Constructivism will be comprehended in a layered pie

Reconstruction of the legendary monument of the beginning of the century completed

Bakery No. 5 is one of the important points in the history of constructivism. The building was built according to the project of architect Alexander Nikolsky and engineer Georgy Marsakov in 1931 and became the first of five automatic ring bakeries implemented in the USSR. It was a revolutionary decision – both in terms of architecture and in terms of production tasks. The bakery in the Presnensky district worked until 2004, and in 2006 it was recognized as an architectural monument and endowed with the status of a cultural heritage site. The well-known architect Sergei Tchoban was involved in the reconstruction of the cylindrical building, and now the results of his work have been presented to journalists. A month later, an art center dedicated to the study of constructivism will open in the renovated historical space.

The red and white building-cylinder, located between the metro station “Ulitsa 1905 Goda” and “Belorusskaya”, immediately catches the eye. The idea of ​​its construction came from Vasily Zotov, People’s Commissar of the Food Industry of the USSR (and later Minister), who made a technical revolution in his field – in 1978, the bakery on Khodynskaya Street was named after him. This building was once the flagship – and today the drawings surprise with the thoughtfulness and practicality of organizing the space. It was with them that the famous architect Sergei Tchoban, who was engaged in its reconstruction, began the story of the Khlebozavod No. 5 named after Zotov.

“Before, containers were arranged in length, but here a ring system was invented,” says Choban. – Hence the cylindrical shape of the production building, round in plan. The author’s idea of ​​the engineer Marsakov assumed continuous production of bread vertically from top to bottom. Flour from a warehouse in the basement was fed to the upper floor, where the sourdough took place. After the resulting dough went down to the dough mixing department for fermentation. Then – to the dough cutting department, and then – to the oven. Each stage of production has its own floor.

The ring conveyor worked like clockwork for 75 years in a row, until the decision was made to move production outside of Moscow. The Department of Culture then, in the early 2000s, insisted on preserving the historical monument, and now it will become a cultural point. There will be another, intellectual conveyor – from exhibitions dedicated to the study of constructivism. Therefore, Choban adapted the space for museum needs during the reconstruction. Two spacious floors, painted in sterile white, are equipped with a system for maintaining temperature and humidity conditions. Filled with light from numerous windows located around the circumference, the halls are already a work of art in themselves. Choban tried to preserve all the “cultural layers” of the Soviet years. “I did not try to restore what was in 1931, all historical layers are important,” he said. Therefore, between the exhibition floors, you can find an image of a girl who meets with bread and salt – this is a tile from the 1960s. Tiles with “patches” of different years, from the 1930s to the 1990s, were left on the floor. Even the walls are not plastered to perfect evenness, but simply painted in such a way that the outlines of the former colorful layers appear through the whiteness.

The bakery, both inside and out, is like a layered cake. The top floor is cream: this circular space is supposed to host round tables and lectures. There are two cherries on the cake – these are the red and black cinema halls, where films about constructivism and cinema of the beginning of the century will be shown. Next is the double filling – that is, the two above-mentioned exhibition spaces, where the museum temperature (22 degrees) and humidity (45%) are maintained. And, finally, korzh is a public space for communication and conferences in the loft style: unpainted red brick walls, a concrete ceiling, metal beams directed from the center to the periphery, and a laconic inscription with the name of the center on the conveyor drum (through it once and production floors were reported).

The first exhibition will open here in a month. Project “1922. Constructivism. The Beginning”, conceived two years ago, will present, according to the curators, “avant-garde polyphony”. Just a hundred years ago, the ideas of constructivists began to be implemented, creating a simple, comfortable and practical environment for the “man of the new formation.” There is something to comprehend – only around Khlebozavod No. 5, entire constructivist quarters have been preserved. “Constructivism is still a vague concept, it is not clear where it starts and where it ends. We will seek the truth in dialogue, ”the art center promises.