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Thanks to the efforts of generations of restorers, today Moscow residents have a unique opportunity to keep the connection with the tangible substance of the past, coming into daily contact with ancient mansions and city estates, each of which hides the details of significant historical events and portraits of unique personalities associated with them. However, the up-to-date approach to the preservation of historical buildings and the environment has been developing for many decades and even centuries, because some time ago the testaments of the past were not as highly appreciated by contemporaries as they are today. Alexey Ochnev, Chief Architect of GlavUpDK under the MFA of Russia, told us about the current principles used by professionals when working with monuments of architecture, and the tasks that the involved specialists are solving today.
GlavUpDK manages more than 130 Moscow mansions, a huge asset portfolio of administrative and residential buildings in Moscow and other cities. What is your role in maintaining this infrastructure in an appropriate way?
The Office of the Chief Architect, which I head, works both with the existing GlavUpDK buildings and with new construction projects. We solve a wide range of tasks related to both architecture and interior design solutions, landscaping, and hardscaping. For example, we conduct a comprehensive analysis and, to some extent, monitor the condition of both historical and office buildings and residential real estate in Moscow, buildings belonging to GlavUpDK branches, such as Medincentre, recreation complexes such as Moscow Country Club in Nakhabino and Zavidovo in the Tver Region.
Our tasks also include participation in the development of the major construction, repair and restoration program of GlavUpDK facilities. We develop recommendations on repair, design solutions and furnishing of GlavUpDK facilities. In addition, we are preparing draft and conceptual solutions for new construction in Moscow and on the territories of GlavUpDK affiliates.
How has GlavUpDK collection consisting of unique Moscow mansions been formed and how has the fate of these buildings been developed?
GlavUpDK predecessor – Foreigner Service Bureau – was established in 1921. Since the Bureau’s tasks included providing premises, furniture and equipment to foreign diplomats that maintained relations with the RSFSR, and later with the USSR, a number of metropolitan mansions – the best preserved ones – were transferred to the Bureau for these purposes. In 1947, there were already 47 of them, including Igumnov House on Bolshaya Yakimanka, House of Fyodor Schechtel in Ermolaevsky Lane and other beautiful buildings. Gradually the collection was replenished; façades and interiors were preserved by generations of workers of the Bureau and embassies; the required repairs and, since the 1970s, full-fledged restorations were carried out. It was then that the heritage preservation legislation began to form and assume its modern appearance.
The difficulty was that for a long time mansions did not have any protection status or it was given if a big event was held in the building. This saved our mansions from destruction – their history was extremely rich in various historical events. Take, for example, Savva Morozov’s Mansion on Spiridonovka Street – both Lenin and Stalin were there during their working visits.
Of course, not all mansions run by GlavUpDK have such flawless history. In some buildings there were apartments and various institutions, and tenants did not even bother with the preservation of cultural heritage. But in the post-Soviet period, large-scale restorations began, where GlavUpDK invested a lot of effort and money.
You mentioned the formation of legislation regulating the operation and preservation of cultural heritage sites. And how has the school of Russian restoration been developing?
The history of the preservation of monuments can be traced back to the era of Peter the Great, and the foundations of this activity were laid at the beginning of the 20th century. Of course, the 1917 Russian Revolution suspended the development of this sphere, however, in the first Soviet years, enthusiastic architects and historians began incredibly difficult work to save and restore the disappearing architectural heritage, primarily medieval. Paradoxically, the Great Patriotic War and the destruction of a large number of monuments made a considerable breakthrough. Numerous workshops were created and generations of restorers were trained to restore lost masterpieces. Therefore, since the 1940s, the Soviet school of restoration has become one of the strongest in the world.
Subsequently, international charters and conventions were adopted, ratified by both the USSR and later by Russia, which proclaimed the basic principle – the primevalness and preservation of the preserved instead of restoration of the lost. So, in the 1990s, the restoration community was re-formed in our country, methods and literature on working with various restoration materials were updated. Later this activity developed even more. Of course, the driver of this movement was and is the capital – already in the late 1990s, the history of the Moscow Restoration contest began, which today is a collection of the best implemented projects, the quality and scope of which are growing every year.
Apparently, this period of the heyday of the Russian restoration school was the period when you made a professional choice?
Yes, indeed, I studied at the Ilya Glazunov Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in the 2000s – the Renaissance of the restoration of cultural heritage sites. By that time, the legislative framework had already been formed, business structures and the state were increasingly involved in working with historical monuments. However, I cannot say that my peers aspired to this profession – the specifics of this activity still require a certain worldview, a reverent attitude to various historical eras, as well as the history of architecture, including the one of our country, because otherwise the work will simply be uninteresting.
Restored buildings, especially this is clearly seen in the Italian school of restoration, allow you to learn the features of all historical periods that fell on their century. The fact is that our Italian colleagues preserve historical elements of different eras during the work, so architecture connoisseurs have the opportunity to see them in this or that building. By the way, a similar restoration technique was used by GlavUpDK during the work in the Mindovsky House on Povarskaya Street.
It is generally believed that the work of the restorer is far from creative, which is somewhat erroneous. A restorer needs to be flexible – we often have to face unexpected discoveries and difficulties during the work, and the planned project and the final result often differ significantly. For example, the discovered fragments of a panel that was once considered lost will require the correct reaction, including the involvement of these fragments in the final result. This is what we often encounter at GlavUpDK facilities: ceiling and wall paintings, built doorways, moldings hidden behind a suspended ceiling, painted gilding, modified planning structures. This is the challenge, but also the uniqueness of our work – we are always ready for incredible discoveries!
But beside that, when you participate in projects related to old mansions managed by GlavUpDK, you perforce plunge into their history. Take, for example, the idea of building the Pertsov House in Kursovoy Lane, which has actually become the prototype of a modern art cluster for people of art. It is impossible to remain indifferent after getting acquainted with the Ivan Morozov Mansion in Leontievsky Lane, where the German Embassy was located and from where on June 22, 1941, German Ambassador von Schulenburg left to take a note to the Kremlin declaring war to the Soviet Union.
Did you have a chance to work on interesting projects before you started working in GlavUpDK?
Yes, before I started working in GlavUpDK, I worked in the field of restoration for eight years. I took part in the restoration of the main house of the Rukavishnikov’s Estate in Nizhny Novgorod, which was worked on by architect Robert Kilevein, Pyotr Boytsov, and artist Foma Toropov. Today, this building accommodates Nizhny Novgorod Museum-Reserve, which is extremely popular among the numerous visitors of the city. This house has the most interesting texture both in terms of architecture – an impressive pompous façade and interiors, a remarkable low ground floor – and in terms of history. Using the example of how this mansion was changing its volumes and decorations during the renovation process, one can see how the state of the merchant family grew, as well as the trends of the capital architecture of the 19th century, transferred to the banks of the Volga.
I also was lucky enough to work on the restoration project of the Pskov Drama Theater named after A.S. Pushkin designed by architect Eduard Germeier, which today is considered the gem of Pskov and is a beautiful example of Art Nouveau architecture.
What historical period in architecture is the closest to you?
The same question was asked to me at the entrance selection to the Glazunov Academy, then my answer was Art Nouveau, but today I know that any period of architecture is amazing. Masters of their craft and real architectural geniuses worked in each of them!
Nevertheless, by the will of fate, you connected your career with GlavUpDK, which manages some of the most beautiful Art Nouveau buildings. Which of these buildings impresses you the most?
Yes, you are right, and I do not give up on my love for Art Nouveau. These buildings are incredibly interesting from the artistic point of view, but, at the same time, they are well thought out in terms of engineering and technical solutions.
I have special feelings about the Derozhinskaya’s Mansion in Kropotkinsky Lane, designed by Fyodor Schechtel. The theme of the hypertrophied large arched window, which is repeated in other projects of this architect, is most successfully reflected here. The transition of the human module to the pompous module is obvious – getting into the main hall of this house, a visitor feels the scale of the personality of the owner – one of the most influential and freedom–loving women of that time – Aleksandra Derozhinskaya. However, other interiors of the mansion also amaze with their novelty, extravagance of compositions, and virtuoso combination of various materials. The building is also interesting for its engineering work: for example, Schechtel used air heating and electric lighting, in one of the rooms there were lamps built into the ceiling, hot water supply, sewerage ... By the way, during the restoration, in the basement, elements of an English heating system that was no longer used by that time were found. Finally, Art Nouveau, as a style, was associated with the development of industry and technology. New opportunities opened up for architects – the same glazing of large volumes is the brightest example of this, the walls became thinner, and the architecture became airier. All these trends can be seen when you get acquainted with the building in Kropotkinsky Lane.
And how are things today with new technologies in architecture and restoration?
Oddly enough, the technology in terms of the production of works has not changed much over the last century. Except that it has become more difficult to find professionals who are able to reproduce unique decorative elements – exquisite stained glass windows, ceiling paintings, wallpaper with drawings.
There are, of course, new trends in terms of design and related work. For example, information design (ID), which allows you to build information models of buildings, which simplifies the work of both designers and builders – each element of the structure has certain properties. In addition, we have been using laser scanning of interiors and façades for a long time, which helps to create a digital twin of the building.
I believe that machine vision, VR and AI technologies will also have a significant impact on architectural design and restoration in the near future.
At the end of our conversation, I would like to ask you to give your recommendations for people who do not work with architecture professionally, how to learn to understand this amazing language that buildings with a long history speak to us?
Of course, I would advise you to pay attention to excursions, of which there are a great many today – in any large and not very large city, you can choose such an activity to your taste. Do not ignore the wonderful tradition – excursions that are held on the Days of Historical and Cultural Heritage – in April and May. Of course, it is important to discover the world of architecture with experienced art historians who have reliable and extensive expertise both about the stylistic features of buildings and about their history.
Finally, walk around the city, make short trips to other cities, comparing architecture, noticing the difference in approaches to the preservation of cultural heritage. Today, many mansions are being restored, including by GlavUpDK: large-scale works are underway in the House of Fyodor Schechtel in Ermolaevsky Lane, the mansion on Sadovaya–Samotechnaya Street (house 14, building 1) – we regularly speak about the progress of these works. I am sure that there are many worthy projects ahead of us. And those interested in getting acquainted with the capital’s architecture also may visit our website – Cultural Heritage Sites – where we, together with our colleagues, tell you about the history of buildings under the management of GlavUpDK.
