The future of cultural heritage, new life of old monuments, Russian and foreign case studies: the main things from the plenary session of the "denkmal, Russia-Moscow" exhibition

Immediately after the opening ceremony the central event of the business program was held - the plenary session "Objects of cultural heritage in the context of a modern city. Actual methods of object adaptation". The experts discussed the role of the cultural heritage objects in the modern city, methods of their rational use and adaptation as well as the controversial points and moments of the work. For example, Alexei Tulupov, president of Sminex development company, shared his thoughts about the problems of restoration and construction in the historic city environment.

In 2021 PWC Company conducted an international research "Heritage in the Big City", in which specialists compared and analyzed how they work with the cultural heritage in five largest European capitals: London, Berlin, Paris, Rome and Moscow. Session moderator Ksenia Poveshchenko, director of PWC's practice for providing services to governmental bodies and public organizations, spoke about it. London is the undisputed leader by the number of cultural heritage sites (19 603). Moscow is more than twice as far behind the British capital (8,278), but is in second place. Berlin has almost as many cultural sites - 8,218. In Rome there are 4587, in Paris - only 2 235.

Stepan Orlov, deputy chairman of the Moscow City Duma, shared important figures directly about the Russian capital: "The Moscow restoration program is one of the largest in the world. According to the latest results of the program, the absolute majority of historical and cultural monuments - 95%! - are in good or satisfactory condition. It is a very good indicator, especially if you consider that in 2011 there were 66% of them.

Thomas Dienberg, mayor of Leipzig, told about German experience in the restoration of historical objects, their adjustment and integration into the modern urban environment. Leipzig is using a number of incentives in this respect, including financial support from the federal and local governments, tax relief (amounting to about 70 million euros in 2020) and foreign aid for private development.

Julia Loginova, deputy head of the Department of Cultural Heritage of Moscow, shared the most striking Moscow cases that have been implemented in the restored cultural heritage sites in terms of functional purpose. These are Northern River Station with preservation of historical function, "Depo" which turned from an abandoned streetcar station into the largest European food market. The place came to life through the right function of the facility. The Narkomfin House managed to preserve the original elements of decoration and historical function (a residential building).

One of the most significant redevelopment sites in Moscow in recent years is HPP-2 on Bolotnaya Embankment. Teresa Iarocci Mavica, Director of the V-A-C Contemporary Art Foundation, talks about her first impressions of working on the project: "When we walked into the power plant, we were struck by its beauty. But because the building was closed to people, this beauty was not alive. Our goal was to bring this place to life, to put it back on the city map." The Head of the Directorate for Foreign Objects and Cultural Heritage of the APEX Design Bureau, Anastasia Nadeyeva, shared the results of the project: "I was lucky to be involved in the project from the very beginning. This is a very complex engineering structure, which turned into a beautiful element of the city, where it will be pleasant to spend time". So far it is impossible to see the building from the inside: the opening of the new cultural space in GES-2 is scheduled for December 4. But during the plenary session they showed a visual video of how the space will be arranged (see the video in our video).

Deputy Director of KROST construction Alexey Kuznetsov spoke about the company's experience in church construction: more than 50 churches both restored and refurbished and those built from scratch. He noted that historic architecture can be combined with new technologies and modern materials.

Work on the preservation of cultural heritage is not limited to Moscow. In 2021 Gatchina became the capital of the Leningrad Region, which gave the necessary impetus to intensify programs for the restoration and preservation of cultural heritage. The Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Leningrad region, Chairman of the Committee on the Preservation of Cultural Heritage Vladimir Tsoy told where the government quarter will be arranged and announced the center of the new urban culture under the code name Molzavod.

Several more foreign cases of restoration and adaptation of the objects of cultural heritage to the modern needs were discussed by Gergely Nagy, the vice-president of ICOMOS National Committee (Hungary), and Wolfgang Hockel, the chairman of Leipzig Culture Foundation. Gergely Nagy talked about the experience of Budapest, some historical districts of which had been neglected at one time (in particular, the Jewish Quarter) but have been revived in recent years. Wolfgang Hockel shared some German cases. For example, HafenCity in Hamburg is well known, while a similar example of revitalization of a port industrial area into a progressive neighborhood in Leipzig - Plagwitz - is much less known outside of Germany.

General partners of the exhibition: Sminex Company, Nevskaya Palitra and "Kraski Fridlander", Capital Group and "PIK" company.

Strategic partners: APEX Design Bureau, Inteko Company, Pioneer GC, Mosproekt-3 GC, Gals-Development GC.

Official partners: Donstroy, MR Group, KROST Concern

Exhibition partner: VEKA Rus Company.

Official partners of "Young restorers": PJSC "Ingrad", LLC "Baumit", LLC "Sirius project


Contacts:
Kristina Mirzalieva
pr@denkmal.moscow