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#22 - JRL 8260 - JRL Home
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004
Subject: MAPS's first bulletin
From: Clementine Cecil <clemm@dircon.co.uk>

Dear all, this is the first bulletin from The Moscow Architectural Preservation Society (MAPS).

For all those who are new to MAPS:

We are a lobby group of foreign and Russian journalists, architects, preservationists and historians working to raise awareness about the present destruction of Moscow's historical buildings.

In Russia¹s young capitalist market, the demolition/construction business is highly profitable. Over the last 12 years, according to Alexei Komech, head of the arts history institute in Moscow, more than 400 buildings, some from the 17th century, have been destroyed, including 60 listed buildings that by law should be untouchable. Future generations will wonder how their capital¹s heritage was so brazenly wiped away.

Through joint projects with international preservation groups and other initiatives, MAPS is striving to convince the City Government that the continued demolition of old Moscow is not in the city¹s long-term interest.

For press coverage about MAPS see the Russian Art Gazette website:

http://www.gif.ru/eng/places/maps/

VOYENTORG: A NEW APPROACH TO THE KREMLIN

On Wednesday 16th June the fate of former department store Voyentorg, demolished autumn 2003 despite widespread public protest , was discussed at an Architectural Council chaired by the chief architect of Moscow Alexander Kuzmin.

Deputy architect of Moscow, Mikhail Posokhin, is the new project¹s author, together with Vladimir Kolosnitsin. It is two to three times bigger than the original and will dominate Vozdvizhenka Street, the main thoroughfare to the Kremlin if built as planned.

Representatives of EKOS (Expert Consultative Public Council) said that their guidelines had been ignored and pointed out many major irregularities in the new building. Their main criticism was the enormous size of the building. A proposed golden dome for the new building will dwarf the Troitsky Tower in the Kremlin and the eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings nearby will be crushed. Underground parking for over 500 cars will cause traffic problems, causing security fears due to its proximity to the Kremlin.

The plans were revealed to be at a late state of development. Many people at the council voiced fears that the whole process was moving too fast with too few controls. The majority of those who spoke expressed outrage at the lack of references in the new building to the original, a building beloved of Muscovites and one of the city¹s finer examples of Art Moderne.

The project will proceed (date unknown) to the Public Council at the Mayor¹s Office at which Mayor Luzhkov will take a final decision. Alexander Kuzmin said ³we will listen to those who have given constructive advice today .² There are fears that few changes will be forthcoming.

Quotes:

Alexei Komech of EKOS said: ³This is a monstrous project with many irregularities. It crushes all the buildings around it. It should be the same size as the original. This must be halted immediately and the laws and procedures of Russia must be obeyed in the new plans.²

The President of the Moscow Union of Architects, Viktor Logvinov said:

³We should not blame the architect. We all know that if he reduces the commission given to him by even by one square metre, he has to pay out of his own pocket.²

Referee Alexander Anisimov said:

³Should we be slaves to the restoration of Voyentorg? Muscovites are nostalgic about it because they connect it to their childhood. But it is such an important spot that perhaps we need a good modern building there. It is a normal tendency for any modern city to grow in scale.²

History of Voyentorg

A classic of Art Modern architecture, the military department store was built in two phases, 1913 and 1935. Pioneering Soviet architect Ivan Leonidov collapsed with a heart attack on the main staircase of Voyentorg in 1957. EKOS applied to make it a listed building, but never received a decision from the authorities. Stood empty and neglected for many years until it was demolished in 2003. According to Noviye Izvestiya newspaper, the site was purchased for development by KEU Company, owned by Telman Ismailov who owns the Prague restaurant. 27th May Moskva Kotory Net (www.moskvakoroynet.ru) held a wake for Voyentorg: several hundred people brought candles and flowers and tied notes of farewell to the building site.

Situation

The Voyentorg site, Ul Vozdvizhenka 10/2 is opposite the Schusev Architecture Museum and flanked by an eighteenth century building and a nineteenth century palace. It is some 500 metres from the Kremlin.

Posokhin the architect

Son of Moscow¹s former chief architect and author of the Novy Arbat, Posokhin the younger also builds on a monumental scale. Posokhin¹s studio is responsible for the new hotel/shopping mall on the corner of the Arbat opposite the Praga, and 31 Novinsky Boulevard, by the vysotka at Barrikadnaya. They are gargantuan buildings in marble and granite.

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EXHIBITION IN MOSCOW¹S FIRST CONVERTED FACTORY

TRACES OF EVERYDAY LIFE (Sledi Bytovaniya)

³This is a story of love² said Sasha Mozhayev, journalist, photographer and lover of old Moscow. Traces of Everyday Life is an exhibition that cherishes the minutiae of Moscow it is easy to miss. On show are photographs of Moscow¹s neglected buildings and everyday objects gathered over the decades by artists Oleg and Katya Buryan.

Mozhayev, who writes a column about Moscow for weekly paper Bolshoi Gorod is an expert in 17th century Moscow and spends his weekends exploring and photographing Moscow¹s backstreets. His photographs show beautiful Neoclassical buildings with snow falling through hole-ridden roofs, Moscow skylines that, according to him ³will soon be gone² and views that have already disappeared. All this accompanied by Soviet objects such as the first erotic Communist Super-8 film, oil paintings of Gorky and Mayakovsky and old gramophones. Also on show is a film of Mozhaev¹s exploration of abandoned buildings, edited over several years, throughout which he swigs on a bottle of portwine even when leaping over rooftops.

Moscow¹s first converted factory, Krasnaya Roza, provides an ideal venue for the exhibition. Russian architects, Art Play, converted the 1904 textile factory into a design centre, which holds a furniture showroom, architects¹ studio, exhibition space and Keks café.

Entrance to Traces of Everyday Life is free and the exhibition runs until mid July.

Art Play

Dom 11

Ul. Timura Frunze

Metro: Park Kulturi

Sasha Mozhayev tel:8 926 204 3378

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UNDER THREAT:

Khamovnichiskiye Kazarmiye (barracks) 24 Komsomolsky Prospekt. This one storey building (1807) is the oldest in the barracks complex and is the former stables and forge. These barracks were one of the first two to be built in Moscow, following a decree of Pavel I. Until this time soldiers were housed in private homes. Soldiers from all the campaigns of the 19th century lived there. "Despite its humble function, this building is essential to the unity of the complex" said one historian. A source told MAPS that the site has been sold for development although no documents have yet been signed. The barracks are a fine example of Russian classical architecture. It is still used by the military.

For any more information please contact us at mapsgroup@hotmail.com

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