After seeing some alarming photos, on June 18 I went to see for myself what is going at Lissitky’s Ogonyok Printing Plant. Construction work at the Lumiere residential building is paused. Ogonyok is covered in the notorious green mesh to cover from curious eyes what is going on but you can still see that “restoration” work is well underway. Plans for the restoration project has not been shown to the public, and approval for commencing any kind of work is absent. But as I learned yesterday, they plan to finish by January 2014.
I happened to be there when some people in fancy shirts and pants were leaving the Ogonyok territory. Usually I’d wait to go and photograph when these kind of people leave the area, but I thought, THEY are the ones who are illegally conducting work, I just want to take some pictures of a landmark building, by Lissitzky! So I approached the main gate and took a few photos. One of the men in the fancy shirts got curious what I was photographing and asked, “Hey, are you photographing my name there?” (there was a sign that said “Pardon for the inconvenience… etc etc” with two names designated as ответственный (accountable/responsible), customer: Selvich Sergei Andreevich and contractor: Rodin Aleksandr Ivanovich. So it was either Aleksandr or Sergei that spoke with me. Our conversation went on as follows (a translation):
ME: “No, I’m photographing the building behind the sign.”
HIM: “Oh, I thought you might want to talk to me, that’s my name there. Why are you photographing the building?” ME: “I work in the field of architecture.”
HIM: “Are you from the Department of Culture?” ME: (Department of Culture? My response to that was to giggle.) “No, I’m just interested in photographing historical buildings in Moscow”
HIM: “Why are you photographing the building in this condition? You should wait till we get it all fixed up.” ME: “Oh, when is it going to be done?”
HIM: “In January.” ME: “Oh I see. After the restoration will be done…” (I tried to make my pronunciation of the word “restoration” sound as sarcastic as possible)
HIM: (jokingly, to two guys standing nearby, from the Ogonyok territory, either workers or security) “Don’t bother the girl, boys.”
Then he drove off and the two guys continued the conversation:
THEM: “Really, why are you photographing the building in this condition? Like a before and after, yeah?” (said in a half laughing tone) ME: “Haha. Yeah, before when it’s a historical landmark, and after when it is nothing. Right.”
And I continued taking photos, and they disappeared behind the gate, either not understanding my answer, or annoyed by it.
This film was produced by the Lissitzky Center, Novosibirsk in 2003.
The movie was directed by Alexandra Arkhipova and commented by her and Dr.Alexander Kantsedikas. Additional support was provided by Sergey Lissitzky and Tamara Lissitzky.
El Lissitzky was the Russian avant-garde’s unofficial emissary to the West, traveling and lecturing extensively on behalf of Russia’s modern artists who believed that abstraction was a harbinger of utopian social values. Basing himself in Berlin and Hanover in the 1920s, Lissitzky helped produce publications and organize exhibitions promoting both Russian and Western art that shared a common vision of aesthetics steeped in technology, mass production, and social transformation.
ICOMOS ISC20C sent a letter to PUTIN, MEDVEDEV, and SOBYANIN on April 2, and
still there is SILENCE.
Ekaterina Karinskaya also sent a letter, and ironically on Heritage Day (April 18), she received a bureaucratic reply from the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation to her request for President Putin to intervene in the issue of the Melnikov House, citing the ongoing construction work putting the Melnikov House at risk, the ICOMOS Heritage Alert, a need for a reevaluation of the development project, etc:
Please be advised that the authority to deal with the issues raised by you during your personal reception at the Russian Federation President Receiving Office on April 18, 2013 falls within competence of the Government of Moscow.
(That’s not an answer. That’s shrugging your shoulders and pointing your finger for someone else to deal with it.)
The Shchusev State Museum of Architecture also wrote a letter to SOBYANIN, sign it HERE. English translation HERE. Spanish translation HERE.*
On May 15 at the exhibit opening of the Melnikov House museum concept projects at the Shchusev State Museum of Architecture, Ekaterina Karinskaya added her signature to the letter to Moscow Mayor Sobyanin:
In order to save a unique monument of history and culture ‘House and Studio of architect K. S. Melnikov’ we ask you, dear Sergei Semenovich, to immediately stop all construction work in the area of the protected zone of the Melnikov House and to create an independent group of experts to determine the current state of the monument and assess the negative impact of the work in the area of the protected zone on the house.
(excerpt from the letter)
Unfortunately, part of the letter is already out of date:
Currently on the site at the address: Moscow, Arbat St., 39, bldgs 1 and 2, and 41, bldgs 1 and 2, the preparatory works are in progress to start excavation work on the pit for underground parking.
“in progress to start” is actually “well underway”: the wall of piles (effectively a dam to flood the Melnikov House territory) was already put into place by April 22.
^Photo from April 22, 2013 courtesy of Anna Medleva’s architectural studio “Architectural Policies”, D. Nurullin
^Photo from May 13: Wall of piles in the construction area closest to the Melnikov House is cleary visible, the “dam” is in place.
^Photo from May 13: Neighboring buildings are feeling the construction effects too: a new building built in the 2000s is covered in cracks. (Imagine the effect on other buildings in the neighborhood…)
See for yourself the extent of the construction work & the proximity of the Melnikov House:
*Shchusev State Museum of Architecture officially transmitted the letter to Sobyanin on May 30, 2013 with nearly 6,000 signatures. Now Sobyanin has 30 days to reply to the letter.
Stop by the Days of History Festival this Sunday (May 26) and “purchase” a photo of the MELNIKOV HOUSE.
The money collected will go to:
1. Pay for printing costs (sadly, printing photos is not for free)
2. ALL THE REST goes to the fund for organizing an independent geological examination of the foundations and supporting structures of the Melnikov House. There will be a minimum set price, but it will be up to YOU to name your price (aka thank you for the donation!)
Each of the three photos (20 x 30 cm) has 20 in the edition, signed & numbered. It’ll be a great souvenir from the festival, you’ll feel really good about contributing to the cause of saving the Melnikov House, and you get a really cool photo!
The photos will be in the Москва, Которой Нет area, part of the Melnikov House photographs exhibit. More about the Days of History Festival in the previous post.
Days of History Festival: SUNDAY / May 26 / 13:00 – 20:00 / Hermitage Garden (Moscow)
Organized by Архнадзор & Москва, Которой Нет
Starting at 15:00
1. presentation of the book “The Melnikovs’ House: Konstantin and Viktor” by Egor Egorychev
2. screening of a film-tour of the Melnikov House, conducted by the architect’s son, the artist Viktor Melnikov
3. an exhibition of photographs of the house, which were specially provided for this purpose by different photographers
- the book costs 250 rubles but this time you will have a chance to donate as much as you see fit
- Egor and Ekaterina will explain the creation of fund to conduct an independent examination of foundations and supporting structure of the house
- the fund already exists at the site: http://www.melnikov-dom.ru/ and payments can be made by WebMoney and Яндекс.Деньги (the fund will exist until enough money is collected for the independent examination)
ALL PROCEEDS from the sale of the book, as well as other donations will go to the organization of an independent geological examination of the foundations and supporting structures of the building.
In order to save a unique monument of history and culture ‘House and Studio of architect K. S. Melnikov’ we ask you, dear Sergei Semenovich, to immediately stop all construction work in the area of the protected zone of the Melnikov House and to create an independent group of experts to determine the current state of the monument and assess the negative impact of the work in the area of the protected zone on the house.
^May 15, 2013: The Shchusev State Museum of Architecture has written a letter to Moscow Mayor Sobyanin to SAVE the MELNIKOV HOUSE!
See the letter in Russian on the museum’s site and SIGN it here:
APPEAL TO THE MAYOR OF MOSCOW S.S. SOBYANIN
TO SAVE THE MELNIKOV HOUSE
Dear Sergei Semenovich,
A monument of history and architecture, cultural heritage site “House and Studio of architect K. S. Melnikov”, located at the address: Moscow, 10 Krivoarbatsky Lane (hereinafter – the Melnikov House) was built in 1927-1929 by architect Konstantin Melnikov, as a representative residential building, and is one of the most unique works of world architecture.
At present, the world-famous masterpiece of the Soviet avant-garde architecture is threatened with destruction.
According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation in the protected zone of cultural heritage new constructions are not allowed. Despite this, in the protected zone of the Melnikov House construction work is going on, which has caused irreparable damage to the monument of architecture. In 2004, construction was completed on the administrative and residential complex at the address: Moscow, Krivoarbatsky Lane, 6, bldgs 1 and 2 and 8, bldgs 1 and 2, which was carried out in violation of the Town Planning conclusion 573/4-ГЗ from 04.05.1995, fire and health regulations, without calculating the impact of the construction sites on the neighboring buildings with the karst-suffusion of soil and other violations. The above construction works, including installing in a nearby building underground parking, have led to the displacement of soil, change in the distribution of ground water and the formation of voids under the Melnikov House. The results of the construction, includes the formation of cracks and soaking the foundations in the House Melnikov.
In addition, the previous leadership of Moscow approved the construction of the retail and entertainment center with underground parking on the site of houses located on Arbat St., 39, bldgs 1 and 2, and 41, bldgs 1 and 2. As part of this project was demolished the building at the address: Arbat St., 39. In 2012, JSC “StroyMontazhTsentr-2000″ demolished mansion of the XVIII century, located at the address: Moscow, Arbat St., 41. Despite attempts to stop the demolition of the estate and the revealed violations in issuing building permits, demolition of the mansion continued.
Currently on the site at the address: Moscow, Arbat St., 39, bldgs 1 and 2, and 41, bldgs 1 and 2, the preparatory works are in progress to start excavation work on the pit for underground parking. The construction of this multi-functional complex are the following organizations:
Customer JSC “Trust OIL” (tel: 8-495-730-35-25);
Project Organization, LLC “Senab Project” (tel. 8-495-650-20-29);
Technical Customer “SKT PRAM” (tel: 8-499-255-33-65);
General Contractor Company “StroyMontazhTsentr-2000″ (tel. 8-495-995-51-54).
Given the existence of shifting karst-suffusion of soil in the plot where the Melnikov House is located, it is necessary to take urgent action to preserve the cultural heritage of the “House and Studio of architect K. S. Melnikov,” whose condition in recent months has deteriorated sharply.
In order to save a unique monument of history and culture ‘House and Studio of architect K. S. Melnikov’ we ask you, dear Sergei Semenovich, to immediately stop all construction work in the area of the protected zone of the Melnikov House and to create an independent group of experts to determine the current state of the monument and assess the negative impact of the work in the area of the protected zone on the house.
At the bottom of the letter -> http://www.muar.ru/opros/, fill in your name:
Фамилия – last name
Имя – first name
Отчество – middle name (optional)
and Контактный e-mail, is e-mail!
Click “Отправить” – send, check your inbox, and click on the link to confirm. Easy as that!
“I’m interested in helping, but don’t know what I can do.”
I’ve been hearing this more and more often lately, and in general there’s a real revival of interest in the Russian avant-garde and a desire to do something about its preservation. As mentioned in the previous post, Right Place, Right Time, I was fortunate to be at the right place, at the right time. That afternoon, while watching the events unfold, I also observed several people come by and take pictures of the Melnikov House. So here is my idea of how people can help and it’ll be fun too!
Those that are in MOSCOW, I invite you to stop by the Melnikov House and take a picture. Hint: to see the back of the house you need to walk through the archway in the neighboring building (if facing the Melnikov House on Krivoarbatsky Lane, the archway is on the left). Then send this picture to theconstructivistproject@gmail.com with “Melnikov House Photo Campaign” in the subject line, I will collect the photos and create an album on The Constructivist Project Facebook page where everyone will have a chance to enjoy the photos. Please indicate how would you like to be credited, for example – name and occupation, or you can remain anonymous. Would be good to include the date and time of the photo as well.
Having numerous people come visit the house to take pictures will keep the spotlight on the Melnikov House. It will show there is public interest in the fate of the house, and allow for the constant monitoring of the situation with the neighboring construction site (who knows who else might be at in the right place, at the right time).
Not only will this be an opportunity to show your support of the house (literally, with a PHOTOGRAPH), but it can also be an opportunity to show off some photography skills and creativity in capturing the Melnikov House according to your perception of it. There are many photographs of the house, so it might be an interesting challenge to show the Melnikov House in a unique way. Anyway, it should be fun!
So, if you find yourself near Arbat and have any type of camera on you (phone, iPad, point and shoot, DSLR, etc), go visit the Melnikov House and TAKE A PHOTO!
On Friday, April 26, 2013, I was at the right place, at the right time.
I was looking forward to an afternoon of photographing the Melnikov House, Vesnin Workers’ Club, Narkomfin Building, and the Planetarium for an announcement about an upcoming excursion, “The Lost Vanguard” organized by Москва Которой Нет and led by Egor Egorychev (author of the book “The Melnikovs’ House: Konstantin and Viktor“). Melnikov House was the first stop and I arrived around 3pm and began taking photos. I didn’t leave the Melnikov House area until almost 9pm.
While I was taking photos, I noticed someone peer through an opening in the 3 story structure directly next to the backyard fence of the Melnikov House. So I stuck around to see what would happen next. Some wooden planks were pushed out of the opening and onto Melnikov House property. Then another construction worker came out, climbed on to the fence, and hopped down into the Melnikov House backyard. That was interesting. I already had my camera in my hands, and took a few pictures.
I also shot some video. And continued watching, from a distance. The worker on the ground, saw that I was filming. But they continued doing what they were doing, and I continued filming.
Then I made some phone calls. I asked, “Is it ok that there are construction workers walking about the backyard like that?” and to inform that they had brought out wooden planks and it looked like they are planning on building something, on Melnikov House territory. The bottom line was, did they have approval for all of this?? This information was relayed to members of Archnadzor.
While waiting for the members of Archnadzor to show up to confront the workers, I continued watching them, and they occasionally looked in my direction. Considering I was going to have to wait for some time, I went and got some ice-cream, and continued watching the events unfold. I made it clear I was curious what they were up to and had nothing else better to do on a beautiful Friday afternoon then to continue watching them.
At 5:18pm, a member of Archnadzor showed up and confronted the workers. Then we went to the police station, that just so happens is located right next door. Unfortunately, the police were not convinced that something was happening illegally. So we went back to watch the workers. We asked if they had approval for this and could we speak to their manager? They answered in broken Russian, they would get the manager. So we waited. Then another Archnadzor member showed up, followed by Egor who I also had called earlier asking if he knew about any plans to build something in the backyard. So we waited for the manager to show up. While waiting, a policeman seems like he had a change of heart and came to have a look at what was happening. He yelled at the workers, who were still hanging around not really working, but not removing the partially built scaffolding as we demanded. This is a summary of what he told them: “Don’t you know this is a monument? You are on private property, protected by the government. You are not allowed to enter illegally and need to remove the scaffolding from the Melnikov House territory.” That got the message across and the workers disappeared.
At that point everything that could be done had been accomplished (the workers had left the Melnikov House territory, and stopped their work) so the members of Archnadzor left. But Egor and I stuck around, we were still waiting for the manager to show up as promised by the workers. Every now and then, a worker would appear, take a look, see us still there, and disappear. They were looking to see when we would leave, so they could continue their work. The representative from the construction site finally came out around 6:30pm. Here is a summary:
Тo the question of why the workers illegally entered the territory of the Melnikov House and were setting up scaffolding there, the developer answered, “what, she can’t spare two centimeters of the plot? We will align the fence for her!” To the question of why this wasn’t agreed upon with Ekaterina, the developer had nothing to answer.
The impression I had of his reaction to our questions, was that he found it ridiculous that we were making such a big deal out of all this. He said it was only temporary scaffolding after all and didn’t have any effect on the house. And he said he’d call Ekaterina right now, as if threatening to prove us wrong. But getting approval should happen BEFORE work is started. And of course Ekaterina would not give them approval to walk on the Melnikov House territory, as it is their construction work that is worsening the situation with the ground, and in effect, destroying the house. When the developer left, workers continued glancing if we were still there, they went about their business doing other things, Egor reminded them we are waiting for the scaffolding to be removed from the Melnikov House territory, and finally it seems they got word from their boss to move the scaffolding so it was only on the other side of the fence, making for some very narrow (maybe about 2 or 3 ft) scaffolding, but not on Melnikov House property. I should note that they did this all without stepping foot on Melnikov House property this time. It was nearly 9pm when we left.
It was really pure luck that I happened to be there photographing the Melnikov House when I witnessed something that didn’t make sense. What were the workers doing on government protected, private property?? Would they really risk trespassing when this construction work already has such a negative reputation? (For example, the heavy-handed demolition work in August 2012) Also, more and more people are paying attention to what is happening with the Melnikov House now (thanks to the Docomomo US article, ICOMOS Heritage Alert, and a petition by famous architects). Even if this construction project has all of its paperwork in order and therefore from an official standpoint is able to continue with their work, the Melnikov House is suffering because of their actions. This experience just shows how irresponsible that construction work is.
Thanks to attending several seminars of the Archnadzor school (Школа Архнадзора), I had an idea what to look for and how to react. And I’m looking forward to the content from these seminars to be available online, so others will have access to this information. You never know when it can come in handy! And all of this experience has given me a great idea of how to respond to the question that I keep hearing more and more often: “I’m interested in helping, but don’t know what I can do.”
-> See Melnikov House Photo Campaign.
April 18 – International Day for Monuments and Sites (aka Heritage Day)
“The International Day for Monuments and Sites was proposed by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) on 18 April 1982 and approved by the General Assembly of UNESCO in 1983. The aim is to promote awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage of humanity, their vulnerability and the efforts required for their protection and conservation.” [Thanks Wikipedia]
And on the neighboring street of Arbat shakes another world famous monument – the Melnikov House. Nearby, on the site of last year’s demolition of an old Arbat house, a pit is being dug and construction work goes on. The Moscow City Government has allowed this construction of a 4-5-story multi-functional complex in a protected zone with all the necessary papers. International and domestic experts shout out loud, and Moscow City Hall is silent. Happy Heritage Day to you, experts! (translation)
(Considering the situation in Moscow, it’s the developers, the investors, those getting away with demolishing buildings of heritage, those getting away with building in “government” protected areas, that are celebrating…)
WATCH: “Construction on Arbat is destroying a monument of the avant-garde – the Melnikov House”
International scientific committee for the protection of heritage sites [ICOMOS] launched action “Heritage Alert”. Its goal – to stop the construction work near the famous Melnikov House on Krivoarbatsky alley. A Russian avant-garde masterpiece, built in the 20s of the twentieth century, has already started to crack and, according to experts, may collapse if excavation will continue next to it. (translation)
(in the video you get to see а representative of the developer “Trust-Oil” denying being responsible for any damage to the house. Again claiming, “the house does not fall in the zone of influence” & “the house has not had proper maintenance in 83 years.”)
