Nizhegorodskaya Lenin Square is a classic of the genre of the Soviet squares of the same name: a huge empty space with a monument in the central part of the city. On one side - the former hotel "Central", on the other - the famous Fair, and the leader looks at the Oka and the island Grebnevsky sands. There are many attractions on Strelka: the cathedral, warehouses, they are also the structures of the pavilions of the All-Russian Exhibition, and now a new stadium. But in general, this part of the city looks less historical, tourist and well-groomed than the Kremlin side on the opposite bank of the Oka.
The architects of the Nizhny Novgorod Design Institute, Yuri Bolgov and Grigory Kachemtsev, propose to work with Lenin Square so that it itself becomes a new point of attraction, and "picks up" the existing ones, combining them into an integral complex with a convenient pedestrian route.
The first step is a multifunctional complex in the corner closest to the Fair, which will become the dominant feature and complete the composition of the square. The building will continue a series of single high-rise buildings along Mira Boulevard, thus connecting the square with the "corridor" of the alley, which ends near the Old Fair Transfiguration Cathedral. Built according to the project of Augustine Bettencourt and with the participation of Auguste Montferrand, but somewhat lost in the neighborhood of the Khrushchevs and the parking of a hypermarket. The new complex offers commercial premises and offices.
Further, the architects propose to cover the area with a green hill on a stylobate raised one floor. The resulting public space will be isolated from the car-laden Sovetskaya and Sovnarkomovskaya streets, and at the same time will hide the assorted shops adjacent to the hotel building. They are not trying to hide Vladimir Ilyich - his figure will still be clearly visible from all vantage points.
The underground space will house a concert and cinema-lecture halls, a museum of archeology of Nizhny Novgorod and an exposition dedicated to famous Nizhny Novgorod residents, as well as cafes, shopping areas and a parking lot.
The final part is the improvement of a part of the embankment and a bridge to the Grebnevsky Sands Island, where it is logical to recreate the beach area and open a yacht club. The complex will combine a walking route that starts on the island, crosses the square, rises above the highways and leads to the green Mira boulevard.
