Last week I spent two days listening to discussions on city planning and urban development at the 2nd annual Moscow Urban Forum in Moscow. Of particular relevance and interest to The Constructivist Project was the session, Heritage: Cultural Value and the Economic Imperative. A summary of this session can be found here.
And inside the Moscow Urban Forum’s “Cultural Navigation” guide, I came across some interesting findings in the Places to visit section …
The suggested Places in the order listed are: Garage, ZIL Cultural Center, Polytechnic Museum, Red October, Strelka Institute, Melnikov House, Gorky Park, Skolkovo, Winzavod Contemporary Art Center, Multimedia Art Museum, Planetarium, Pushkin Museum of Fine Art, Russian Jewish Museum of Tolerance, Artplay Design Center. Bold – way to go buildings of the AVANT-GARDE! Taking into account that this was aimed at new-to-Moscow visitors of the Urban Forum and by the looks of it having a slant towards architecture unique to Moscow (avant-garde of the 1920s & 30s), the Narkomfin building or Shukhov radio tower likely would have been interesting places to visit, but considering Narkomfin’s ruinous condition and the chance that Shukhov tower might just fall down any day now (exaggeration for emphasis, see the previous entry Round Table: Architectural Heritage of Shukhov), I can see why they were left out of the list of “cool” places to visit. The Narkomfin building and Shukhov tower are internationally revered monuments of architecture and engineering, but due to their uncared for condition, are an embarrassment to show Moscow’s visitors.
Here are the ones that did make it into the list:
Melnikov House: A memorial to Soviet avant-garde architecture which is threatened with destruction. It is inhabited by descendents of the Melnikov family and it is very unlikely that you’ll be able to get inside. It is best viewed in the winter when the trees don’t block the view.
– It’s surprising and not surprising at the same that the Melnikov House made it on the list. Not surprisingly, it has long been a “must-see” destination for architecture enthusiasts visiting Moscow. But, it’s surprising that the Melnikov House is still included in the list when the overall tone is more akin to taunting a child with a candy and then saying to them, nope you can’t have it.
ZIL Cultural Center: A constructivist masterpiece created by the Vesnin brothers, which is currently being transformed into a large cultural center. Concerts, lectures, exhibitions and dozens of workshops for children — architecture and avant-garde, every day.
– An example of breathing new life into old buildings, ZIL is proving to be quite the place to be!
Planetarium: Having reopened after the longest refurbishment in the history of Moscow, the Planetarium lost some of the enchantment it had during Soviet times, but gained interactivity, a stereo-cinema, the largest dome screen in Europe, and permanent queues at the entrance.
– I think “lost some of the enchantment” is a nice way of saying “lost all of its historical authenticity,” but hey, now there’s a cinema!
Russian Jewish Museum of Tolerance: The newest museum in the city is devoted to the history of the Jewish people, with a focus on Russia. Designed based on the concept of “educational entertainment”, many of the exhibits are interactive and the exposition begins with a film in the 4D cinema.
– No mention whatsoever of the famous avant-garde building the new museum calls home, Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage by K. Melnikov and V. Shukhov.
Maybe I am looking too deeply into the meaning & significance of this list, but how can one ignore a guide by the enlightening name of Cultural Navigation?
