The Teatralny Dom complex, which united three disparate households at once into a single whole, is unique in its own way: it includes historical and newly erected buildings. According to the idea of the architects of the workshop of Pavel Andreev, the State Unitary Enterprise “Mosproekt-2 named after MV Posokhin”, the facades of apartment buildings familiar to Muscovites with their restrained neoclassical architecture overlooking Povarskaya, Merzlyakovsky and Khlebny lanes are preserved, and new buildings placed inside the quarter receive bright clothes in the Art Nouveau style, which are more consistent with the status of an elite complex. All buildings of different times - and the whole complex consists of eight sections, united by a common underground parking.
The name of the new quarter is a tribute to the memory of a short but bright page of theatrical life in Moscow. The fact is that at the corner of Povarskaya and Merzlyakovsky lane there was the famous Girsch house, and it was in it that Nemchinov's theater was located, which went down in the history of the theater due to the fact that in 1905 Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky opened his experimental studio here. The rotunda of the Girsch house, which marked the intersection of two streets, was demolished back in Soviet times.
But the name of the house - "Teatralny" also contains another meaning: the historical facades in restrained neoclassicism are a kind of backstage, acting as a frame for another equally popular Moscow style - Art Nouveau, chosen by the architects to emphasize the individuality of the complex, located in one of the oldest districts of Moscow … Mosaic panels, stucco decoration, decorative trims - all the details of the decoration typical of the style that has received its own name in different countries - liberty, art nouveau, art nouveau - fill the inner space of the courtyard and are, in turn, the background for the Moscow views opening from the windows of the complex …
Historicism in new and traditional materials
One of the tasks of the project was the restoration of the historical facades, which are part of the familiar urban environment and the creation of the appearance of the new part of the complex.
All three blocks of tenement houses that fram the block gravitate towards simple rational architectural forms and are what we used to call environmental architecture.
The tenement building, facing Povarskaya Street, and once adjacent to the building with the rotunda, was built by the architect Nikolai Strukov at the end of the 19th century and, like most tenement buildings of that time, had restrained facades in the style of Russian classicism with elements of Art Nouveau. In this building, during the reconstruction, the historical facade, cornices and decorative elements were completely restored, and the brickwork was removed. The facades of two buildings of tenement houses of the late 19th century on Merzlyakovsky lane were also restored - one designed by Viktor Hartman, and the other by the same architect Nikolai Strukov who built the building on Povarskaya.
In the restoration of these buildings (which was carried out by a group of architects-restorers under the leadership of Boris Savin), traditional materials were mainly used, but classical order elements are made of glass-fiber reinforced concrete - pilasters with lush capitals, window frames with sandrids - this material is indispensable in restoration and is often used to restore white-stone decor, because natural stone is quickly destroyed, especially in a metropolis.
Modern buildings, such as fiber-glass concrete, and traditional ones, such as natural stone and ceramic tiles, have also been used in the decoration of new buildings.
For the difficult task of creating the architectural decoration of the quarter, the company "ORTOST-FASAD", already known for the non-standard solution of facade details for
residential quarter "ZILART" and "Garden Quarters".
Initially, they wanted to make the sculptural decoration - window frames, pilasters, sculptural panels - from plaster, but then preference was given to fiberglass concrete - a lightweight and durable material that successfully replaces stone today and, by the way, is often used not only in construction, but also in reconstruction and restoration.
By the way, the sculptural panels with lilies, located between the windows, were attached directly to the insulation. This has become another know-how of the company.
The range of architectural details made by "ORTOST-FASAD" for the "Theater House" is extremely wide, because each of the buildings of the complex has its own individuality. At the beginning of the 20th century, during the heyday of Art Nouveau, all forms were created by hand, but now digital technologies cope with this task: CNC machines create molds for casting from expanded polystyrene.
Large-format panels, such as the carved screens of the staircase halls, were manufactured at the company's own production facilities in Odintsovo and Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. In Odintsovo, in addition to the workshops where molds are cast, there are ORTOST-FASAD workshops, which specialize in the production of art products. Employing specialists of various profiles - from artists to designers, the company is able to bring the artistic concept of architects to perfection, so that the already completed details are distinguished by accuracy and perfection of finishing, and the assembly units are delicately hidden.
Blooming gardens
One of the most elegant elements of the facades are panels created according to the author's drawings by the architect Pavel Andreev. These friezes with floral and floral motifs characteristic of the Art Nouveau style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, none of which are repeated, are made in the traditional way from glazed ceramic tiles. The total area of art panels is 690 sq. m., and the main problem was their installation on ventilated facades.
The specialists of the ORTOST-FASAD company proposed to integrate the panels into a thin and light glass fiber reinforced concrete panel, and fix them on the wall on a metal frame-subsystem. The clinker tile "hog" was fastened in the same way, revealing the vast planes of the facades.
Organics of Art Nouveau
One of the hallmarks of Art Nouveau as a style is the organic fusion of architecture and sculpture. Flowing, melting forms are widely used in the "Theater House", for example, in various cornices made of glass fiber reinforced concrete, some of which are decorated with stucco decoration.
The properties of fiberglass concrete, such as plasticity, are the best suited for such curved parts - it would take a lot of time to complete them in stone, and made of gypsum, they would not differ in durability.
Art Nouveau loves color - the cornices of one of the buildings and inserts with floral ornaments were hand-painted at the factory, and then transported to the place of installation. By the way, the company develops packaging for every detail. unique products require an individual approach and the issue of their delivery from the place of manufacture to the construction site is included in the overall technological chain.
The carved screens of the elevator halls are composed of large-format panels and have a smooth surface on both sides (traditionally GRC is processed on one side, and the inner surface remains rough).
The variety of parts and locations for their installation required the development of a subsystem. In addition to the design, manufacture and installation of facade elements made of glass fiber reinforced concrete for the ORTOST-FASAD complex, she also carried out the installation of insulation and porcelain stoneware. Working on a turnkey basis and being able to control all stages of facade decoration, the company demonstrated the highest quality of work. The variety of parts made for the Theater House and the technological solutions offered by the company in this facility testify to the high professionalism of the ORTOST-FASAD specialists and the practically unlimited possibilities of glass fiber reinforced concrete to embody the individual and vivid image of buildings, and not only in a modern style, but and in the historical.
