International exhibition "denkmal, Russia-Moscow": at the edge of theory and practice

Among the participants of the tour were Thomas Dinberg, Mayor of Leipzig responsible for urban development and city planning, Andrey Lomakin, First Deputy Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation, Sergey Orlov, Deputy Chairman of the Moscow City Duma, the head of the Moscow branch of the Russian Historical Society, Jose Andreas von Geir, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to the Russian Federation, Norma Bertha Pensado Mor, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Mexican United States to the Russian Federation. The delegation members got acquainted with the stands of the companies and their projects, communicated with the guests of the exhibition and proceeded to the opening ceremony, where they gave parting words to the guests, exhibitors and participants of the competition program.

"Let me warmly welcome all the participants of "denkmal, Russia-Moscow", the authoritative international exhibition in the field of restoration, which embodies the friendship between countries and peoples. We are glad to present to the professional community the results of our joint activity in preservation and restoration of historical and cultural monuments. We are sure that holding the exhibition in such a difficult period will become a synergetic impulse for achieving a common goal, will unite representatives of the branch and will give importance to the mission of sharing professional knowledge and experience between specialists", - said Leonid Kondrashev and Markus Geisenberger, the heads of the exhibition.

One of the highlights of the day - the plenary session "Cultural heritage objects in the context of modern city. Actual methods for the adaptation of the objects" opened the business program of the exhibition. During the session prospects of the branch development, international experience in preservation and regeneration of the objects of cultural heritage, modern possibilities for architectural monuments conversion, as well as disputable points and moments of this work. For example Alexey Tulupov, the President of Sminex development company, shared his thoughts about the problems of restoration and construction in the historical city environment.

In 2021 the 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 public institutions and organizations practice, told 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 incentives from the federal and local governments, tax breaks (in 2020 their total amount was about 70 million euros), and external support for private initiatives.

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 thanks to the right function of the facility. The Narkomfin House managed to preserve the authentic 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 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. We set a goal to revitalize this place, 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.

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 built and announced the center of the new urban culture 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 the Leipzig Foundation for Culture. 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, many people know about HafenCity in Hamburg, and a similar example of revitalization of a port industrial area in Leipzig - Plagwitz - is much less known outside of Germany.

In parallel, the guests of the exhibition were offered a rich business program: conferences, round tables and master classes on topical industry issues: from the role of redevelopment in historic architecture preservation to restoration technologies of different materials and forms as well as pricing and investment in the restoration of historical and cultural monuments.

The Grand Opening Ceremony of the Young Restorers international competition was held at the Central stand as a part of the exposition. The competitions are held to identify young talents in the field and thank them for their deep interest and scrupulous approach to their work. Students of cultural, art, restoration and architectural universities and novice restorers will showcase their own projects in various competitions.

For the competition, the exhibit included five themed areas equipped with a full range of tools and workstations for competition assignments.

Competition Nominations:

• Restoration of masonry and brickwork;
• Restoration of easel paintings;
• Restoration of woodwork;
• Restoration of metal roofing;
• Restoration of stucco decoration and plasterwork.

On the third day of the Exhibition there will be an awards ceremony.

The exposition zone of the international industry event "denkmal, Russia-Moscow" included exclusive stands of different shapes and configurations and thematic zones from the main representatives of the industry. The exhibitors, whose total number is more than 70 companies and organizations, approached the building creatively and implemented interesting design projects in the theme of the exhibition, presenting their projects and products to the guests, among them: The following participants presented their exclusive booth: Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Federal Ministry of Economy and Energy of Germany as part of a large-scale German stand - exhibition cluster, Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Embassy of Mexico in the Russian Federation, Russian Association of Restorers, Nevskaya Palitra and Kraski Fridlender, Sminex, INTEKO, MR Group, DONSTROY, ROSKAPSTROY FAU, Remmers Group of Companies and many others.

For the next two days there will be a rich program. Among the events:

• International symposium on the preservation of cultural heritage;
• Conferences on education in the field of restoration;
• Restoration workshops;
• Summing up of the Youth Restorers Contest;
• Award winners in the categories "Best Architectural, Engineering and Construction Projects of 2021" and "Best Stand at the Exhibition".

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