Museum of the “Garage” moved to a new building – Vedomosti

At the opening of the new building “Garage” in Gorky Park has become the protagonist of Rem Koolhaas, the architect of the first, the most famous in the world. Here he once again proved that it is better able to work with all the senses. With space and form do not perform worse, and some others, the ideology of buildings and places – no. Then he and the bravest and most original. For Moscow, as his philosophy, the assertion that “preserve the elements of everyday life is just as important, how to keep the Kremlin” seems nonsense.

For the “Garage” Koolhaas and his office OMA made a reconstruction built in 1968 and deserted 20 years the restaurant “Seasons”. Architectural monuments in the strict sense of the banal long box was not. Any investor would have destroyed it without hesitation, and built at the new location meets the conception of something “new and modern”.

Remember how in the last years before the retirement of the previous mayor of Moscow wanted to tear down the building of the new Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val, is compared with “Seasons” – Mahina masterpiece. But, as Koolhaas during a tour for journalists, the architect is free to the extent that it allows the customer, and later, in response to questions, he told how closely its customer – the founder of the museum Daria Zhukova discussed the project and monitor progress. So the responsibility for the non-standard architectural solutions lies with her.

Externally, the building is a parallelepiped raised above the ground, covered with a modern translucent material with a light reflection effect. Two panels on the sides of the facade can be raised, exposing the interior space and forming a silhouette, which should ensure the recognition of “Garage”: on a large elongated rectangle is a small vertical pipe. Externally, the building is clear, understandable and elegant – a very well-kept Soviet modernism. Controversial solutions – inside.

Minimum change existing plan (Credit Koolhaas), we can assume did not work – within the building is well adapted to the life of the museum. There’s atrium for public action and great works, five small exhibition halls, lecture hall, children’s room, a room for film screenings, bookstore and cafe. All finishing materials are rough, cement and wooden floors, stairs, metal, communication is not sewn – unpainted metal ventilation pipe, do not hesitate to bare hanging over their heads. Nice and clear, too, because it is already videno.

shows

The exhibition program for the opening of “Garage” reflects all the activities of the museum, where familiarity with the contemporary Western art takes place is not important. Therefore, the spectacle here – only exhibition Yayoi Kusama famous Japanese. Other projects educational, research, training more useful than pleasing and cheering.

But the main chips inside the new “Garage” Country: lost saved with a large tile mosaic depicting the conditional Assol with flowing hair (a common place of mosaics of the time), partially preserved old with badly weathered brick masonry and cladding tiles. That is, the renovated building is not only the ordinary architectural monument was the ’60s, but also fixed the fracture 90. As if you were at home doing repairs and left a couple of spots in the memory of pozaproshlogodney leakage from the top floor.

Of course, the general form of a mosaic Shcherbatov not spoil her cheerful orange color supported wardrobe area located under the stairs and through the transmission stage of the central staircase. And colorful chairs lecture hall pleasing to the eye brightness and diversity. The architect of the building, though old intellectual left-wing, but the building is not for the poor and knows how to skillfully keep the traces of his deathbed abandoned house without spoiling the mood of its owners.

The team and the target audience of “Garage”, as stressed at the press conference, the museum’s director Anton Belov, young people who grew up “free in a free country.” And he added: understand that ripped jeans luxury brand – is not that shabby from long socks. Therefore, techniques Koolhaas garage audience must read, undeterred muzeefitsirovat scuffs and holes in the panels. They do not interfere with the general spirit of courage to prevail in the new Moscow museum (“garage” until last May was the center of modern culture) over the sad history of the building, this is not too old, but beaten soundly time. Therefore, despite the age of 70 years of sorrow, understand the sense in the loss of the architect, the new “Garage” and looks new and very trendy.