Home for military personnel and their families. Residential complex Kosterin Lane in Vladimir All the advantages of the location of the house

The idea of ​​creating an architecture museum was born in Russia at the end of the 19th century under the influence of increased interest in national heritage. Material accumulated by various institutions and museums in the 19th century. in the process of research and restoration of architectural monuments, needed generalization. A need arose for a scientific and educational center of a higher level and a new type - a museum of architecture. The museum was established on January 1, 1934, simultaneously with the establishment of the USSR Academy of Architecture, of which it was a division. The largest Russian specialists in the history and theory of architecture worked there. In 1935, the territory and buildings of the Donskoy Monastery were transferred to him. The main exhibition is located in the Great Cathedral. Inside the monastery walls, in the open air, artistic fragments of destroyed monuments were installed, rescued by the museum staff and becoming part of the collection. The object of the museum collection and display was declared to be world architecture from ancient times to the 19th century. The museum's holdings combined materials on Russian architecture, which made up the majority of the collection, with materials on European, Byzantine, and Middle Eastern architecture. There were even such exotic exhibits as model models of New Zealand huts and Indo-Chinese pile dwellings. The key subject of the show was the monastery buildings themselves and the preserved necropolis of the 18th-19th centuries.

The windows on the first floor are decorated in a slightly different manner. They are decorated with platbands with original keystones on which bearded male mascarons are sculpted. The upper floor is decorated with compositions of several thin sculptural pilasters, ending in the form of small leaves and flowers.

The cornice of the building is made with a large extension beyond the plane of the wall. Below it you can see another decorative element - a thin stucco architectural break that stretches along the entire facade. An elegant figured metal grille is installed above the cornice.

The appearance of the house, at first glance, is quite ordinary. Someone, quite possibly, will pass by indifferently without paying any attention to him. But for a person with a trained eye, accustomed to looking around and noticing details, it will become a real find, next to which it would be a sin not to stop and not examine everything in detail. This is what it is - the Moscow modernist style of former tenement buildings. It is not revealed to everyone and not immediately.

At different times, many famous personalities lived in the house, among them economic geographer Nikolai Baransky, Lenin and Stalin Prize laureate biologist Konstantin Scriabin, People's Artist and Theater Director Alexei Popov with his son Andrei, who followed in his father's footsteps and later also became a famous actor, director and teacher.

Currently, the building belongs to Elit-Holding CJSC and houses the Povarskaya Plaza business center.

2) Povarskaya street, house 24, building 1 - Mansion M.S. Saarbekova

Mansion M.S. Saarbekov on Povarskaya Street.

Previously, on the site of the mansion there was a small house that belonged to a certain elderly person V. M. Laukhina, the captain’s daughter. It was filmed by grandmother M.Yu. from 1828 to 1829. Lermontova - E. A. Arsenyeva - she lived here with her 14-year-old grandson, the future great poet, and his friend Davydov. It was in this house that Lermontov wrote his first poem “Indian Woman” and began publishing the handwritten magazine “Morning Dawn”. After P.P. Shan-Girey and his son Akim joined the residents, the small house became cramped, and Arsenyeva and her grandson moved to the neighboring house No. 26.

The modern mansion was built in 1899-1900 on the site of the demolished house of V.M. Laukhina. The customer for its construction was a merchant of the first guild, an honorary hereditary citizen, the owner of a chemical enterprise on the Vladimir highway, behind the Rogozhskaya outpost - Moisey Semenovich Saarbekov. He ordered the design of the mansion to be developed by the architectural bureau of Lev Nikolaevich Kekushev.

The initial plan of the house, submitted for approval to the Moscow City Government, was signed by the architect S.S. Shutsman, Kekushev’s closest assistant. It was probably Schutzman who developed it. However, the plan according to which the mansion was subsequently built differs from the original drawings and sketches. Apparently, the project was changed by Kekushev in the process of work, and the mansion acquired features so characteristic of the Kekushev style. It is generally accepted that the authorship of the final plan belongs to L.N. Kekushev, with the participation of S.S. Schutzman.

Completed in 1900, Saarbekov's house became the second mansion in the Art Nouveau style in Moscow. The first was O.A.'s mansion. Liszt, also built by Kekushev (we talked about him in our first modern article-excursion). If Liszt’s mansion was located on a spacious garden plot and was designed by the architect as a three-dimensional structure, then Saarbekov’s mansion was sandwiched between neighboring apartment buildings in a dense street development, and therefore did not provide the author with such wide spatial opportunities. However, Kekushev managed, with his characteristic imagination and attention to detail, to overcome the forced flatness and simplicity of the structure, creating an expressive plastic façade and excellently depicting the decoration in the Art Nouveau style.

Mansion M.S. Saarbekova. Atticus.

The wall of the building is lined with light cream ceramic tiles “boar”, which has become a kind of calling card of Moscow Art Nouveau. The relief of the monotonous plane of the facade is provided by the large sculptural frames of the windows, the entrance group and the arched opening, as well as the significant extension of the metal roof of the building, imitating a canopy. The asymmetry of the facade is emphasized in the silhouette by a high attic. It is decorated with miniature niches of complex shape, arched loophole windows and strongly projecting pilasters hanging from rectangular pylons, on which flowerpots may have previously stood.

Mansion M.S. Saarbekova. Arches of the entrance to the mansion (left) and the through passage to the courtyard (right).

The leading theme of the façade of the mansion, as in many other works of Kekushev, is the motif of the arch-niche. Clearly drawn, elastic arches can be found literally on every square meter of the facade plane. Deep window openings, the entrance to the house, the through passage to the courtyard, their complex sculptural frames, decorative niches - all of this, to one degree or another, repeats the contour of the arch.

Mansion M.S. Saarbekova. Windows on the first and second floors.

Mansion M.S. Saarbekova. Window above the arched passage into the courtyard.

All the relief decor seems to be merged into a single sculptural mass. Some details flow plastically into others. Decorative elements are mostly massive; they emphasize and enlarge individual parts of the mansion, which visually seems quite compact, especially in comparison with the apartment buildings rising on either side of it. This gives him respectability and solidity. Unfortunately, the original asymmetrical composition of the entrance opening has been lost. Today the entrance is closed with a regular wooden frame with symmetrical door panels. Previously, its arch was divided into three cells of different sizes and shapes: two windows and a doorway, separated by wide stone lintels, made in the same “fluid” features as the main architectural decor.

Mansion M.S. Saarbekova. Photo from the 1930s. The sculptural asymmetric composition of the entrance arch is still intact.

Mansion M.S. Saarbekova. Decorative design of the main window.

Mansion M.S. Saarbekova. Decorative column.

The decorative design of the main, largest window above the entrance is especially detailed. Its opening is flanked by small columns with very unusual capitals and bases, decorated with relief images of intricately curved leaves of some plants. The decor above the window is represented by a large, rounded pediment-shaped sandstone. In its tympanum there are niches of an unusual shape, reminiscent of images of either filled bags or glass jars. The vault of the pediment is very intricately loosened. The stucco molding here is so detailed and multi-layered that it looks more like stone carving. The window frame on the outside is decorated with a small order column - the same technique was used by Kekushev in the design of O.A.’s mansion. Liszt.

Mansion M.S. Saarbekova. Relief panel.

Another element of decorating the facade of the building is relief panels in the walls between the windows of the second floor. They are not immediately noticeable, because... they are made in almost the same shade as the wall cladding, but upon noticing, it is impossible not to be amazed at the subtlety and elegance of their elaboration: the lines of the design seem to be carved in stone. Numerous circles and arcs form a complex composition of geometric figures, the crosshairs of which are decorated with stars.

After the revolution of 1917, the mansion was nationalized and given over to house the Lithuanian Embassy. From 1922 to 1939, the extraordinary plenipotentiary ambassador of Lithuania to the USSR was the poet Jurgis Baltrusaitis, he lived and worked in this house, as is reminded by the memorial plaque installed on the facade in his honor. After Lithuania joined the USSR, a representative office of the Lithuanian SSR settled in the mansion. Today the building houses the Cultural Center of the Lithuanian Embassy “House of Jurgis Baltrusaitis”, the Lithuanian Tourism Information Center in Russia and representative offices of several Lithuanian companies. In 2009, the former mansion of M.S. Saarbekov is recognized as an object of regional significance and accepted under state protection.

3) Bolshaya Molchanovka Street, building 12, building 1 - Hospital of Dr. N. M. Kishkin.

Hospital of Dr. N.M. Kishkina on Bolshaya Molchanovka.

The four-story brick house on Bolshaya Molchanovka Street, 12, building 1 was built in 1910 by architect Karl Aleksandrovich Greinert for Dr. Nikolai Mikhailovich Kishkin.

K.A. Greinert was not one of the fashionable Moscow architects, which, however, did not prevent him from succeeding in design and construction and leaving the capital several interesting apartment buildings, mansions and buildings commissioned by various institutions.

N.M. Kishkin is a well-known physiotherapist in Moscow, founder and director of one of the first physiotherapy clinics in the capital. It was for his new clinic that he decided to build a building on Bolshaya Molchanovka at his own expense.

The construction plan involved combining two functions: an apartment building and a hospital. The first and second floors were allocated for electrical and hydrotherapy facilities, while the rest contained apartments. There were a total of eight apartments in the building.

Greinert completed the project in the style of late rationalist modernism. This was quite consistent with both the general trends of architecture of that time, which rethought and modified the fashionable and slightly pretentious style, and the functional purpose of the building.

Hospital N.M. Kishkina.

The composition of the facade is asymmetrical. The main entrance to the building is on the left. In order to rationally use the space, the main staircase is moved to the front of the building and, for better illumination, is decorated with a large bay window with large windows. At the level of the second floor, six smaller bay windows are located in a row along the entire length of the facade. Most likely, they were created for maximum illumination of the treatment rooms of the hospital. On the right side of the building there is an arched passage to the courtyard. In the center of the facade on the third and fourth floors there are balconies: with one and two exits.

Hospital N.M. Kishkina. Details of the main facade: bay windows, balconies, attic.

The bulk of the surfaces of the walls of the front facade are lined with matte ceramic tiles “hog” in a light brown shade. Unfortunately, despite the reconstruction of the building in the 1990s, the tiles are not in the best shape. Much of the ceramics has darkened and looks rather untidy. Part of the wall and small bay windows are smoothly plastered and painted yellow. Above the main entrance there is a decorative relief panel depicting a cartouche framed by leaves. On the bay windows of the second floor there are smaller panels, also with plant-themed drawings. The arched passage to the courtyard is closed with metal lattice gates.

Hospital N.M. Kishkina. Lattice arched entrance to the courtyard.

Hospital N.M. Kishkina. Photo from 1987. The building is still 4 stories high, with a small wooden extension on the roof. The extension was lost during reconstruction in the 1990s.

Initially the building was four stories high. On the roof, in the center, there was a small wooden extension, and symmetrical attics rose on the sides. In the 1990s, during reconstruction, the house was added with an attic floor. At the same time, the central attic with a large oval window is well made and the cornice above the other rectangular windows is decorated. But in general, the superstructure, due to its smooth plaster and lighter color of the walls, does not harmonize well with the appearance of the house.

Hospital N.M. Kishkina. A sculptural panel with a cartouche above the entrance to the building.

Created by Dr. N.M. Kishkin, the hospital became one of the few centers of physiotherapeutic practice in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. The physiotherapeutic direction of medical care to the population at the end of the 19th century and in the first decades of the 20th century developed almost exclusively through private investments and initiatives. And the merit of N.M. Kishkina is simply invaluable in the development of this field of medicine.

The fate of Doctor Kishkin himself is very difficult. In addition to medicine, he was seriously interested in politics, was one of the leaders of the Cadet Party and in 1917 became a commissar of the Provisional Government in Moscow. Life shook him up a lot: numerous arrests, trials, exile... His cadet past came back to haunt him more than once with the Bolsheviks coming to power. However, in the early 1920s, after the return of N.M. Kishkin to Moscow from exile, People's Commissar N.A. Semashko, knowing him as a specialist of the highest category, offered him a job in the resort department of the People's Commissariat of Health. Kishkin agreed and until his death in 1930 he worked in this field for the benefit of now Soviet medicine. He did not leave Russia, despite the opportunities available for this and the prospects for a much more prosperous life abroad. Nikolai Mikhailovich made a huge contribution to the development of the sanatorium and resort business and the mass physical education and health movement.

In the former building of the hospital N.M. Kishkin from the 40s to the 70s there was a children's clinic, from 1975-1977 there was a antenatal clinic. The residential part of the house was given over to communal apartments, and the small mezzanine was used as an artist’s studio. Today the building houses numerous corporate offices.

4) Bolshaya Molchanovka Street, building 15 - Apartment building V.A. Chizhova.

Apartment building V.A. Chizhova on Bolshaya Molchanovka.

This corner house on Bolshaya Molchanovka used to have one of its front facades overlooking Serebryany Lane, part of which, on this side of New Arbat, no longer exists. Now its rear façade faces New Arbat, from where the building looks completely faceless and dull. This misleads passers-by there, who have no idea that it may be of any architectural value. Meanwhile, the appearance of the house is very interesting and expressive. But this secret is revealed only to those who are lucky enough to wander from the noisy avenue to Bolshaya Molchanovka.

Apartment building V.A. Chizhova. Facade from Bolshaya Molchanovka. Design of the main entrance to the building and the main staircase.

The house was built as an income house in 1903 by the architect N. Semenov for V.A. Chizhova. Its overall composition is calm and balanced. The main entrance to the building is located from the facade, stretching along Bolshaya Molchanovka. The corner is emphasized by a rectangular, strongly protruding bay window of two floors. The silhouette is accentuated by three figured attics with oval attic windows rising above a strongly extended cornice.

Apartment building V.A. Chizhova. Facade from Bolshaya Molchanovka. Relief frieze with geese.

Modern decor gives the house a unique appearance. Its most original element is the relief frieze above the third floor windows. It depicts... geese walking in a swamp among flowering water lilies and reeds.

Apartment building V.A. Chizhova. Corner attic and balcony above the bay window.

The corner part of the house is also decorated with stucco: the exit to the balcony above the bay window is generously framed by vegetation, probably also swamp. And under the bay window, on its overhang, you can find a relief curl reserved for the most observant.

Apartment building V.A. Chizhova. Sculptural bay window brackets and a relief composition between them.

Noteworthy is the red ceramics interspersed with black and white tiles, contrasting with the green color of the walls. It stretched as a narrow ribbon along the entire front part of the house, under the cornice. Small ceramic panels are also used to decorate the snow-white blades in the walls between the windows of the second and third floors, marking the places where the façades have been braced.

House windows have different shapes and sizes. There are traditional rectangular windows, and large square ones, and arched ones, and oval ones, and even double ones. All of them are decorated with white sculptural platbands, repeating their silhouette. But the arched window, two stories high, illuminating the main staircase is especially beautiful. It has figured, typically modern bindings.

5) Trubnikovsky lane, house 24, building 1 - Apartment building S.N. Pavlova.

Apartment building S.N. Pavlova in Trubnikovsky Lane.

The apartment building was erected in 1905-1906 by architect Leonid Vasilyevich Stezhensky by order of S.N. Pavlova.

The building's layout is an absolutely ordinary building. And it would not attract any attention at all if not for the impressive façade facing Trubnikovsky Lane. The original geometric decor of the window frames in combination with traditional Art Nouveau wall cladding with ceramic tiles creates a very expressive and interesting image. And to fully appreciate what this apartment building could have been like if not for artistic decoration, just look at its side façade facing the courtyard. How good it is that at the beginning of the 20th century, Moscow homeowners thought not only about commercial benefits, but also about aesthetics, and built with taste.

During the construction of this apartment building, the architect sought to realize all available opportunities to give its facade dynamism, liveliness, and originality. He paid special attention to the development of texture, texture and color features of the external walls.

Apartment building S.N. Pavlova. Decorative elements: majolica panels (top), counter-relief sculptural images (bottom).

Apartment building S.N. Pavlova. Relief inserts on the facade.

The color scheme of the main facade is very pleasant, in a warm tone. The walls are lined with matte ceramic tiles “boar” in a reddish-brown hue, the stucco decoration is made in a calm yellow color. This color combination is successfully complemented by variegated majolica panels with green, red and yellow tiles.

Apartment building S.N. Pavlova. The central part of the facade: the entrance to the building and the windows of the main staircase.

Apartment building S.N. Pavlova. Atticus.

Apartment building S.N. Pavlova. Corner bay window.

The wall, stretching along Trubnikovsky Lane, is reinforced with the help of pilasters. They emphasize its boundaries and highlight the central part of the facade, which contains the entrance and window openings illuminating the main staircase. The cornice follows the pace set by the pilasters and also visually highlights the center of the facade, gracefully curving over the attic with an oval dormer window. The corner of the house is decorated with a massive rectangular bay window. Unfortunately, the previously existing dome above it has not been preserved. The domed completion of the bay window, of course, made the appearance of the building even more original and gave it a special charm.

Apartment building S.N. Pavlova. Facade plan, architect. L.V. Stezhensky.

Apartment building S.N. Pavlova. Types of sculptural decoration of windows on different floors.

Particular attention is paid to the decor of the window frames. With its help, the outlines of the usual rectangular window openings change, a complex geometry of lines appears that you want to observe, study and comprehend. Each floor has its own specific rhythm and graphics. On the ground floor, the windows below are decorated with complexly profiled pedestals, and on top - with tall sandals, similar to Romanesque curtains, hanging in folds over the windows. On the second floor, the window sill is decorated with complex octagons, and the window sill is decorated with slabs with small counter-relief images. On the third floor, the windows are decorated with wide hexagonal frames decorated with relief stucco. On the fourth - platbands with rounded ends. The windows of the upper floor are decorated with majolica panels above the windows and individual tiles below.

Apartment building S.N. Pavlova. Metal bars on the windows of the first and basement floors and the canopy above the entrance.

In a manner very characteristic of Art Nouveau, the figured frames of the large windows illuminating the main staircase are made.

Another touch is the openwork metal canopy above the entrance and bars on the windows of the first and basement floors.

Apartment building S.N. Pavlova. Thistle console supporting bay window.

Not without the symbolism inherent in modernity. The corner bay window is supported by a console decorated with a stucco image of a thorny thistle - one of the most beloved plants of Art Nouveau masters, a symbol of perseverance, independence and resistance to evil forces. Nemo me impune lacessit!

6) Novinsky Boulevard, building 18A - Apartment house F.N. Gobber

Apartment house F.N. Plevako on Novinsky Boulevard.

This five-story brick house is hidden deep in the courtyards of Novinsky Boulevard. It was built in 1905 by the Moscow architect of Polish origin Pyotr Karlovich Mikini, known to a greater extent for his other creation - the apartment building of the Trinity Church on Gryazekh on Chistoprudny Boulevard, or the “house with animals,” as it is often called.

The customer for the construction of an apartment building on Novinsky, 18A was the most famous lawyer in Moscow, Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako. Contemporaries called him the Moscow Chrysostom for his unsurpassed oratorical talent and ability to win over the jurors to himself and his clients. Plevako took part in the most high-profile trials, including political ones, often not only defending the poor in court for free, but also paying for their unforeseen expenses. The fame of the “Metropolitan of the Bar” was so great that letters addressed to him were simply signed: “Moscow. Fyodor Nikiforovich,” and the cab drivers, hearing “to Fyodor Nikiforovich,” immediately understood where to take the passenger.

The house is designed in the spirit of northern modernism, which is quite rare for Moscow. Its distinctive features are massive forms, freedom from small decorative decoration, natural shades and textures of the materials used.

When constructing apartment buildings, architects inevitably faced the problem of their increased (for that time) number of storeys and the uniformity of forms arising from utilitarianism, which had to be overcome by all possible compositional and decorative means. The Plevako apartment building in this case was no exception. And the architect coped with the task of creating a unique image of the building masterfully.

Apartment house F.N. Gobber. Risalit of the entrance, topped with a gable.

Apartment house F.N. Gobber. Tong.

Apartment house F.N. Gobber. Atticus.

The monotonous facade of the house is visually complicated with the help of protruding risalits, behind the walls of which the staircases of the entrances are hidden, and two verticals composed of balconies and, in their volumetric structure and design, reminiscent of bay windows. The silhouette of the building actively follows the tempo set by this arrangement. The risalits of the entrances are crowned with absolutely incredible gabled endings, similar to the roofs of fairy-tale towers. And the balcony verticals at the top are accented by complex-shaped attics, somewhat reminiscent of crowns. The profiled cornice along the entire house and the strong extension of the metal roof gables over the entrances contribute to the plasticity of the facade.

Apartment house F.N. Gobber. Sculptural console under the balcony, combined with the window casing, (left) and the entrance to the entrance (right).

The house is built of brick, and the architect preserved the natural texture of brickwork for the bulk of the walls. Some of the surfaces are covered with rough plaster with a textured “fur coat” finish, imitating the untreated surface of porous stone. To enhance the similarity with natural material, the walls of the house are painted gray-beige.

Apartment house F.N. Gobber. Elements of sculptural decor.

The sculptural decor of the building is noteworthy. First of all, these are huge consoles supporting the balconies. They are made in a very unique manner and have no analogues in Moscow. Each console seems to obscure part of the arched window located behind it, breaking it into two smaller lancet windows. At the same time, the massive window casing is combined with the console into a single sculptural composition. The next stucco decorative element is not so impressive in size, but no less interesting. This is a thin relief frieze that stretches along the entire facade at the level of the top floor. It depicts hugging human figures with arms intertwined and extended forward in an emotional outburst, and plant branches.

Apartment house F.N. Gobber. Majolica panel depicting swans and a peacock.

Apartment house F.N. Gobber. Majolica panel depicting a female figure.

But the greatest artistic interest, of course, is the picturesque majolica panels decorating the building. They were made at the Abramtsevo pottery workshop and presented to Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako personally by Savva Mamontov. Plevako at the request of the patron’s friends - artists V.D. Polenov, V.I. Surikov, V.M. Vasnetsov and others - defended him in court in a case of financial fraud. Despite the fact that from a formal point of view, Mamontov’s financial transactions were illegal, the lawyer was able to prove that his client, although he committed embezzlement, did not have selfish motives. The court acquitted Mamontov, and he, as a gesture of gratitude, presented Fyodor Nikiforovich with majolica panels from his ceramic factory to decorate the house under construction.

The largest panels decorate the gables above the entrances. They are made in blue shades and do not have a clear pattern. Smaller panels are enclosed in niches above the balconies; they are made of purple-lilac relief tiles. One depicts swans swimming up to a peacock standing on the shore of a pond, hidden in the thicket of an orchard. Another is a female figure framed by flowers. Another type of ceramic inserts can be seen under the upper windows of the entrances. They have beautiful relief curls and curves.

Among the stucco reliefs and ceramic panels of the Plevako house there are works by M.A. Vrubel, who, as is known, worked in the Abramtsevo workshop. His author's handwriting is easily discernible in the bas-relief with hugging figures and in the panel with swans and a female portrait.

7) Povarskaya street, house 44 - Mansion I.A. Mindovsky.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky on Povarskaya Street.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. View from Skaryatinsky Lane.

The mansion, striking in its luxury, was built in 1903-1904 by the famous architect Lev Nikolaevich Kekushev by order of the Moscow Trade and Construction Joint Stock Company. This house-building enterprise was founded by Yakov Andreevich Rekk and specialized in the construction of expensive mansions-villas in prestigious areas of Moscow for the purpose of their subsequent sale to wealthy clients. The same company was the developer of the mansions of M.F., already known to us from our first modern walk. Yakunchikova and K.A. Gutheil in Prechistensky Lane. The mansion that we see in front of us was also built as part of the ambitious project of Y.A. Recca.

Among the buildings of L.N. Kekushev this house occupies a special place. The appearance of the building lacks any eclectic elements inherent to one degree or another in the architect’s earlier works. This mansion is an example of purity of style. Thanks largely to this, he gained great popularity among architecture connoisseurs and literally became a textbook example of Moscow Art Nouveau.

The mansion occupies the corner of the block between Povarskaya Street and Skaryatinsky Lane. The spatial composition of the house is made up of several intersecting volumes. Such a free layout made it possible to achieve maximum functionality and comfort of the premises inside the building, and to impart versatility, asymmetry, and picturesque freedom to the external appearance of the building.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. Sculptural panel with putti figures.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. Balcony.

The facades of the mansion are interpreted in different ways. The main accent of the facade facing Povarskaya is a large three-part window with access to the balcony. In the silhouette of the house, this leading element is emphasized by a rounded attic, and in the spatial organization of the facade - by the protrusion of the risalit. Three sections of the window are united by an arched archivolt, above which there is an interesting sculptural group, covered with a strongly protruding bend of the cornice. It depicts figures of naked putti. One of them is playing the pipe, another is reading a book, the third is studying a map and globe, the fourth is standing with a compass over some scroll, the fifth is working with tools - a hammer and a chisel. These boys, each busy with their own business, are allegories of science, crafts and art.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. Photography from the early 20th century. On the roof you can see the subsequently lost statue of the goddess Aurora.

Once upon a time, a statue of the goddess Aurora, scattering flower petals, towered over the canopy of the attic; two little boys played at her feet, one of whom blew soap bubbles. The symbolism is just like Nicolas Poussin’s in his painting “Dance to the Music of Time.” Aurora - the goddess of dawn - personifies well-being and joy, the flowers scattered by her represent abundance and beauty. Bubbles blown by a baby are a sign of the transience of life. The boys themselves are symbols of love, affection, kindness and serenity. Unfortunately, the statue was lost during the Great Patriotic War and was subsequently not restored during the restoration process.

The lusciously decorated balcony attracts attention. Its fence is decorated with intricately curving leaves and bunches of ripe poppy boxes. The balcony is supported by four sculptural brackets that seem to flow down to the window frames.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. "Lantern" is a room for a winter garden.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. Decorative details: a figured console supporting one of the bay windows,(left) and clerestory windows with some original etched glass remaining (right).

From the southern corner of the mansion, a semicircular volume is highlighted by the so-called. “lantern” is a room that once housed a small winter garden. Its windows face south and have floor-to-ceiling glazing to maximize daylight. The glass of these windows was unique: they were acid etched with an Art Nouveau pattern. Presumably, they were produced by the company "Trading House M. Frank and Son", which, among other things, was engaged in artistic work on glass using the technique of painting and etching. Unfortunately, most of the etched glass was also lost during the war, with only a few fragments of the original glazing surviving to this day.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. Bay window.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. Mascaron above the dormer window of the bay window.

The façade from Skaryatinsky Lane is cut through by an even rhythm of windows. The dynamism of its plasticity is given by two side bay windows and the expressive curves of the canopy-cornice above them. One of the bay windows is crowned by a rounded attic with an oval dormer window cut into it. It is richly decorated with molded chestnut leaves and curls energetically bending at right angles and decorated in the castle with an expressive female mascaron with an unusual headdress, combined with a spreading floral plume similar to a crown. The second bay window, although it resembles its neighbor on the facade in outline, still has a slightly different shape. Its completion is also different - it is a flat attic flanked by two pylons. On this bay window you can also see a female mascaron, although it is smaller in size and its eyes are half-closed. It is located in the keystone of the middle window. Both bay windows are supported by “fluid” figured consoles in the spirit of those on which the balcony rests.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. Details of the sculptural decoration of the facade along Skaryatinsky Lane (left) and the courtyard facade (right).

The façade wall along the alley has a very complex topography. It shows some kind of clever overlay of several planes on top of each other, becoming more complex from the bottom floor to the top. It seems that at the level of the second floor, the windows, together with their frames, are recessed into the wall, under the planes of the window sill and piers. This overlapping of planes not only creates a unique plasticity, but also at the same time forms a unique decor. The platbands are decorated with molded elements, which are a cross between cartouches and keystones, strongly elongated, as if flowing from top to bottom. The capitals of the pilasters formed by the projections of the piers are decorated with orthogonal curls and vegetation. A relief medallion is placed at the sill of each window. The windows on the first floor are decorated more modestly - with relief garlands.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. Entrance gate and entrance to the mansion.

The rear facade of the house opens onto a small courtyard with stables, now converted into a garage. The mansion has one interesting feature - the main entrance to it is located right here, from the utility yard. This entrance location provided exceptional privacy for future owners. However, the architect clearly foresaw the possibility of equipping another entrance - from the side of the alley - there he placed a wide arched window, which, if desired, could easily be converted into a doorway.

On the rear facade there is another option for drawing the silhouette of the building and the plasticity of the walls. Here the main dominant feature is a protruding projection with a large arched window, behind which the flights of stairs leading to the second floor are hidden. The risalit ends at the top with a rounded attic, in general terms repeating the curves of the cornices of the front facades of the mansion. But the leading role in creating dynamics is played not by it, but by the large figured canopy located underneath it, resting on the capitals of the pilasters. Under its arch there is a stylized knight's coat of arms with a helmet with a lowered visor. In the keystone of an arched stained glass window is a female mascaron with her eyes closed.

The images of women's masks also included some imagery and mysterious signs. One of them with open eyes represents day, the radiance of the sun. The other is half-covered, symbolizing twilight and sunset. And the third - with closed ones, marks night, sleep. And her peace is guarded by a valiant knight.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. Entrance gate and garage (former stables).

The architect conceived courtyard stables in conjunction with the mansion. Absolutely utilitarian, it would seem, an outbuilding was made by him with such taste that it is in no way inferior in its artistic properties to the house. The roof of the stables is formed by a cylindrical vault with strippings. The arched ends of the ceilings have expressive semicircular windows with figured sashes. Each of the cylindrical volumes of the roof is emphasized by a low rounded attic and a graceful curve of the canopy. One of the entrances to the stable is decorated with a sculpture of a horse's head.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. Fence.

The yard fence also deserves special attention. The curves of its forged metal grilles are graceful and inventive. The closed gate leaves form a pattern similar to the wings of a butterfly. This airy and bright image was often used by Art Nouveau masters as an expression of the lightness and joy of life, hope and rebirth. The gate pylons are topped with original lamps - firefly beetles; they, like small beacons, show the traveler the way to the house in the darkness.

Mansion I.A. Mindovsky. Atticus, whose pylon was previously decorated with the “trademark” of L.N. Kekusheva - lion mask (its outline can be seen in the black and white photograph above).

Well acquainted with the work of L.N. Kekushev will certainly try to find an image of a lion somewhere among the decor of his buildings. The architect almost always left it as his autograph. And in the decoration of the mansion earlier, indeed, there was a lion. His mask was displayed on one of the faces of the attic pylon facing Povarskaya Street. The author’s “signature” was lost over time, and during the restoration process, a garland similar to those that decorate the other faces of the pylons was placed in its place. But the lions were preserved in the interior of the building. Their bronze masks can be seen on the railing of the main staircase.

According to the idea of ​​the founder of the trade and construction company Y.A. Recca, the mansions built by his company were supposed to attract attention not only with their external appearance, but also with the luxury of their interior decoration. Taking into account the fact that the house on Povarskaya was built in conditions of uncertainty of the tastes of the future owner, the ensemble of its interiors was deliberately designed in various styles in order to satisfy all possible preferences of the potential buyer. Which, by the way, was looked for for quite a long time. And all this time the mansion was registered in the name of the head of the society, Y.A. Rekka, which is why in many sources it is referred to as the house of Rekka.

Only in 1909, the mansion was acquired by the wealthy textile manufacturer Ivan Alekseevich Mindovsky, one of the co-owners of the Volzhskaya and Dolmatovskaya manufactory partnerships. After his death in 1912, the house was inherited by his four children - Iraida, Olga, Ivan and Nikolai. The Mindovsky clan was very rich; they owned several mansions in Moscow. It is possible that the house on Povarskaya was used for residence by one of the heirs or their children. But the friendly Mindovskys did not legally delineate their rights to own it before the revolution. After 1917, all their property was nationalized. The house on Povarskaya was transferred for public needs. According to some information, it was equipped with a typhus hospital, according to others - a workers' club. In 1924, the Swedish mission was located in the former Mindovsky mansion, later the Swedish Embassy in the USSR. From 1973 to the present day, the house has been occupied by the New Zealand Embassy.

In the 1990s, on the initiative of New Zealand diplomats, a large-scale restoration of the building was carried out. It was completed according to a project developed by the experienced architect-restorer B.G. Moginov. For the successfully completed work, the New Zealand Embassy was awarded an honorary prize from the Moscow Government “For Respect for Russian Culture.”

8) Khlebny Lane, building 26 - House built in 1904

House number 26 in Khlebny Lane.

House No. 26 in Khlebny Lane was erected in 1904 by architect Konstantin Fedorovich Burov. History is silent about the owner of the house. As for K.F. Burov, he was a fairly well-known architect in Moscow, engaged in the design and construction of both residential and public buildings, among which there were works in the Art Nouveau style. We are already familiar with this architect from the extension to the apartment building of the brothers A.F. and N.F. Bocharov on Gogolevsky Boulevard, which he carried out in 1906 and which we mentioned in the first excursion.

Initially the house was two-story. In 1947, it was built on 2 more floors and equipped with an elevator, the shaft of which was attached to the end of the building. Surprisingly for the post-war period, the additional floors were decorated in the spirit of the original appearance of the house, referring to the theme set by K.F. Burov. Perhaps such attention to architectural details and technical equipment of the house was due to the fact that it was being prepared for the residence of senior military officials. Among the residents of the house are Marshal of the Soviet Union V.D. Sokolovsky and Marshal of Signal Corps I.T. Peresypkin. Or maybe the preservation and reconstruction of the historical features of the building is associated with the patronage of the son of Konstantin Fedorovich Burov - Andrei Konstantinovich. He, like his father, became an architect, and during the Soviet period he was in great demand and authority. A.K. Burov was seriously involved in decorative issues and the development of innovative techniques for flow-industrial construction. So the son, who was partial to decorative paraphernalia in general and his father’s work in particular, could well have had some influence on the fate of the house. Be that as it may, the appearance of the house turned out to be very harmonious and attractive.

House number 26 in Khlebny Lane. Facade.

The façade of the building is asymmetrical. The main entrance is located on the right side and is represented by two doorways. A rectangular bay window of three floors hangs over the entrance. On the left side of the facade, a small risalit protrudes from the plane of the wall, decorated in the same manner as the bay window. It balances the composition a little. The projections of the risalit and bay window in the silhouette are emphasized by attics with complexly profiled cornices and rounded pediments. On the end wall of the house, behind a strongly protruding projection, an elevator shaft is hidden. Since this end faces the courtyard, the architect who completed the extension of the shaft considered it necessary to decorate the risalit hiding it in features similar to the front facade.

House number 26 in Khlebny Lane. Entrance.

House number 26 in Khlebny Lane. Lioness.

The most remarkable elements of the building's architectural decor are, of course, the sculptural bay window consoles with lion sculptures and the relief panel above the entrance. Interestingly, the consoles depict not lions, so beloved by architects, but lionesses. Apparently, this is how K.F. Burov expressed his position regarding gender equality. On the stucco panel above the entrance we can see a whole carpet of leaves and fruits of chestnut - one of the most popular plants of the Art Nouveau style.

As for color schemes, three colors are used in the design of the building. This is a light gray-beige shade of the main area of ​​the walls, reddish-brown to give contrast and emphasize the texture, and a bluish-gray shade of wormwood - the color of the stucco. There are also three options for wall texture: smooth plaster, rustication and brickwork. This combination of colors and textures allows you to diversify the uniformity of the facade plane, place accents and generally create a harmonious and pleasing image.

House number 26 in Khlebny Lane. Decoration of windows on the first and second floors.

House number 26 in Khlebny Lane. Decoration of windows on the third and fourth floors. Balconies.

The decoration of the walls, their color and stucco decoration are individual on each floor. On the first one, the walls are striped with rustication in a classic manner and painted in a basic light shade. This way the floor looks more solid, like a basement base. The rectangular windows are slightly recessed into the wall and decorated with rounded platbands, the keystones of which contain pretty female mascarons, and the bases contain small rosettes. The risalit window is framed by a rectangular frame with a relief pattern of chestnut leaves and fruits, consistent with the pattern of the panel above the entrance.

On the second floor, some of the walls are smoothly plastered, and some are exposed brickwork, the texture of which is emphasized by painting it the color of light brick. The arched windows of the risalit and bay window are decorated with window sill stucco panels depicting cartouches framed by flowers and bell shoots. The remaining windows, also arched, are set in high frames with wavy pediments. In the tympanums of the pediments there are relief compositions from cartouches in the spirit of those placed in the window sill panels of the bay window and risalit, and individual flowers. In the spaces between the windows there is a relief chestnut frieze.

House number 26 in Khlebny Lane. Elements of sculptural decor.

The third floor also combines smooth plaster and brickwork. A platband with a wavy pediment “moved” onto the risalit window from below, but it was decorated differently, in keeping with the general theme of the floor. At this level of the facade there are also window sill panels; they depict wreaths made of grass shoots. The same plot is in the tympanum of the pediment. In addition, the third floor is decorated with a relief draft and a frieze that stretches between the windows.

House number 26 in Khlebny Lane. Elements of sculptural decor: a panel with a chestnut tree (left) and a female mascaron in a keystone (right).

The walls of the upper floor are completely smooth and painted in the main color. Visually, this creates the effect of lightness and airiness. Thus, due to the use of different shades and textures in the decoration, the weight of the building is gradually reduced, from the solid base to the roof of the house. The decor of the fourth floor includes window sill panels with wreaths of herbs and a relief frieze connecting the windows, also with plant motifs. The bay window ending here is topped with a large pediment. It features a sculptural cartouche with garlands. Under the pediment there are small panels in square frames.

House number 26 in Khlebny Lane. Decoration of the bay window pediment.

On the upper floors, the rhythm of window openings is cut through by two pairs of small balconies with openwork metal railings. Artistic forging and casting are also favorite techniques in Art Nouveau. The fence around the house is also made of metal and repeats the pattern of the balcony grilles.

In general, it is worth noting once again that in the appearance of this house everything is very harmonious and harmonious.

In the 1990s, during reconstruction, the building was added with another floor - an attic. It cannot be said that in this case the architects were as humane as their predecessors, but, in any case, the added “glass” did not greatly disfigure the appearance of the building.

9) Khlebny Lane, building 18 - Mansion S.U. Solovyova.

Mansion S.U. Solovyov in Khlebny Lane.

This mansion, built in 1901-1902 by the architect Sergei Ustinovich Solovyov for himself, is quite rightly ranked among the most interesting examples of Moscow Art Nouveau. The extraordinary building is a clear reflection of Art Nouveau’s inherent desire for stylization. If eclecticism, for example, simply imitates the architectural motifs of another time, without active attempts to transform it into something new, then modernity is characterized by much greater freedom of creativity. For him, borrowing from the past and other stylistic trends is certainly a metamorphosis and association. So in Solovyov’s mansion, the influence of medieval Gothic, Renaissance and other styles can be seen, but it is rethought, and seemingly familiar ideas are expressed in a completely new context.

Mansion S.U. Solovyov view from Maly Rzhevsky Lane.

The building occupies a site at the intersection of Maly Rzhevsky and Khlebny lanes. Its spatial composition is composed of two volumes adjacent to each other. The appearance of the higher corner part of the house with a triangular gable directed upward is very reminiscent of the urban buildings of Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The lower part of the mansion, where the entrance is located, has features similar to Italian Renaissance palazzos.

Belonging to Art Nouveau can be seen in the variety of materials used, a wide range of textures, shades and the principle of their combination. The architect used a technique characteristic of the style to visually lighten the decorative mass from bottom to top in cladding the walls of the building. The base of the mansion is decorated with large blocks of dark gray stone, the middle part of the walls is mainly covered with light brown ceramic “hog” tiles, the top of the building is smoothly plastered and painted in a light beige shade.

The architect also used such unconditional attributes of style as a variety of architectural, ceramic, sculptural decor, as well as artistic metal forging. In modernity, everything is imbued with a love of individuality, originality, and detail, hence the choice in favor of handicrafts, handicrafts, made in a single copy and to order.

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. Main window.

The elevated corner volume of the building from Maly Rzhevsky Lane looks the most impressive. A large three-part window illuminating the living room is decorated on top with sandrik with curls - volutes. In the window sill there is an inclined sculptural shelf, which simultaneously serves as a pedestal for the window and a canopy for the ceramic panel.

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. Ceramic panel under the main window.

The relief tiles from which the panel is made have a complex, heterogeneous bluish-violet hue and form an exquisite ornamental pattern. By the way, all the ceramic elements decorating the mansion were made at the Abramtsevo plant. Narrow window openings, like loopholes, are cut into the gable. They emphasize the similarities with medieval buildings.

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. Decoration of the facade along Khlebny Lane.

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. Ceramic panels with images of girls.

The façade facing Khlebny Lane is decorated very interestingly. Here, above the large window on the first floor, where the owner’s office was located, there is an original composition of four semicircular ceramic panels united by a sculptural casing. The girls depicted on them are allegories of architecture, painting, sculpture and music. It is believed that the author of the panel was the artist M.V. Yakunchikova.

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. Relief image of a woman with an owl.

The curves of the casing framing the ceramic inserts are topped with an unusual relief of a winged woman in a helmet with an owl sitting on it. Art historians interpret this sculpture as an image of Pallas Athena, the goddess who patronized knowledge, wisdom, arts and crafts. However, looking at her webbed wings, like those of bats, at the scattering of intoxicating and soporific poppy flowers behind her, another association is born - a mystical one. Perhaps we have before us a succubus - a demonic temptress who appears in voluptuous dreams of young men, bewitching them and seeking to gain power over their feelings, thoughts and body. And the owl on the maiden’s head may indicate that its owner is none other than Lilith herself, the ruler of the succubi. This demon queen of midnight is often depicted by artists with an owl, and her name is translated from Semitic languages ​​as "tawny owl", a bird from the owl family. This interpretation of the image is also supported by other decorative details of the mansion, in the features of which one can trace the motif of night, mystery and demonism. Be that as it may, the architect used very vivid images when decorating the house and provided connoisseurs with wide space for imagination.

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. Majolica panel with a view of ancient ruins in the night.

Between the windows of the second floor there is an expressive majolica panel with a night view of ancient ruins. This plot is strikingly similar to the watercolor by M.A. Vrubel "Rome" Forum at night." Perhaps the artist was involved in the creation of the panel, although there is no exact evidence of this.

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. Facade of the reduced volume of the building in which the entrance is located.

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. Ceramic tondo with Roman numerals.

The smaller part of the mansion, in which the entrance is located, is characterized by asymmetry and a variety of window openings. There are arched windows, rectangular windows, double windows, and loophole windows. The cornice above this part of the building is very far beyond the plane of the facade. It is supported by figured forged brackets, the pattern of which is similar to the branches of a vine creeping along the walls. Under the cornice are original majolica tondos with numbers surrounded by flowers. They encrypt the dates of construction of the mansion. On the facade facing the courtyard and on the corner of the building there are Arabic numerals 1901 - the year the work began. On the facade along Maly Rzhevsky there are Roman numerals MDCCCCII, meaning 1902 - the year of completion of construction. By the way, the artist made a mistake in Roman numerals: according to the rules, the number C when writing large numbers can be repeated no more than three times, so the number 1902 should look different - MCMII. But we will forgive the author for this small inaccuracy.

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. Forged decorative details.

On the side of the mansion you can see a small balcony overlooking the courtyard. Its railings are made of forged metal, bending in a repeating pattern. The courtyard fence and entrance gate are also forged and have pointed figured tops, attractive, but at the same time dangerous, warning against attempts to storm. Some of the windows are hidden behind massive wrought iron bars, which also protect the house from uninvited guests.

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. A lion.

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. Chimera.

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. Bat over the mailbox.

Grates are not the only safety feature. The mansion has a very intimidating security guard. One of its representatives is a warlike roaring lion at the very entrance, the other is a chimera with a grinning dog’s muzzle and ram’s horns, lurking above the first floor window. And even the home owner's correspondence is under supervision: a bat opened its wings over the crack of the mailbox. There is no doubt - the secret of the owner's correspondence will be preserved!

Mansion S.U. Solovyova. Owl with owlets.

But this is not all the inhabitants of the facades. The corners of the increased volume of the building are formed by thin stone columns. And at their bases nestled owls with their owlets. The reliefs of a lion and owls were masterfully made from natural stone by sculptor N.A. Andreev.

Architect S.U. Soloviev lived in his mansion until 1912. From 1912 to 1917, the house was occupied by the famous graphic artist and illustrator P.Ya. Pavlinov. After the revolution, the nationalized building was given over to house embassies and diplomatic missions. Before the rupture of diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia in 2008, the Georgian embassy was located here, but now the building houses the Georgian Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy.

The former mansion of S.W. Solovyova is one of the contenders for the title of the house of Margarita, the heroine of the legendary novel by M.A. Bulgakov. Some literary scholars believe that the writer, in the image of Margarita’s house, connected two mansions - S.U. Solovyov and I.I. Nekrasov, located opposite. This is how he came up with a beautiful Gothic mansion in an alley near Arbat, with a three-leaf window in the clerestory and a separate garden.

The house is also associated with the famous film “Seventeen Moments of Spring”. It housed a Gestapo safe house, where the Nazis held radio operator Kat and from where she safely escaped. In the eighth episode of the film, Stirlitz, who was the curator of the operation to expose Kat, comes to this house to visit the radio operators to find out how things are going and at the same time drink coffee (although he is offered trophy tea instead).

10) Bear Lane, building 2 - Mansion As.A. Tarasova.

Mansion As.A. Tarasova in Medvezhy Lane.

The mansion on the corner of Medvezhy and Skatertny lanes was built in 1905 and belonged to Aslan Aleksandrovich Tarasov, a representative of the famous Armenian clan of merchants Tarasov.

The founder of the Tarasov family business of trading in manufactured goods and fabrics is considered to be the grandfather of the owner of this mansion, also Aslan. They say that his last name originally sounded like Tarasyan, but later it was “Russified.” A similar story happened with the name: “Aslan”, in the process of Russification, was transformed into “Afanasy” (therefore, the children of Aslan Sr. appear in many sources under different patronymics - somewhere as Aslanovichi, somewhere as Afanasyevich). The commercial enterprise, which began with a small shop in Armavir, eventually grew into an impressive company, the Tarasov Brothers Manufactory Partnership, with representative offices in several Russian cities. Three of the five sons of Aslan Sr. moved to live in Moscow, where the Board of Directors of their company settled on Staraya Square in the building of the Boyarsky Court by the beginning of the 20th century. The Tarasov brothers enjoyed significant influence in the business environment in the capital and owned expensive real estate in the most prestigious areas of the city. Their name was on a par with such famous entrepreneurs as the Ryabushinskys and Morozovs. Aslan Alexandrovich, the grandson of Aslan Sr., also lived in Moscow and was a representative of the family trading business.

The question of the authorship of the building remains unclear. The initial design of the house in an eclectic style was carried out by Sergei Konstantinovich Rodionov, a very famous and prolific architect. But the construction was carried out according to a different project, in the spirit of early Moscow Art Nouveau. The construction drawing was submitted for approval to the City Government signed by a certain V.P. Vopilov, an architectural technician who was not a graduate of MUZHVZ and was subsequently not mentioned among Moscow architects. Presumably, V.P. Vopilov was Rodionov's assistant. He either simply made a copy of Sergei Konstantinovich’s author’s project, which has not reached us, to send to the council, or he carried out the design work under his leadership.

Mansion As.A. Tarasova. The angular faceted volume is the main element of the mansion’s composition.

The main element of the composition of this small two-story mansion is a angular faceted volume reminiscent of a tower. It is adjacent to the side wings, one of which faces Skatertny Lane, the other - to Medvezhiy. The calm rhythm of the windows is reminiscent, rather, of the principles of façade organization that are traditional for the Empire style, rather than Art Nouveau. Externally, the house looks rather squat, solid and even patriarchal. But these features, perhaps, give it a special charm and originality. And the bright, rich sculptural decor, going back to the motifs of French Art Nouveau, certainly testifies to the modernity of the building and its compliance with fashion trends of the early 20th century.

The edges of the tower volume create the basis for the light and shadow arrangement of the façade surfaces. The architectural elements used in the design of the corner part of the mansion are repeated in various combinations on the facades of the wings.

Mansion As.A. Tarasova. Window decor on Skatertny Lane.

Mansion As.A. Tarasova. Window decor on Bear Lane.

It is noteworthy that the stucco decoration of the building intensifies from bottom to top. On the first floor it is almost absent, but the second floor is lavishly decorated, and the bulk of the stucco molding is concentrated under the canopy of the house. Such stucco abundance in the upper part of the facade is in complete harmony with the thick figured pylons on the roof. It feels as if the mansion is crowned with a luxurious crown.

Mansion As.A. Tarasova. Complexly profiled pilaster decorated with curls.

Mansion As.A. Tarasova. Entrance.

Complexly profiled pilasters, cornices, window frames, numerous graceful curls - all these details are carefully worked out and masterfully executed. The original balcony railings and metal gratings located on the roof between the pylons and in the window openings of the semi-basement floor have not been preserved. Some of the metal decor has been replaced with a new, more primitive one, while some has been lost forever. It’s a pity, because he played a significant decorative role. Today, only photographs of past years and surviving design drawings speak of the former beauty and grace of typically modern designs of metal elements. It is worth noting that the appearance of the house is now much more modest than it was before.

In 1911, the owner of the mansion, Aslan Tarasov, had a son, Lev (Leon). There is information that it happened here, in this house. Leo was destined to become a famous writer and historian, although not Russian, but French. After the Bolshevik coup, Aslan Alexandrovich and his family emigrated to France. And the former Russian-Armenian Lev Tarasov, who by the will of fate turned into a Frenchman, began his literary career in Paris under the name Henri Troyat. During his 95-year life, he wrote more than a hundred works, almost half of which are dedicated to Russia.

11) Skatertny Lane, building 4 - Mansion Al. A. Tarasova.

Mansion A.A. Tarasova in Skatertny Lane.

The building adjacent to the mansion of Aslan Aleksandrovich Tarasov was built in 1907 by order of his father, Alexander Aslanovich (Afanasyevich) Tarasov. In appearance, it rather resembles an apartment building, but it is also a mansion, built for personal residence.

The house was built according to the design of the architect Mikhail Georgievich Geisler in the spirit of mixing two styles - modern and neoclassical. This style combination fully reflects the change in architectural preferences of Moscow developers in the period from 1905 to 1910.

Mansion A.A. Tarasova. Decor details: sculptural bay window brackets (top left), palmette (bottom left), figured pylon of the entrance gate (right).

Mansion A.A. Tarasova. Ground floor plan, architect. M.G. Geisler.

The volumetric-spatial composition of the house is traditional for Art Nouveau. Everything in it is subject to the requirements of functionality and comfort. The extension of the rear side volume with an arch in the first floor was very unusual. Moreover, the arch was a circular passage leading to the backyard. Today, this non-trivial planning technique can only be assessed from the surviving drawings of the building, because the arch is built up, and the entrance to the courtyard is organized through the gate of the neighboring mansion, from Medvezhiy Lane. And only the preserved figured pylon of the gate reminds of the existence of the entrance from Skatertny Lane.

Mansion A.A. Tarasova. Corner bay window (left) and entrance to the mansion (right).

Mansion A.A. Tarasova. Balcony and majolica panel above it.

The façade of the building is partially covered with the ceramic “hog”, beloved by Art Nouveau architects. With its help, the places of bracing are highlighted: it covers the projections of the pilasters and the corner bay window. The center of the façade is offset relative to its middle and is accentuated by a protruding cornice, a pretty elliptical-shaped balcony and a majolica panel above it in a beautiful dark blue color. Another unconditional attribute of Art Nouveau is the openwork metal grilles decorating the main balcony and the French balcony above the entrance to the mansion. These are, perhaps, all the elements of the Art Nouveau style.

The remaining decorative details - cartouches with garlands, palmettes above the entrance, brackets, interfloor draft with meander patterns, rustication of the lower floor and window frames - are echoes of ancient architecture, typical of the language of neoclassicism.

12) Merzlyakovsky lane, house 20, building 1 - Apartment building F.A. Alexandrova

Apartment building F.A. Alexandrova in Merzlyakovsky Lane.

This house, originally three-story, was built in 1902 by the architect Anatoly Aleksandrovich Ostrogradsky for doctor of medicine, private associate professor at Moscow University, obstetrician-gynecologist Fyodor Aleksandrovich Alexandrov. Despite some similarities in the facade composition of the house with a mansion, the building was a typical apartment building for the center of Moscow. In it, in addition to the owner’s apartments and premises allocated for his small obstetrics and gynecology private clinic, there were several more apartments for rent.

Apartment building F.A. Alexandrova. Photo from 1960 showing differences with the building's modern appearance. In place of the modern leftmost window on the first floor there was previously an entrance to the private part of the house, intended for the residence of the doctor and his family.

The main façade of the building was originally completely symmetrical. On the right side, where the main entrance is located today, there was an arched entrance to the courtyard. On the left side, symmetrically to it, there was a private entrance to the master's part. It was converted into a window opening during the 1960s rebuilding and was not subsequently restored. In the center of the façade was the entrance to the rental apartments. It was also founded in the 1960s and has not been restored. The main staircase of this public entrance, according to the tradition of the layout of Moscow apartment buildings of the Art Nouveau era, was placed on the facade. To illuminate it and create a decorative accent, a large, elongated arched window is provided. To decorate the top light of the front lobby, an oval “bull’s eye” window was made, also very characteristic of Art Nouveau.

Apartment building F.A. Alexandrova. The central risalit has an arched window illuminating the main staircase and a round window designed to form the upper light of the main vestibule.

The main area of ​​the walls of the front facade is lined with a matte cream-colored “hog”, the plastered surfaces and stucco elements are painted with a pleasant bluish-green paint. The facade has rich plasticity. It is vertically dissected with the help of three small projections, emphasized in the silhouette by the projections of figured attics above the cornice. The horizontal division is carried out by numerous rods and interfloor cornices.

Apartment building F.A. Alexandrova. Bull's eye window.

Apartment building F.A. Alexandrova. Decorative details: relief panel with irises and poppies (top left), majolica panel with immortelle flowers (bottom left), women's mascaron (right).

The exterior of the house is very expressive and original. It is given a significant revitalization by the sculptural decor, made in the magnificent forms of French Art Nouveau. Various forms of window frames, including a massive bull's-eye casing with a hypertrophied keystone, pilasters "hanging" from the cornice, decorated with a geometric pattern, many floral curls made in the spirit of the rocaille style, thoughtful female mascarons, a decorative relief panel on the sloping a shelf under the central window depicting blooming irises and poppies - all this gives the building a unique charm.

Ceramics, so beloved by Art Nouveau, were also used in the decoration of the building. Under the two side windows of the third floor there are majolica panels composed of Abramtsevo tiles in emerald-ocher tones. The tiles were made according to sketches by M.A. Vrubel is depicted by immortals.

Apartment building F.A. Alexandrova. Decor of windows and balconies.

Apartment building F.A. Alexandrova. Fragment of the central risalit (left) and attica (right).

Another unique decorative item of the building is metal grilles with an expressive pattern. They decorate the balconies of the second and third floors, the attics on the roof and the entrance to the house (former arch). The whimsical interweaving of their curls gives the building a special Parisian chic.

As we have already mentioned, the house was reconstructed in the 60s of the 20th century. In the process, he lost many details of his decor. The entrance to the building was built in the arch, the other two were blocked up, the balcony over the former arched passage and the attics on the roof were demolished, almost all the metal grilles were lost, the window frames with the original figured frames were replaced with primitive ones, and the ceramic panels were painted over. The changes also affected the interiors of the building - they were also depersonalized.

In the 2000s, the house was restored and one floor was added. Decorative elements of the historical part of the facade were restored, the superstructure was supplemented with stylized details. During construction at the beginning of the 20th century, A.A. Ostrogradsky created two designs for the mansion, with different façade designs. And during restoration work, both of these options were used to recreate some elements. In particular, the window sashes are made according to the least complex design presented in the unrealized Ostrograd project. Absolutely new details appeared, initiated by the restorers - ornamental colored stained glass windows of the main window and the oval window. They blended quite harmoniously into the appearance of the house and became a pleasant addition to it.

13) Bolshaya Nikitskaya street, building 31 - Apartment building as part of the Elkind residential complex.

Apartment building as part of the Elkind apartment complex.

This large building was built in 1901-1903 as part of a complex of apartment buildings, consisting of four large buildings and occupying an entire block. Modern addresses of the buildings in order of their internal numbering, from first to fourth: Bolshaya Nikitskaya street, house 31, Merzlyakovsky lane, house 15, Stolovy lane, houses 6/2 and 4. Pairs of buildings adjacent to each other (1, 3 and 2, 4) are separated by a passage, which until the 1910s was separated from Merzlyakovsky and Stolovoy lanes by large gates. All four buildings of the complex have their own courtyards, which can be accessed from a common passage through the arches.

Elkind apartment building complex. Cases 1 (right) and 2 (left).

The complex was built for commercial purposes: residential apartments for rent, and the premises of the lower floors for purchase or rent for commercial needs. It is known about the second building (Merzlyakovsky Lane, building 15) that it belonged to a certain Elkind, an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, the name and patronymic or initials of the homeowner are not known. It is likely that the other three buildings belonged to the same person, although this information has not been confirmed. Construction was carried out according to the design of outstanding architects Nikolai Dmitrievich Strukov and Vladimir Petrovich Tseydler.

The four buildings of the complex are made in approximately the same style, but the first, located on Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 31, is the most impressive and representative. And it is he who will interest us. Its front side, facing the Nikitsky Gate Square and clearly visible from almost all points of the large triangle at the intersection of Nikitsky streets with the Boulevard Ring, is richly decorated and is a kind of calling card of the entire complex. And after a recent successful restoration, this building, which was restored to its magnificent domes, has perhaps even become the most impressive in the entire square.

Apartment house Elkind. Attic and loggia.

Apartment house Elkind. Side bay window topped with a helmet-shaped dome.

The plasticity of the facade plane of the house is determined by three bay windows - two lateral trapezoidal ones and a circular one, one floor high, in the middle of the facade - as well as a rounded arched niche of the central loggia. The change in planar relief specified by these elements is also accentuated in the silhouette of the building. This was done with the help of two helmet-shaped domes rising above the side bay windows, and a large figured attic in the center.

Apartment house Elkind. Fragment of the main facade.

The rhythm of window openings is quite monotonous, but the variability of their shapes and frames adds significant variety to this clear pace. Here, the technique of different interpretations of individual floors, typical for the design of apartment buildings, is not simply used, but each bend of the facade plane is interpreted in its own way. We can observe arched windows, tripartite, paired, square, rectangular. And the types of their frames are even difficult to list. At the same time, the decor of window frames is not devoid of eclecticism and borrows the forms of different architectural trends, from classicism to pseudo-Russian style.

Apartment house Elkind. Decorative details: openwork grilles of the windows of the attic floor (top left), a stucco decorative element above the entrance to the store from B. Nikitskaya (bottom left) and ecrer design (right).

Apartment house Elkind. Decorative details: a female mascaron in a skullcap (top left), a balcony (bottom left), stucco molding and attic spiers (right).

The building's relief decorations are interesting: women's heads in caps and framed by loose curls, panels in the tympanums of the semi-circular pediments of the window casings, ribbons of the ornamental frieze of the figured attic, sculptural compositions on flat shields “hanging” from the cornice.

The richness of the stucco decoration of the building increases from bottom to top, from the first floor to the roof. This creates the effect of monumentality and majesty of the building.

Another important type of decorative elements of the building are balconies of various shapes with openwork grilles. The plastic pattern of their cast metal fences clearly stands out against the background of light blue plastered walls and brings significant variety to the mass of sculptural decor used. Previously, similar grilles decorated the canopies of the building's entrances, the gates of the main passage between the buildings and the arches leading to the courtyards. All the grates were cast iron, Kasli casting. Unfortunately, most of the metal parts were lost in the post-revolutionary period and were not restored during restoration.

In addition to cast iron fences, another type of metal bars is used in the design of the building - on the windows of the upper floor. Their design is so skillfully worked out that they resemble thin, literally weightless lace, and the light golden color of the metal from which they are made only enhances this resemblance.

Of course, the most impressive decorations of the apartment building are its domes and numerous spiers. The top floor of the building with its crowning ends looks like a luxurious crown. The architects managed to create a memorable image of the building, giving it such a complex and expressive silhouette. Thanks to the architectural and artistic means used, an ordinary apartment building was literally turned into a real palace worthy of admiration.

For many years (presumably since the 1940s), the building was deprived of its main dome and some other elements of decoration and looked much more modest than it does now. The decor was restored quite recently, during the restoration of 2010-2013. And although the reconstruction project is somewhat different from the original, we must pay tribute to the work done, because after it, the building was transformed and again became one of the dominant features of the Nikitsky Gate Square.

When designing a structure, F.O. Shekhtel showed himself to be a true virtuoso of organizing space. The composition of the building is built on a combination of several cubic volumes located around a single compositional core, a core. This is the hall with a spiral staircase leading to the second floor. Shekhtel is one of the first architects to put into practice the principle of a new spatial planning organization of mansions - centric. The core of the composition is strictly vertical, and in a symbolic sense it can be likened to a tree trunk, from which “branches” - rooms - extend at different levels.

Such a layout of the interior spaces causes the asymmetry of the external walls of the house. The composition of the mansion, for all its apparent simplicity and clarity, is far from simplistic. From the main vantage points, the house appears cube-shaped. At the same time, its shape is significantly complicated by indents, protrusions, and increased volumes. Simple components form a complex and ambiguous whole. It is impossible to get a complete picture of the mansion at first glance. The overall picture emerges only through gradual inspection from different points of view and from different distances.

The building is covered by an almost flat roof with a slight slope, in the center of which, above the main hall of the house, a glass prism of a skylight rises.

The location of the entrances to the mansion and their design indicate the equivalence of the public and private aspects of the life of its owners. The two large-scale porches are similar, but not identical. Each of them has a unique shape and each plays an important role in the image of the house.

The inclusion of the house in the citywide ensemble was very interesting. The main volume of the building is located inside the courtyard, which emphasizes its independence from the street route. But the strong protrusion of the central projection and the even greater projection of the open vestibule of the porch facing the red line of the street visually bring the house closer to the passage and make it an integral element of the street development. Thus, in the Ryabushinsky estate, the internal and external coexist like two worlds, each arranged according to its own laws, but harmoniously communicating with each other.

Mansion S.P. Ryabushinsky. Figured window to the right of the street entrance.

The windows of the mansion are varied in appearance. Here you can see large and smaller rectangular openings, arched, figured, loophole windows. Particularly interesting are the large windows, each of which is decorated with a unique pattern of bindings. Some have flowers, others have fruit trees, others have flowing and flowing abstract lines. Also noteworthy is the window to the right of the main entrance. It has a very unusual shape and is decorated with an even more unusual plaster and brick casing.

Mansion S.P. Ryabushinsky. Side porch.

Mansion S.P. Ryabushinsky. Balcony overlooking the garden.

The soft, almost sculptural forms of the porch and balcony overlooking the garden highlight the laconicism of the main volumes of the house and introduce significant artistic diversity into the appearance of the mansion. The open vestibule of the front porch at its base seems to float downwards, smoothly passing into the base of the fence of the site and thereby once again emphasizing the inextricable unity and interconnection of all the components that make up the appearance of the estate.

Mansion S.P. Ryabushinsky. Balcony above the street entrance.

Mansion S.P. Ryabushinsky. Forged fence.

Mansion S.P. Ryabushinsky. Wrought iron side porch fencing.

Metal decorations are a separate decorative theme in the design of the estate. The forged fence of the site on a low stone plinth is made in the form of repeating spiral curls, reminiscent of the wings of sea waves. It very delicately separates the courtyard area from the street; rather, it simply marks its boundaries, allowing you to unhinderedly enjoy the views of the mansion located behind it. The grille of the balcony located above the main entrance and the fencing of the side porch have an even more intricate pattern. All forging, despite its whimsicality, is airy and transparent. It can be compared to a light web - it is invisible if you do not focus attention on it, and incredibly beautiful upon closer inspection.

Most of the building's interiors have survived to this day. Fortunately, anyone can see them with their own eyes. House of S.P. Ryabushinsky is one of the few pre-revolutionary mansions open to the public almost any day. The interior decoration of the building is truly amazing; it is a real universe of images, symbols, and meanings. While working on the project for the mansion S.P. Ryabushinsky F.O. Shekhtel tried to make the ensemble of the city estate harmonious not just in an artistic sense, but also in an ideological sense. The Ryabushinskys were deeply religious people, at the same time educated, developed, passionate about history, science, and art. Stepan Pavlovich, for example, collected icons, studied works of ancient Russian painting, and even worked on their restoration with his own hands. Guided by the tastes and hobbies of the customer, Shekhtel, who was a supporter of architectural symbolism, created a whole world, a closed system of interrelations of individual components, elements, objects. A system that grows, develops and culminates as it approaches the goal. Today, art historians are developing entire philosophical and religious theories based on the connection between the layout, organization of the space of a mansion, its design and content. To appreciate all the versatility, complexity and beauty of the creation of a talented architect, you need to immerse yourself in the world he created, feel it and try to understand it. This is what we suggest you do on your own by visiting the museum organized in the building. After all, even the most detailed story about the interiors of the house, which will go far beyond the scope of this article, will not convey the fullness of the cosmogonic picture drawn by Shekhtel. We limited ourselves to describing only the external appearance of the mansion, giving connoisseurs the opportunity to get acquainted with its internal contents themselves.

As for the post-revolutionary history of the building, it could in many ways repeat the stories of other merchant mansions that were municipalized and given over to house some organizations. At first, it was precisely according to this plot that events developed: the Ryabushinskys emigrated to Milan in 1917, their house was transferred to the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, then in 1919 - to the State Publishing House of the RSFSR, in 1924 - to the Psychoanalytic Institute, which located its experimental kindergarten-laboratory here , where the children of famous party and government figures were raised (among them Vasily Stalin, Tatyana and Timur Frunze), in 1926 - the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (VOKS). If this series of changes in organizations had continued, it is most likely that the house would have been completely destroyed and the interiors, and possibly the exterior, would have been depersonalized. The mansion was saved from destruction by the fact that in 1931 it was made available by Stalin to Maxim Gorky, who had returned from Italy. The writer lived and worked in it until his death in 1936. After his death, his family continued to live in the house - daughter-in-law N.A. Peshkova with her daughters - Gorky's granddaughters - Marfa and Daria. In 1965, a memorial museum-apartment of A.M. was opened in the mansion. Gorky, which still exists here today. Of course, the house was not spared from sad losses. Perestroikas were carried out here and under Gorky, in accordance with his personal wishes. But still, much was preserved in its original form. Considering the unfortunate experience of other cultural and historical heritage sites, this can be considered a success.

15) Malaya Nikitskaya street, building 15 - Apartment building V.S. Baskakova.

Apartment building V.S. Baskakova on Malaya Nikitskaya.

Apartment house built in 1912. It was built according to the design of the already well-known architect Olgerd Gustavovich Piotrovich for the wealthy homeowner Vasily Stepanovich Baskakov.

In the early 1900s, brothers Ivan and Vasily Baskakov owned many buildings in Moscow. They were mainly engaged in the acquisition of plots of land and old houses and the construction in their place of profitable apartment buildings for the purpose of their subsequent rental. For O.G. Piotrovich Baskakovs were regular customers.

The building that we see in front of us today is actually a remake: it was recreated in 2006-2011. In the early 2000s, the house was recognized as unsafe and subject to global reconstruction with the preservation of the façade and firewall walls. However, during construction work, when constructing a pit for a new foundation, due to the contractor’s mistakes, the facade wall sank and was seriously deformed. As a result of the examination, it was decided to demolish the wall and completely restore it according to an urgently created project, with exact copying of all the decorative elements used by O.G. Piotrovich. We must pay tribute to the company that undertook the restoration: it carried out a very complex and painstaking job.

The front facade of the house has a flat plane, cut through by uniform rows of windows, and is supported only by two trapezoidal bay windows. The walls of the house are covered with beige clinker tiles, imitating the original “hog”.

The lower and upper floors are visually separated from the rest. The lower one is plastered, rusticated, its base is lined with dark granite. The upper floor, although decorated similarly to the four below, is separated from them by a projecting cornice and has smooth plaster walls.

Apartment building V.S. Baskakova. Details of the stucco decoration: relief compositions of inter-window panels and tympanums of arched window frames.

The main expressive means of the composition, as in most of Piotrovich’s works, is stucco. It is worth noting that on this building it is especially abundant and varied. Here is a whole collection of various stucco elements, most of which already bear the stamp of the new architectural era that replaced Art Nouveau - neoclassicism. Although the building can no longer be fully attributed to Art Nouveau proper, since its forms and techniques are largely simplified and use elements of succeeding styles, it is, nevertheless, genetically connected with it and retains some of its inherent features.

Apartment building V.S. Baskakova. Details of stucco and sculptural decor: relief compositions of inter-window panels (left) and a window impost with a female herm (right).

The bulk of the stucco mass of the facade is taken up by numerous pilasters; they mainly give the effect of decorative “load” to the building. From an artistic point of view, the relief compositions of inter-window panels and tympanums of arched frames give life to the external appearance of the house. They depict laurel wreaths decorated with ribbons and bows, garlands of flowers, cartouches, medallions with masks of roaring lions, and large shells. Particularly interesting is the design of the two-part windows, connected through wide imposts with female herms. A similar decor of double windows was used by Piotrovich during the construction of another apartment building by V.S. Baskakova, in Degtyarny Lane (house no. 6) - there are exactly the same imposts with sad female heads.

Apartment building V.S. Baskakova. Drawing of the entrance gate to the parking lot.

All decorative details of the facade are painted dark gray. Perhaps this is not the best color solution, since given the abundance of stucco, this shade gives the building a certain gloominess. In the original project, the stucco molding was painted brown, more in harmony with the shade of the facing ceramics and looking “lighter”. But, perhaps, this is the only miscalculation of the specialists who restored the building. The rest of the appearance of the house has been recreated very accurately.

The fate of the owner of the apartment building, Vasily Stepanovich Baskakov, was tragic. After the revolution of 1917, he lost all his households; they were municipalized by the new government. A wealthy man in the past, he and his family were forced to huddle in a 12-meter room in one of his former houses, which was “densified” and turned into a communal one. V.S. Baskakov died in 1938 and was buried at the German Cemetery.

16) Bolshaya Nikitskaya street, building 56 - Mansion of Y.A. Rekka (S.D. Krasilshchikova).

Mansion Y.A. Recca on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street.

The mansion, lavishly decorated with stucco, was built by the architect Gustav Avgustovich Gelrich in 1902-1903 for the founder of the Moscow Trade and Construction Joint Stock Company, one of the leading developers of that time, Yakov Andreevich Rekka. And Y.A. Rekk and his company are already familiar to us from the mansions of I.A. Mindovsky, M.F. Yakunchikova and K.A. Gutheil, the construction of which is precisely their merit.

The original house plan designed by G.A. Gelrich, was very similar in its shape to the mansion of M.F. Yakunchikova, i.e. turned to the style of Anglo-Scottish Art Nouveau. But in the process of further work, the project underwent significant changes. The composition of the building, conceived as the intersection of several prismatic volumes, as a result of these transformations was transformed into a more traditional version for Moscow with a static, elegant front facade and the main entrance from the street. And the decorative details of the house, rethought by the architect, gave the building a resemblance to another project of the joint-stock company - the mansion of K.A. Gutheil, which has the features of Franco-Belgian Art Nouveau.

Mansion Y.A. Recca. Design details: a bay window and a dome rising above it (left), a decorative lattice at the entrance to the mansion (top right), sandstone and stucco molding above the window (bottom right).

In the volumetric-spatial structure, the main emphasis is on the left side of the building, highlighted by a rounded bay window and a small scaly dome rising above it. The dome is tetrahedral, with a spherical end, made of metal in a discreet gray shade, pleasantly in harmony with the pale green color of the walls of the mansion. The protrusions of the facade plane - the bay window above the entrance and the risalite part on the right - are emphasized in the silhouette of the wavy curved cornice of the house. The design of the entrance to the mansion is unusual: under the bay window there is a recessed porch, the vestibule of which is decorated with a desudeporte in the shape of a semicircular cutout with a decorative lattice.

Mansion Y.A. Recca. Stucco decoration under the cornice: lioness, bouquets of flowers and ribbons.

The main decorative tool used by the architect in decorating the exterior of the mansion is stucco, in which rocaille motifs prevail. It is incredibly carefully and with great imagination worked out. Coquettish curls of ribbons and graceful curves of draperies, bouquets and garlands of flowers and plant leaves, faces of lionesses, bearded male mascarons - looking at all this whimsical abundance, one can only be amazed at the imagination of its creator. The plot and manner of drawing the stucco compositions are inspired by the ornamental painting of the Symbolist era. The relief images are devoid of any specifics, but in the shapes of flowers one can guess gerberas and poppies, roses and irises, and in the smiling faces of bearded men - field spirits, the patrons of plants.

Mansion Y.A. Recca. Fence.

The metal decorative elements also attract attention: the bars of the windows of the semi-basement floor and the basement, the fence of the site. Their design is elegant and light and uses a plant theme.

As we already know, Yakov Andreevich Rekk was involved in investments in expensive real estate; all the luxurious houses built by his company sooner or later found their owners. Almost immediately after its construction was completed, the mansion on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Rekk was sold at a profit to merchant Serafima Davidovna Krasilshchikova (nee Morozova, great-granddaughter of Savva Morozov, the founder of the Morozov merchant dynasty). Therefore, the house appears in some sources as the mansion of S.D. Krasilshchikova.

After the 1917 revolution, Serafima Davidovna emigrated. The mansion that belonged to her was nationalized and provided for housing diplomatic missions. Until recently, it housed a residence after Egypt. Today the building houses the embassy of the Union of Myanmar (Burma).

17) Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya street, building 2/62, buildings 1 and 2 - Apartment house and personal mansion of N.S. Cana.

Apartment house and personal mansion of N.S. Kana on Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya street.

The two buildings, located at the intersection of Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya and Malaya Nikitskaya streets, closely adjacent to each other and decorated in the same style, are the fruit of the creativity of an outstanding architect, the famous Art Nouveau master Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel.

Although these buildings are not considered by art historians to be among the best works of the architect, they nevertheless deserve attention both as evidence of the evolution of the author’s style and as an example of an ensemble in the Art Nouveau style that has retained its original appearance.

At the beginning of the 19th century, ordinary wooden buildings stood on the site of building 1. The current three-story building 2 was erected in 1868-1870. It is known that Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky lived there in 1874-1875. At the very beginning of the 20th century, the owner of the mentioned buildings - merchant of the first guild, honorary citizen of Moscow Nikolai Semenovich Kan - ordered their reconstruction by F.O. Shekhtel, which was completed by the architect in 1901. The development of the building design and reconstruction took place with the participation of the architect Alexander Antonovich Galetsky, who worked as Shekhtel’s assistant at that time.

Apartment building N.S. Kana. The main facade facing Malaya Nikitskaya Street.

The new, rebuilt three-story house, with its facade facing Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya Street, was a personal mansion of the homeowner and his family. The two-and-a-half-story house (two-story with a semi-basement), stretching along Malaya Nikitskaya, is a profitable property intended for apartment-by-apartment rental.

Apartment house and personal mansion of N.S. Kana. Details of the stucco decoration: a woman's mascaron (above) and an inter-window panel with a cartouche (below).

This ensemble of two buildings is a clear example of Shekhtel’s picturesque Art Nouveau. The decor of the buildings varies, but the design uses materials, textures, colors and architectural elements that are uniform in style. This allowed the architect to create a harmonious ensemble of buildings, not devoid of individuality and with a clear delineation of functional roles.

Decor of N.S.’s personal mansion Kana: arch of the entrance gate to the courtyard (left) and design of the facade and windowsand roofs (right).

Various types of materials were used in the processing of the facades: smooth and rusticated plaster, textured “fur coat” plaster, “hog” ceramic tiles. The combination of these coatings, different in shade and texture, gives significant variety to the flat facades of buildings. The main decorative elements of a personal mansion are window sill relief panels in the form of cartouches decorated with garlands, figured “hog” inserts in the partitions between the windows and massive sculptural window casings on the first floor, the often repeating keystones of which evoke associations with the gears of some mechanism.

Decor of an apartment building N.S. Kana: canopy over the entrance (left) and decoration of the facade and windows (right).

The main facade of the apartment building, facing Malaya Nikitskaya Street, is asymmetrical. The entrance to the building, emphasized by a small projection of the projection and pilasters and decorated with a massive canopy, is not located exactly in the center of it, but is slightly shifted towards the intersection. The right side of the facade is accented by a two-story bay window, while on the left side there is no bay window. The decoration of the house is dominated by window frames of various shapes, among which one can see gear frames similar to the mansion. But the most interesting decorative elements from an artistic point of view are the girls’ heads with pigtails. They seem to be connected to each other with twisting ribbons, and this string of mascarons forms an expressive relief ornament under the cornice.

Both the mansion and the apartment building are topped with a metal geometric lattice. Other notable metal parts are the brackets and chains that support the canopy above the entrance to the apartment building, and the gate with a beautiful modern design in the arch of the mansion.

What changes are envisaged within the framework of the new project, in terms of connecting buildings A and B at the 1st and 2nd floor levels, and how are you planning to use the additional space in the future?

Changes within the framework of the new project provided for in connection with buildings A and B do not constitute additional space. In connection with the requirement of the Department of Transport and Development of Road Transport Infrastructure of Moscow, the location of entrances and exits from the underground parking has been replaced with the former location of the restaurant. The restaurant has been moved to the site of the former entrances, i.e. on the street May Day.

What kind of finishing is planned for the MOPs? Is there a plan to fence the area? Please clarify whether the forged design of the balcony fencing with patterns will be preserved? Will the entrances of the houses be at ground level (no steps)?

MOPs will be made according to the presentations, namely from porcelain stoneware, marble, wood materials. The floors in the elevators are granite, the ceilings are plasterboard and suspended. It is planned to fence the area. Entrance to residential entrances is at ground level.

When will sales of underground parking spaces begin?

Parking sales started on May 24, 2019. Priority calls are made to clients who are already participants in shared construction and have submitted a corresponding application earlier. If you would like to purchase a parking space, please leave a contact phone number for feedback.

Where can I get a building permit? Who will issue the certificate of commissioning of the facility? What number of floors is indicated in the building permit?

The construction permit in accordance with the requirements of 214-FZ is publicly available on the official website of the facility https://www.ismaylovo.ru/, as well as in the Unified Information System for Housing Construction. The number of floors of the object is 19 + basement + 1 underground. Permission to put the facility into operation in accordance with the requirements of the current legislation of the Russian Federation and the city of Moscow will be issued by the Committee for State Construction Supervision of the city of Moscow (Mosgosstroynadzor).

What relation does the Afina company have to the Izmailovo facility?

At the very beginning of construction, PKF Afina LTD LLC was the technical customer for the Izmailovo residential complex project. Since 2017, PKF Afina LTD LLC has not been the technical customer for the project.

When will the facility be put into operation?

The planned commissioning date is the end of this year.

Do you work with Escrow accounts? What is the difference with special accounts?

In accordance with Federal Law 478-FZ of December 25, 2018, from July 1, 2019, it is possible to attract funds from citizens only using escrow accounts, with the exception of agreements for participation in shared construction concluded in relation to an apartment building and (or) other real estate objects that meet the criteria established by the Government of the Russian Federation that determine the degree of readiness of such objects and the number of concluded agreements for participation in shared construction. The authorized executive body of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, exercising state control (supervision) in the field of shared-equity construction of apartment buildings and (or) other real estate objects, issues a conclusion on the degree of readiness of the object and places the relevant information in the information system. Taking into account the high degree of construction readiness and the number of prisoners DDU, LLC "Studio" submitted a corresponding application to MOSKOSTROYINVEST, and is currently awaiting the issuance of a conclusion on compliance with the criteria to continue raising funds using the developer's special account.

When is check-in planned?

The planned period of occupancy is the first half of 2020.

Who insured the object?

From 01/01/2019, in order to additionally protect the rights, legitimate interests and property of participants in shared construction, the Developer makes mandatory deductions (contributions) to the compensation fund at least 3 working days before submitting Agreements for participation in shared construction for state registration in accordance with current legislation.

What kind of elevators and windows will there be?

Elevators – European manufacturer of elevator equipment KLEEMANN. Windows – Rehau Delight, double-glazed windows 40mm.