If we take for brackets the famous monuments of medieval architecture - the Cathedral on Gorodok and the Savvin Monastery, then the building that will be discussed is the oldest in modern Zvenigorod, in that part of it, which we now perceive as a "city" proper, with a boulevard and some cafes and shops. The building, now known as the Manege, was built in the 1830s as a wine warehouse. Then it was the very outskirts, further - only the cemetery. For some time in the 19th century, the warehouses were empty, then at the beginning of the 20th century they were adapted for an arena, replacing the semicircular Empire windows with large rectangular ones. Later, a theater was housed here for a short time, and in the 1920s, cinema began to be shown. Half a century later, they decided to add a second hall, at the same time they added a large foyer in the western part, which made the rectangular plan turn into a T-shaped one; they laid in the extra windows, raised the roof, painted it salmon and put a white belt around the perimeter.
Since then, the building looks like a typical provincial house of culture, which it was in the last days of its active life in the 1990s. Behind the patina of the small-town Stalinist Empire style, it is difficult to see an architectural monument of the 19th century, moreover, a typology rare for the Moscow region - not a tenement house, not a temple, but a utilitarian building.
Today the arena is in the very center of the city. The Moscow street on which it stands - albeit spoiled by Soviet inserts and imitation remakes of the nineties, is convenient for pedestrians, with shops and coffee houses, one way or another, the scale of a small town is still felt here. Even the residential complex Central nearby was built no higher than five floors. The arena, however, has been abandoned and empty for the past fifteen years, with semi-legal parking lots and garbage dumps sprung up nearby. In 2016, the building finally received a conservation status and passed to the Zvenigorod Historical and Architectural Museum, which ordered the restoration project. Now the museum shares the exhibition space with the Savvin-Storozhevsky monastery, holding temporary exhibitions in the tsarina's chambers; after the restoration and adaptation of the Manege, it will receive a full-fledged exhibition space in the city
The Narodny Architect bureau team was attracted by two tasks: to reveal the laconic beauty of the monument and to help it live a new life. The need to moderate creative impulses and clearly follow the original source also turned out to be a serious challenge. “Our task was to step over ourselves and not show architectural ambitions, emphasize the old with minimal movements,” says the chief architect of the project, Alexei Kurkov. The initial idea to radically remake the Soviet part - the foyer, turning it into a contrasting modern volume - was abandoned, and not only because, after obtaining a conservation status, the project was completely transferred to the restoration section. The architects decided that it would be more correct to keep the true "chronology" of the building's life.
The monument itself is a simple rectangular volume devoid of any decor, except for a brick cornice belt. Even the Empire windows, according to the architects, are quite “practical”, that is, they are constructively self-sufficient, since their arches “hold themselves to themselves”. The authors made the laconic practicality of the old wine warehouses the essence of the project, as if rewinding the "film" of the history of the building back: they offered to clean the brickwork from plaster, lay late rectangular windows, open and restore the original - arched ones. The architects are removing the emergency exits of the cinema - small vestibules that confuse the original scale. Facades become symmetrical again.
Everything that remains from the 20th century - the foyer and an extension on the opposite side, as well as a one and a half meter belt under the roof, the authors propose to cover with light plaster. The windows in the foyer are opened to the floor and new ones are added to make this part slimmer, lighter and more ceremonial. The main entrance area, bathrooms and a wardrobe will be located here.
In the “courtyard” part of the building, one more annex is preserved, a smaller one. It appeared simultaneously with the foyer in the 1960s. This is rather a forced measure, which the authors took for the sake of additional space: the museum staff will be located here. The extension is connected to the main volume by a gate through which exhibits can be loaded and unloaded. The gate also serves as an escape route.
The layout inside the historic building does not change: the small and large halls of the cinema are transformed into exhibition halls, between them there is a space for storing exhibits.
Large hall with an area of 350 square meters - versatile, with a flat floor. Any exhibition can be accommodated here, it is easy to build a labyrinth and one more hall from mobile exhibition boards, depending on the requirements of the exposition.
In a small hall, the scenario is somewhat more complicated. According to Alexei Kurkov, "a museum in the center of a small town is more than just exhibitions, conferences, micro-concerts, performances can be held here." For these purposes, a small amphitheater appears in the center, which also reminds of the fact that once a movie was shown here. Lowering the floor creates a second level of the room and does not destroy the overall impression of the space, as a closed room would. Such a solution adds planes for hanging work, and around the "pit" there are perfectly placed low showcases, in which you can display small objects and books.
The most striking detail of the interior is the open trusses that unite all the halls of the arena. They appeared after the reconstruction of the 1960s, when the entire roof of the 19th century was demolished and the building was added on. The existing truss system half a century ago is now in disrepair, it will be completely replaced with a new one, retaining the drawing, but aligning the step so that the trusses correspond to the openable windows.
The architects propose to attach the exhibition boards to the built-up part, without disturbing the historical masonry once again. In the one and a half meter belt, wires, communications and a fire system are also hidden.
“The project of restoring and transforming the arena into a museum is of key importance for Zvenigorod,” says co-director of the bureau People's Architect Dmitry Selivokhin. - In essence, it is one of the symbols of the city, which, due to various circumstances, was on the verge of destruction. Undoubtedly, the restoration of such facilities is a very important and positive signal both for the local urban environment and for the country. Manezh will inevitably become a catalyst for the development of many socio-cultural projects in Zvenigorod, we fully understand the enormous responsibility of this project. Already in modern history, the building of the arena has been under the threat of irreversible changes several times, and it is a great joy for us that we were lucky enough to return this cultural monument to the city ensemble, especially with such a wonderful function as a museum."
So the building of the warehouses-arena, and now the museum, having regained the features of the architecture of the thirties of the XIX century, but without losing part of the later layers, has every chance to turn into an artistic accent on Moskovskaya Street - the main axis of the modern Zvenigorod center. The Stalinist foyer gives it a palace look, while the brickwork with thermal windows gives it an almost Venetian brutal charm. And although we know that the Russian Nikolaev Empire style rarely left the masonry open, in this case, the assumption seems reasonable: the beauty of genuine brick and non-trivial proportions, although characteristic of the era, has a chance to distinguish the building in the context of the surrounding, somewhat vain bourgeois development, almost like the Moscow region little Punta Dogana. In the end, the rules of the Venetian charter in the project are respected: the new is separated from the old and the new structures do not rely on the old ones, the communications are hidden and do not interfere with perception, the original elements are preserved and restored. The result should be curious and beautify the city center, enhancing its tourist, cultural and atmospheric value.
Now the museum staff are starting to work out the concept of the future exposition, and the People's Architect bureau plans to subsequently join this work as well. The opening of the museum is scheduled for 2020.
