The Executive Committee discussed the projects of buildings in the territory of the historical settlement of Kazan

The Mayor of Kazan spoke critically about the imitation of the architecture of the XIX-XX centuries.

(KZN.RU, June 5, Alena Miroshnichenko). Projects of construction and reconstruction of architectural objects in the territory of the Kazan historical settlement were considered at the meeting of the working group. It was chaired by Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan. 5 out of 7 objects examined by the commission will be transferred for approval to the President of the RT.

During the meeting, the working group reviewed the facilities at Gladilov Street, №38a, Parizhskaya Kommuna Street, №16, Gogol Street, №8, Fedoseevskaya Street, №2, as well as the construction of a hotel on Narimanov Street, residential buildings on Kalinin Street and G, Tukay Street. Zhanna Belitskaya, the main artist of Kazan, noted that all the projects under consideration have passed the urban planning council and correspond to the established parameters.

Thus, they approved the reconstruction of the administrative building on Gladilov Street, №38a, at the meeting. Its appearance will completely change in accordance with the historical style. The hostel project on Parizhskaya Kommuna Street, №16, was approved. “The object fits well into the existing environment. All regulatory requirements and parameters are met, parking spaces are located on a private land plot, and a fire passage is also provided”, Zh. Belitskaya commented on the offer. Also, a positive decision was made on the hotel project on Narimanov Street. Earlier, 5 options of the new building were imposed on the urban-planning council.

The presented concept of building a plot on Kalinin Street was decided to be considered later in more detail. It is planned to build 7-10-storey houses with underground parking using natural materials: brick and wood. This object does not contradict the existing buildings, commented Zh. Belitskaya. Nevertheless, the Mayor of Kazan offered to send the project for revision. “I think that the object is too big for this street, we are overcrowding the center. Please show the transport load separately and we will consider this project next time”, I. Metshin rejected the offer.

Another project, the concept of building on Gabdulla Tukay Street, caused controversial opinions among the participants of the working meeting. The construction of three houses with a sloping roof and dormer windows is planned on Tukay Street. Zh. Belitskaya explained that the urban-planning council considered several versions of the project. “The latter has been improved in accordance with the comments and is close to the historical buildings”, she said.

Sergey Sanachin, the chief architect of the projects of the Kazan General Plan Development Center, spoke in favor of more modern solutions. He offered to move away from likening the new architecture to the old one. The Mayor of Kazan supported the position of the architect. “Most often we decide to repeat the architecture of the XIX-XX centuries, and not to build a modern one that would be combined with the past, as the whole world does”, he noted.

The author of the project on G. Tukay Street is Oleg Maklakov, an architect, the head of the project team for the development of the Sustainable Development Concept for the historical settlement of Kazan. He noted that in his work he was guided by the Concept. “This site has become a kind of testing ground for approaches. In my opinion, the main thing here is to clearly agree how we operate in this territory”, he said.

Oleg Maklakov has developed several versions of the project. In the first, the scale and type of building are observed, but all the elements of glass, roof, and “language of architecture” are a modern solution. “But there is an opinion that historical motives must be adhered to in this protected area, so I made another option”, he added. The President decided to submit both projects for consideration.

By the results of the meeting, 5 out of 7 sites reviewed by the commission will be submitted for approval to the President of the RT.

Olesya Baltusova, an assistant to the President of the RT, Svetlana Persova, the deputy chairperson of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Radik Shafigullin, the deputy head of the Executive Committee, Evgeny Varakin, the head of the Staff of the Executive Committee, Andrey Lobov, the head of the Vakhitovsky and Privolzhsky districts’ administration, Marat Usmanov, the prefect of the Territory “Stary Gorod”, Nail Galeev, the head of the Department of Urban Planning, Irina Dyabilkina, the head of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, and other specialists, as well as leading architects of the city took part in the work.