22 June 2004 05:40
Fate of Voyentorg Site Under Fierce Discussion
Nearly a year after the former department store Voyentorg was demolished, the debate over what will be built in its
place goes on. The current proposals met with fierce criticism when they were discussed last week at an Architectural
Council meeting chaired by the chief architect of Moscow Alexander Kuzmin.
The current proposed project, designed by the deputy architect of Moscow, Mikhail Posokhin, is two to three times
bigger than the original, with underground parking garage added to the site.
Alexei Komech, the head of the Art History Institute and a member of EKOS, the Expert Consultative Public Council,
called for the plans to be halted immediately.
"This is a monstrous project with many irregularities," he said. "It crushes all the buildings around
it. It should be the same size as the original."
The Voyentorg site at 10/2 Ulitsa Vozdvizhenka is opposite the Shchusev Architecture Museum and flanked by an
18th-century building and a 19th-century century palace. It is some 500 meters from the Kremlin.
The project's main problem, critics said, was its enormous size. A proposed golden dome for the new building
would dwarf the Troitsky Tower in the Kremlin and the 18th- and 19th-century buildings nearby would be overwhelmed.
Underground parking for over 500 cars would cause traffic problems, causing security fears due to its proximity to the
Kremlin.
The site was purchased for development by KEU Company, owned by Telman Ismailov, who owns the Prague restaurant on
Stary Arbat, Noviye Izvestia reported.
Many at last week's council said 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 that was much loved by Muscovites.
The demolition of Voyentorg, a military department store built in 1913 and seen as a classic of Art Modern
architecture, was decried by many as an example of the city government's lack of concern for Moscow's
architectural heritage.
The web site, moskva.kotoroy.net, held a wake for Voyentorg last month when several hundred people brought candles
and flowers and tied notes of farewell to the building site.
Not all speakers criticized the project, however.
"Should we be slaves to the restoration of Voyentorg?" asked Alexander Anisimov, a member of the Russian
Academy of Architecture and Construction Science. "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."
The project will now go to the Public Council in the Mayor's Office where Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov will make
the final decision.
"We will listen to those who have given constructive advice today," Kuzmin said.
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[The Moscow Times] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
