To the page “Protection of
historical heritage”
Prof. Dr. S.V. Zagraevsky
Photogallery îf the most serious violations of historical
environment
of
Part 1
Zurab Tsereteli’s “Peter
“, which set the new scale of urban development and in fact became a catalyst
for regeneration of the historic environment of the Moscow center – is a deal
well known and done long ago (1997).
Historians have immediately drawn attention to the fact that the Roman rostral
columns were decorated with noses (rostra) of captured enemy ships, and on the
monument we see on the "booms" the flags of St. Andrew. This is
hardly some form of mocking at Russia – more probably just an ignorance of
history. But more than a decade has passed, and these flags are still there.
And , unfortunately, look very symbolic...
The transformation of Manege Square into
the warren of passages, shops and Tsereteli’s sculptures also was done long ago
(end 1990s).
Shopping complex “Okhotny Ryad” (architect
– Michael Posokhin Jr.), which together with the accomplishment of
"adjacent territory" entered Alexander Garden, destroyed part of the
historical fence essentially violated the solemn atmosphere around the Tomb of
the Unknown Soldier .
The scale of
intervention of trade complex "Okhotny Ryad" into the historical
center of Moscow is also seen from the other side: "extra" floor
blocked the view from Mokhovaya street to the Historical Museum ...
... And Kremlin.
In the early 2000's Moscow authorities had
a chance to remedy the situation at least partially: Moscow hotel, looming over
Kremlin, was demolished (as inappropriate to modern hotel standards), and if at
its place had remained the square, urban environment atmosphere around Kremlin
would have been significantly improved. But the hotel brings more money, so it
was lined up again (naturally, with more comfortable interiors). As a result
the tough dummy now hangs above Kremlin.
In the early 2000's Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov
asked Moscow City Council to assign to the artist Alexander Shilov the title of
Honorary citizen of Moscow. There was a lot of noise, Shilov did not get the
title, but in the meantime construction of a new building for Shilov’s gallery
"quietly" started. The building with a gross and eclectic facade,
overlooking Kremlin and adjacent to Pashkov House (wing visible in the photo).
And behind the gallery grew the "collateral" building – just as rough
and eclectic.
In mid-2000's Chairman of the Union of
Architects of Russia Yury Gnedovsky built near Krashokholmsky bridge the office
complex "Red Hills". The upper part of the tower Muscovites
immediately dubbed as "pressure cooker", but, in principle, it is
quite decent modern architecture (though it is not indisputable). And Kremlin
seems to be far away. It seems to be ...
This “seeming”, maybe, “passed” when the
city authorities approved the visual landscape analysis of the project. But the
tower was built, and it "moved" into Red Square already without
“seeming”. This photo was made in 2004. Hotel "Russia" was since
taken down, and "Red Hills" remained...
Advertising banners, hopefully, will be
removed from the historical center. But "Red Hills" in any case will
remain (a view at them from Tverskaya Street).
The similar situation is with the
"tower" by architect Sergey Tkachenko at Paveletskaya square.
The intervention of this "tower"
into the complex of visual communications of Sobornaya Square of Kremlin is
much smaller than of "Red Hills" – into the complex of Red Square,
but the architectural plastic of the "tower" is also much worse ...
This remake titled "Four
Seasons" between Yakimanka and Polyanka (Staromonetny per., 18), whose
author is modestly hiding behind the brand of the builder "Group MCT
", is notable not only for the fact that old buildings were destroyed
during its construction. Builders and realtors firstly used here the slogan
"From our window Red Square is visible!”. And the new Moscow houses began
to grow upper and upper, so that Red Square, at least Kremlin towers, could be
seen at least from the upper floors...
All means are good to get the view from
the windows to Kremlin. If one can not build a new high-rise building, lofts
are constructed (pictured – the loft overlooking Alexander Garden).
Formerly there was a full view at Kremlin
from Pyatnitskaya and Bolshaya Ordynka streets. But in the early 2000's the
business center "Tsarev Sad” was built (architect Alexei Vorontsov).
By the way, on the roofs of the buildings
of "Tsarev garden" there really are the gardens with stunning views
at Kremlin. Only one problem – these gardens are not for all...
I wonder what enemies of Russia fitted
"horns" to one of the symbols of military glory of the country – the
Arc de Triomphe on Kutuzov Avenue?
May be, those, who built luxury
residential complex "Edelweiss" on Davydkovskaya street? Or those who
have done a visual landscape analysis of its project? Or those who coordinated
the draft and approved it?
For many decades at the corner of Arbat
street and Arbat Square there was a garden. And that's there now (the business
center called "Alfa-Arbat-Plaza", architect – Michael Posokhin Jr.).
And near it – "crushed"
restaurant "Prague", the former local high-altitude dominant.
In the lanes of Arbat everything is about the same. This is Philippovskiy pereulok. Between the Church of Athanasius and Cyril and the house in Art Nouveau style there is the huge building, occupying over half of the street, – office-residential complex "Dinaoda" (architect Sergei Skuratov). Actually, the name originally belonged to the rehabilitation center for disabled children, for whom the building was formally intended, when at the inception of the project it was necessary to justify its "social orientation". Since that time “Dinaoda”’s children with disabilities, of course, have disappeared (if they really existed).
One might think that this is an elite residential complex somewhere in South
Butovo. But this is so-called "School of Galina Vishnevskaya"
(architect – Michael Posokhin Jr.) on old, narrow, once-charming Ostozhenka
street.
A common scale of happening to Ostozhenka (more precisely, with quarters between it and Prechistenskaya embankment) is seen on this panorama. Old houses have practically disappeared. In the mass the new architecture is still quite decent and commensurate in scale (the architect of most buildings – Alexander Skokan), but by and large, what's the difference, who killed an old Moscow street and quiet lanes – a good architect or bad? And the proportionality of scale may soon disappear: cranes in the center of the panorama are suspiciously high ...
Many historical buildings are turned into rough imitations. Dmitrovka, 14, is, so to speak, "the classic of the genre of imitations”: different facades are styled for different epochs.
Another dummy nearby – Dmitrovka, 15. With add-ons ...
And here is a dummy built on Turgenev Square (Frolov Pereulok, 2 / 4). With the glass superstructure.
And that's the hotel «Ararat Park Hyatt» (Neglinnaya str., 4). The name is perfect for overhanging above the center of Moscow ...
"The genre of imitations" is so infectious that in old-like style, but with the glass superstructure, the hotel «Ritz Carlton» was built (architect Andrew Meyerson) in place of the demolished hotel “Intourist”.
This "beauty" on the corner of Bolshaya Dmitrovka and Kozitsky per. is the new stage of Stanislavsky Theatre. Painful, but symbolic nonsense: this is the view from the window of the office of Dr. Alexey Komech, former director of the State Institute of Art, who unsuccessfully fought for the preservation of monuments and historical environment of Moscow…
This plaster cast at the beginning of Bolshaya Ordynka it is even difficult to call an imitation, because the forms of the historical building are only slightly guessed in four lower floors.
In this monster (Malaya Polyanka, 2, architectural workshop of Mikhail Leonov) the forms of historical buildings are met quite adequately, but the superstructure occupied the whole quarter. The disproportion between the scale and the discrepancy of styles, I think, is worthy of "Guinness World Records”. And all this is named "Onegin". Apparently, in memory of the ruined building of Pushkin's time.
And this mutated beyond recognition dummy historic building (Maly Golovin per., 3) is not just a dummy, but with mockery.
This is the street facade of the dummy...
And this is the mockery: a commemorative plaque, which was preserved from the historical building and transferred on this facade. On the blackboard there are the words: "A monument of history. In this house in 1881-1885 lived and worked Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Protected by the government." It turns out that the creators managed to make fun and mock over history, and over Chekhov, and over the state...
This is the whole quarter of conditional imitations, repeating the form of the old buildings only about – between Crimean Embankment and Yakimanka.
The same quarter of imitations, so far from forms of old buildings, is located in the very beginning of Yakimanka. Most of the buildings were constructed by the already mentioned workshop of architect Mikhail Leonov.
A new street somewhere in the notorious South Butovo? No, not a street and not in Butovo, but only three houses in the center of Moscow (Staromonetny per., 33, 33A and 35) and the passage between them. Such a scale. Photo was done "under the table" by the mobile phone, because the police guard prevents shoot a subject even from a distance, referring to the fact that some "high-ranking officials of Russian Federation live in these houses. Well, let’s be consoled by the fact that the old lane near Polyanka was disfigured not by any dealers, but by high-ranking and official persons.
Another bitter, but symbolic nonsense: this multi-remake of an elite fitness center «Dr. Loder» in place of historical building of XVII century (Strastnoy Boulevard, 10, architect – Pavel Andreev under the overall leadership of Michael Posokhin) belongs to... the Union of theatrical figures of Russia.
Moscow, 2008.
© Sergey Zagraevsky
To the page “Protection of historical heritage”