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| Shabolovka Radio Tower Plaza theconstructivistproject.com |
Hello Everyone:
Yesterday's post discussed the fate of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics venue buildings and their possible relocation and reuse across Russia. Today, I'd like to stay in Russia, this time in the capital city of Moscow and talk abut the threatened demolition of the Shabolovka radio tower. On February 25, the Russian State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting agreed to dismantle the tower. This has architects, engineers, academics, and cultural leaders up in arms. The radio tower, dubbed the "Eiffel Tower of Russia" is a 50-story conical lattice steel structure that resembles a collapsed telescope, designed in 1919 by engineer Vladimir Shukhov. The tower was commission by Vladimir I. Lenin and completed in 1922 with the of disseminating the word of Communism through the new radio medium and symbolize the country's revolutionary ambitions. This icon of Communist ambitions has survived the elements, World War II, and hard times but should it be razed? If it should remain standing, what should be its fate?
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| Shabolovka Radio Tower, Richard Pare theguardian.com |
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| Gherkin Norman Foster London, England inhabitat.com |
year, British architect Norman Foster joined the campaign to save the tower, referring to it as. "a structure of dazzling brilliance and great historical importance." The work of Vladimir Shukov is said to have partly inspired Mr. Foster's supposed Gherkin built for Swiss Re in London.
The radio tower has been the subject of much debate in the Russian news media and the topic of round-table discussions. Recently, a group of international architects, engineers, academics, and cultural leaders have signed a petition asking Mr. Putin to override the committee's decision and spare the tower from demolition and the site from reckless development. Those who support dismantling the tower argue that it is a disaster-typical of demolition by neglect. Moscow's chief architect Sergey Kuzentsov has suggested that the tower could be dismantled and rebuilt elsewhere. The Ministry of Culture has endorsed the idea, give or take, in late February. Not a bad suggestion but the tower is site specific and building elsewhere would diminish its importance. Supporters of the tower have stated that moving the tower would remove its context.
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| Daytime view of Shabolovka Radio Tower Richard Pare okimuk.com |
The petition, written by architectural historian Jean-Louis Cohen with British photographer Richard Pare and was signed by architectural and cultural luminaries such as Thom Mayne, Rem Koolhaus, Elizabeth Diller, Tate Museums director Nicholas Nordenson and Leslie E. Robertson. In the statement accompanying the petition, the signatories say, "Replacing the tower with a building up to 50 stories would out of keeping with the historic neighborhood near the Shabolovskaya metro station, a district noted for its early Soviet-era housing." Further, the tower, "a beacon and symbol of progressive, forward-looking civilization...deserves nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List." One option is Mr. Putin could authorize the rezoning of the area surrounding the tower to prevent large-scale construction, a possible step to preventing demolition. The city could also stop demolition.
Protestors staged a demonstration on March 18, 2014 and the Russian Parliament may consider the issue, according to the great-grandson of the original engineer, Vladimir
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| Lenin Mausoleum moscow.info |
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| Shabolovka Radio Tower at night arch.mcgill.ca |
A blog posted to the website The Constructivist Project, made a strong case for not only saving the radio tower from demolition but also placing it in nomination as a World Heritage Site. The posts asks five important questions:
1) Why has the tower not once, at bare minimum, been painted with anti-corrosion substance? (The Eiffel Tower is painted once every 7 years)
2) Why did the Ministry of Communications not spend their own money on preventative action since one or another maintenance of historical buildings is required by the property's owners?
3) Why have they not been penalized for negligence? (They've demonstrated 12 years of inaction. And now they want to get rid of the tower...)
4)Why February 2014? What has made the tower suddenly such a liability that had to be immediately dismantled?
5) Why after the unanimous agreement (the tower should be restored in place without dismantling) that was reached at the Public Chambers session on March7, later the same day, the exact opposite of this included in the draft proposal?
The post points out that the tower is an immediate danger to public safety and that taking apart the tower would be tantamount to its destruction. The post maintains that the tower should remain in its historic location, citing the fact that in 1991 Russia signed the International Convention of the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe in 1985. (http://www.theconstructivistproject.com)
With all the recent global attention focused on Russia, perhaps the campaign to save the Shabolovka Radio Tower will get wider attention. It is an engineering marvel that has withstood the test of time. Its importance in the Soviet-era cultural spectrum cannot be underestimated. It is indeed, Russia's Eiffel Tower.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.theconstructivistproject.com
http://shukov.org
http://shukov-sos.ru
https://www,facbook.com/groups/shukova
https://wwww.facebook.com/theconstructivistproject
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