The Tretyakov Gallery was left without heating: heat guns save the day

The western wing of the museum building on Krymsky Val freezes

The exhibition halls in the West Wing of the New Tretyakov Gallery are heated using heat guns. As the MK correspondent was convinced, not only residents of Russian cities were left without heating in severe frosts, but also the national museum. Dilapidated communications have broken due to the cold weather and cannot be repaired.

It’s chilly on the top floor of the West Wing of the State Tretyakov Gallery. Heat guns placed in corners cannot cope with heating large exhibition spaces. As MK found out, when numerous utility accidents occurred in the Moscow region and other cities of Russia, the same thing happened in the New Tretyakov Gallery.

The building, which was built over 20 years (from 1965 to 1985) in the style of early Soviet modernism according to the design of the architectural studio of Ivan Zholtovsky, has long been in need of renovation. Back in 2018, when the spaces of the Central House of Artists, which occupied the western part of the building, became part of the Tretyakov Gallery, Zelfira Tregulova spoke about this urgent need to update the infrastructure. Immediately after the merger of the Central House of Artists and the State Tretyakov Gallery, the first thing they did was update the engineering communications in the western wing, but this was just “cosmetic” when the building itself needs a global update.

Tregulova, who at that time headed the museum, then stated that the reconstruction would be carried out by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, and he, in collaboration with the Russian architectural bureau “Reserve”, was already preparing a project. However, at first there was no funding, and then a special operation began, which put an end to cooperation with the Western architect. The project could be undertaken entirely by a Russian architectural bureau, but there is still no budget for the reconstruction of the New Tretyakov Gallery.

It is worth remembering what Tregulova said at a press conference on plans for the reconstruction of the New Tretyakov Gallery. “This building was designed to operate for 25-30 years; it has long since outlived its structural reserve and potential and is in need of serious reconstruction,” she said six years ago. Now is the time to remember the pressing problem.

In 2020, the roof of the New Tretyakov Gallery leaked during heavy rainfall. As a result, huge puddles formed in the halls on the fourth floor and employees had to hastily evacuate the exhibits of the temporary exhibition. The leak was caused by a faulty storm drain that was too worn out to withstand heavy rainfall. The engineering communications of the New Tretyakov Gallery also cannot withstand severe frosts.