-engineer Alberto de Palacio Elissague, a student and employee of the Bureau of Gustave Eiffel, and the engineer Henry Saint James. The landing stage with a span of 51 m and a height of 27 m was covered with metal trusses. In 1985–1992, a new building designed by Rafael Moneo was added to the old building, where almost all profile functions were taken out. The vacated premises housed shops, cafes and a nightclub, and a winter garden was arranged in place of the platforms.
Tony Garnier Hall
Lyon
One of the largest and most famous works of the architect Tony Garnier, the author of the famous visionary project "Industrial City". The single-span building (220 m long, 22 m high and 80 m wide) was built in 1909–1913 on the model of the Gallery of Machines at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889, about half its size. It originally served as a covered cattle market at the Lyon slaughterhouses, a vast complex of which was also designed by Garnier. During the First World War, the building was used as a workshop for a military plant, then as an exhibition hall. In 1975 it received the status of an architectural monument, in 1988 it was restored and converted into a transformable concert hall by architects Bernard Reichen and Philippe Robert. Today it is one of the symbols of Lyon.
Pavilion d'Arsenal
Paris
A place known to every architect, urbanist or art critic visiting the French capital. It is here that the information and exhibition center dedicated to urban planning and architecture of Paris is located. The building, which took the place of a gunpowder factory, was built in 1878-1879 by the architect Clément to store and display a private collection of paintings. However, almost immediately after the construction, the pavilion was used as a warehouse for the Samaritaine department store, then as a municipal archive. In 1988 the building was reconstructed according to the project of Reishen and Robert.
