At the opening, Nikolai Shumakov, now the president of two unions of architects: Moscow and Russia, mentioned that the responsible circles are considering the idea of turning the competition into an annual one. Although "if you have enough strength", so so far this is not a promise, but, one must think, a hypothesis. The Golden Section has been awarded since 1997, always in a year, so that the material will accumulate, although at some point, around 2007, an additional prize and the Perspektiva festival was introduced, with which the “section” alternates, like Arch Moscow with its NEXT. If the golden eye of the "section" is handed over every year, it will be a revolutionary reform, since in general the prize, like most professional awards, is conservative.
So the hanging in the hall of the third floor does not change, you go there as if in a kind of familiar interface, everything is as if by notes, nothing distracts from studying the contents. Speaking of interfaces: for the second year in a row, the festival offers visitors a mobile application (Android iOS), which includes not only a program of discussions and lectures, but also a layout of the hall with the location and the number of works: there are 32 realizations in the broadest category of buildings and structures, projects in the same nomination 31. A total of 112 works are involved, this is a lot, but I must say that two years ago there were 138, and four years ago 188. So everything is fine, at the opening it was said several times: the projects are good, but perhaps in such dynamics, I would not dare to switch from a two-year rhythm to an annual one. On the other hand, the dynamics of the quantitative decline has slowed down. And here I must say: even if they did not take the number, but the projects are good. In general, good projects. There was only one neo-manneristic villa, and even then it was executed quite diligently, only two or three groups of skyscraper ghosts, which would not be taken into a good computer toy, and a couple of recreation parks with intricate dummies. The rest are firmly on the ground, devoted to the ideals of modernity and good taste, well, further depends on skill, talent and diligence, in a word, as always.
The undisputed star is Klaugu Muizha Totan Kuzembayev, it was definitely a subtly calculated entrance on the stage, even though it was hidden in the middle of the hall and divided into two parts, apparently, they will celebrate in parts. I have not heard other reviews, besides enthusiastic ones, about this project, which is fair, what is one console, hanging like a strange flower. The remark of one talented critic, who no longer writes, comes up: everyone can draw a project, but you go and build it. An impressive, equally wonderful book was built here, and even published about the estate. By the way, during the opening of the festival, the president of the friendly union of architects of Tajikistan, Bahrom Yusupov, said from the stage: I watched mainly buildings … So yes, realizations are still valued higher.
So, at the entrance we are greeted by a stand with four buildings: LCD"
Serebryany Bor "Ostozhenka Bank with broken lines of golden facades; hotel Four Points by Sheraton in Krasnodar from AB ATRIUM, an example of restrained, let's say, moderate and stable nonlinearity. On the opposite side of the same stand is Alexey Bavykin's Edison house in Elektricheskiy Lane, an example of the author's quest for a new imagery of a city house in the historic center. Buildings represent a rather curious group: on the one hand, they are typical representatives of the breed of “buildings”, not complexes, not variants of typical buildings, but houses. On the other hand, they are quite different in their genre and at the same time, they are definitely author's statements. That which the "Golden Section" has always specialized in, and which in recent years the flow of improvement and urban development has become few - namely, the work of an architect with a very definite, concrete house. Maybe that's why they were carried forward, creating at the entrance a kind of essence of the prize. In any case, the organizers deny that applicants for the main prize have been posted here. I don’t know, I would not like to hurt empty hopes, and meanwhile two years ago the “Literator” residential complex, which was awarded the Grand Prix, was exhibited at the entrance.
The difference between the typologies and histories of these houses is also curious: one is a residential tower, a Moscow residential complex, another is a hotel in the south, the third is an apartment with complex histories, a project that faced protests, construction stops and was redesigned three times. And the fourth neighbor is the sales office of Chkalov towers on Kurskaya Street by Amir Idiatulin, a vestibule building with a complex role, since the towers are being built by SPEECH, which is not represented on the “section”, and the sales office, as is now customary, was given to other authors, in this case IND architects.
Further, in the main part of the exposition, real modern Moscow life begins, presented in "layers" - large projects. First, again by tradition, the Moscow metro. Firstly, it is actively being built, and secondly, the head of the Metrogiprotrans team of authors, who is also the president of two unions of architects, Nikolai Shumakov. Show the line "Business Center" - "Savelovskaya" - "CSKA". On the right is the roof over the metro station Sokolnicheskaya line, Timur Bashkaev. On the left on the wall, the theme is supported by young heroes: ARCHSLON and, again, IND architects with the Klenovy Boulevard and Nagatinsky Zaton stations, the customers are Center and Mosinzhproekt, note that Metrogiprotrans is no longer involved here. However, it is nice to see designed, and not technical ground pavilions - after all, at the beginning of Sergey Kuznetsov's work, they even built several of them for competitions, and then things somehow died out.
Moscow renovation is predictably following the metro. Well, that is, not quite it, although if you carefully examine the objects, it turns out that in many cases it is still it. It helps a lot here
map of starting objects from the Moscow mayor's office. The process is quite laborious, but fascinating, it even allows you to make a couple of attempts to study the processes occurring in a specific field of activity, which is commonly called the "market of architectural services", although it is not necessary to pretend to be complete and accurate, but still. For example, we look at the two large houses of Mosproekt-4 - it’s even surprising to remember that once this institute specialized in museums, theaters and stadiums. Team leader Vadim Grekov, head of the art group "Stone". The customer is AO Department of Experimental Development of Microdistricts, previously, since the 1990s, engaged in, among other things, the reconstruction of five-story buildings, still an "old" program. The building on the Aminevskoe highway, 16 floors - is the starting one, although there is not a word about it at the stand, everything about the “BKFN premises”, “ramps for MGN”, and “drainage for condensate drainage”, you’ll break your tongue. And two motley-multi-colored towers of 18 floors at the corner of Dmitry Ulyanov Street and Sevastopolsky Prospect are also on the starting map. I wonder why this is not said? At the stand we read: "solutions for municipal housing in a limited budget with the most efficient layouts." The house on Academician Ilyushin Street, 12 floors, next to Vladimir Plotkin's Airbus, but not at all assembled from a geometric and compositional plan - is not listed among the starting ones, but on real estate sites it is marked "not for sale", and in the forums the townspeople make assumptions - probably resettlement. In a word, walking through the objects with the Internet in hand, I think you can find a lot of interesting things.
A little further on the wall, among the projects, there are four houses of the same Mosproekt-4, the customer is not indicated, but it has already been said that they are intended for resettlement. Height 24 floors, houses are similar, in terms of diamond-shaped with rounded corners. And they stand along the streets of Onezhskaya and Flotskaya, in the quarters of the Golovinsky district - a pilot site, a competition for which
won by Asadov's bureau. No matter how much I looked at the project, there are high towers and even 24 floors each, but I did not find anything similar. Something tells me that something is wrong here. If the architects won the competition for the territory, it seems that there should not be any other bureau's starting towers on it? Or here is the residential complex "Beregovoy", which here also acts on behalf of the Mosproekt-4 team, some time ago was positioned as associated with the work of a whole group of architects from different bureaus. And what is characteristic, there are also starting houses for renovation, as many as three addresses. However, mind, mind me, the topic is confusing and not very transparent, I must admit. I will just say that Mosproekt-4's proposal for Serebryanicheskaya embankment instead of the Antiki Plus project, which was considered at the 2015 architectural council and which we still see on the official website of the complex, is more interesting, although there may be a lot of golden sections in it, but how sawn, very curious. This house, RC "Title", of course, is not at all starting, but very prestigious, and there are such people.
The theme of renovation, which pleases me, is presented at the review from all sides: in the back of the hall, among the projects, there are disgraced proposals for reconstruction without demolition, created by Alexei Krotov by order of the company "City Reconstruction of Five-Storied Buildings" (there is a typo on the stand - it says "state"). Why disgraced? Yes, because Valery Chernyshov, the general director of the GRP company, whose proposals sounded good at the beginning of the new history of the Moscow renovation, was arrested in December (see "Novye Izvestia" and "Novaya Gazeta" for more details. There is no other news yet). Meanwhile, the proposed method - expanding the house without resettling - recently, performed by Lacaton & Vassal, received the main European Mies van der Rohe prize. What can you say here: the same method is being driven here by the forces of law enforcement agencies - in order to be convinced of this, well, or to take the opposite position, it is enough to read the above articles - in Europe they are rewarded and promoted. What we will be left with as a result is easy to guess. Some have “the end of uncertainty” (see the beginning of our article about the award), and some have just the beginning. Alexei Krotov would be worth mentioning for his initiative alone. Although, in all honesty, with the shaping, in order to reach Lacaton / Vassal, it would be worth some more work. But not in the same conditions under the UK, you say. And you will be wrong. As the Strugatskys said, if you are under pressure, you have to work.
By the way, about law enforcement. Their buildings are striking. The first public and sports center of the OMON in Strogino from MAHPI Polyansky - it cuts without a knife with a playful red-blue, probably in the colors of the flag, deconstruction. The building seemed to be in a fighting pose of karate. Reminds the experiments of the Nizhny Novgorod school and Alexander Asadov of the 1990s, but only in part. It would seem that they no longer build that way, but after all. The second - the police department (which is typical, on the stand both words are written with a capital letter, ku) in Kommunarka from the "Assemblage point". Large, and, unlike the previous one, fashionable in its own way, it can even be designed in the style of Vladimir Plotkin, who built the local mayor's office. And also not quite that. On the one hand, the facades curl and round, the form is modern and glass can be seen even behind the white lamellas - one would like to see here the symbolism of the transparency of power, as in the new buildings of Tbilisi. On the other hand - gentlemen, why are you so insensitive to metaphors - white slats are so often set that a simple "striped friends" and Lermontov's you know what suggests itself. In a word, using the form, finally think about the content. And about the similarity with the shopping and entertainment center "Good!" from IQ Studio by Eric Valeev.
In the meantime, back to housing. Large projects are presented by Sergey Nikeshin's Bureau "Close-up", take at least a house-snake with arches in the Moscow region, although judging by the fact that there is no customer and date, you have to count on the construction site. But their own residential complex New Time in St. Petersburg, where there is still no renovation, is a little scary, especially from above, since "two types of houses" built "in stochastic logic" look like dominoes or tags, all somehow of the same height, although it is clear that the facades have been worked a lot and diligently. Generally speaking, it is not surprising that Bakhrom Yusupov, speaking about the "section" projects, got a little confused - is the competition still Moscow or Russian? Then why aren't there many other cities? Or is it a lot? I hasten to remind you: the competition is Moscow, but it considers the works of Moscow architects in other cities and countries too.
Therefore, the Bureau "Archimatika", which began to work in Kiev, but has now opened offices in Moscow and New York, shows here, say,
project for Yekaterinburg. Moscow T + T architects exhibit an IT cluster for the same Yekaterinburg, the winner of the competition, as well as the project of the Park of Future Generations in Yakutsk from the architects ATRIUM. Both will probably be built, and soon enough. In general, the expansion of Moscow architects across the country is palpable and looks quite convincing. Unlike, excuse me, expansion into Dubai. Some kind of there, or something, the air is not always the same, in any case, it does not always work. Although the openwork mosque from two charming girls is not in headscarves - I cannot believe in it, but the fact is curious. I would like, however, to attach it to a computer toy.
And Moscow is not fully represented: only "Mezonproekt" showed its built house-lot ZilArta. There are no other Moscow projects either, or maybe it’s in vain, the picture turns out to be a little jumpy, but this is the trouble of many prizes, after all, you also need to submit a project for them, weighing the pros and cons. What if nothing is awarded and it will be offensive? But large Moscow houses are present, in particular, "A-Proekt. K", the architectural bureau of the KROST company, acts with two: the Dutch house of Paul de Vroom in Khoroshevo, and the residential complex "Nevsky" on Akademik Makarov Street with elements of late Dutch mannerism, with reliefs in the form of seahorses and stars.
It is worth paying attention to the project of the 13th workshop of Mosproekt-2, well known as the workshop of Vladimir Libson, - the restoration of HPP-1 on the Raushskaya embankment. And theirs, jointly with workshop No. 1 of the same Mosproekt-2, project of restoration and adaptation of a horseshoe-shaped Melnikovsky garage on Novoryazanskaya Street. Both buildings are iconic, and the workshop with a good reputation may be worth waiting for some positive news. For some reason, these two restorations / reconstructions were squeezed into buildings and structures. It is difficult to say anything about the restoration of the Church of Louis on Lubyanka on the tablet, but it is good that it was restored (the authors of the Rakurs-project).
There was only one public building - a campfire in Artek, but from Dmitry Bush, PI "Arena". I don't know if the concert and stage complex will replace a forest fire, but it will be a great way to blow from the sea because of the arches in the membrane, and it also resembles an antique amphitheater looking out into the sea, built according to all the rules.
I would like to note the implementation of the "Close-up", and not even housing, but a research and production complex for the production of electronics on Nagornaya Street - an excellent console on "legs" and a brick relief. Maybe the shape is a little harsh, and the waves clearly resemble Novatek on Leninsky Prospekt, but nevertheless it attracts the eye. And the project "ArchKvartala" on Taganka, a not too large residential complex on a steep slope, including a historic house with an open brick facade. Motley, but not bad and as if a little from the past. Or here is the project of the Millennium Sport sports complex near Moscow by the architects of the Fourth Dimension bureau, with a console on a large inclined leg.
The genre of the villa stands apart and in many cases demonstrates a high degree of refinement; these are not economy-class houses for you, which in our country will not escape from the panel captivity. The genre is perhaps 30 years of ups and downs. Boris Uborevich-Borovsky is experimenting with the laconic mystery of milk glass, AB ARCHSLON flaunts refined black minimalism, Roman Leonidov salutes Totan Kuzembaev with high-tech consoles. For some reason, bureau ASADOV performed only in the genre of the small form.
The completed project of JSB "Ostozhenka" in
Kraskovo is the only implementation in the nomination "urban planning complex", as if there is no alternative, but after all, thoughtful and interesting in its genre, building a new urban space around itself and inside, one of the bureau's answers to the task of plastically mastering the a city like Moscow cannot go without it.
Noteworthy is the revitalization project of the Morozov factories on Lenin Street (84, 86, 99, 103) in Orekhovo-Zuevo from Vlad Kunin. The project is replete with schemes, the task is to redevelop the central part of the city and increase its "socio-economic stability". Two museums, a business center for 900 jobs, an educational center, a hotel.
Projects in the nomination of urban planning complexes are quite numerous and among them, in addition to those mentioned above, there are plots from the category of those that are worth knowing that "it is being built" or at least being designed. For example, "architectural and planning solutions" of the campus of the University of Technology, Mechanics and Optics to the south of St. Petersburg (RTDA Marina Lepeshkina and Dina Dridze + Allies and Morrison LLP). Or from another opera: the Khrustalny park and the museum center in Sevastopol - Giprogor. Or again from another: synchrophasotron in Protvino, 135,000 m2, commissioned by the Kurchatov Institute. Preliminary design. Written by Maria Elizarova with contributions from Natalia Sirbu. Wonderful are your deeds, Lord, why does it seem to me that 10-15 people should design a synchrophasatron? Presumably prejudice. The very fact of its design is curious, although the date of construction is unknown, the project is sketchy. But there is a customer.
Projects for kindergartens and, to a lesser extent, schools are just a separate topic. Not only that, perhaps every sixth or seventh project in the mailing list of the Moskomarkhitektura is now a kindergarten. Not all of them are beautiful, but finally there will be something to do with children. From kindergartens, predictably ripples. A kindergarten from T-Construcion - in the form of a toy Gdansk in the center of a courtyard surrounded by panel giants, shatters a tear about the lost hopes of Russian urbanism, as this toy garden is lonely among houses, like a notorious child on a bicycle in front of riot police. Everything seems to be screaming - we want to live like this, but we are only allowed to play in kindergarten, and then - welcome to the adult world, baby.
A huge volume of tablets and design units is occupied by the PPF "Project Implementation" by Olga Bumagina. Only these architects also brought models, grouped, apparently as a non-format, in the corner at the stage.
And yes. Petr Vinogradov, an extremely stubborn man, is building his PROM houses in Zaraysk, on Kommunarov Street, 29/20. And how else did he manage to find such a suitable street. Promises to build right in 2019.
It is rather difficult to summarize all this volume of multidirectional topics. Construction and design activity, no matter what they say about the crisis, is evident. State and metropolitan programs intersect with each other, so large-scale that you want to hide from them in some corner and sit out. But alternative projects and simple projects that are not engaged by the authorities are still alive, although perhaps there is a tendency of their reverse crushing, going into a private order, into villas from apartment buildings, in reconstruction and in other cities. Where did the Russian people run to? For the Urals, to Siberia. No matter how Moscow architecture escaped there. Although where she, of course, will go, all will not run away. We, of course, observe, let's say, "certain changes in the structure of the architectural market" (I'm afraid to speak directly), and even the exhibition reflects them, but it is obvious that not everything was submitted to the competition, the picture is not complete, unlike the early years of the award, covering almost everything interesting in Moscow. There are still quite a few refuseniks - those who did not exhibit because "it does not make sense."
But there is no reason to assert, say, that the main Moscow - or young Moscow - architects are all realized only in other cities; or with sketch concepts only. It will be true, but not all. Rather, at the review competition, we observe a kind of "overlapping of structures", still living multivariance. Another thing is that some options barely glow, while others grow for various reasons. And yet everyone is working, this is a very large conglomerate Moscow. You can't simplify it overnight.
The Golden Section awards will be announced on Thursday, April 25, in the evening.
