In the nomination «Urban Environment» AD Design Award 2021, the most votes were given for the renovated Bogoroditsk embankment! We tell you how the Novaya Zemlya company, the Geometry Design bureau, Nefa Architects and SNOU project (architectural solutions) have teamed up to develop a «theater city» project.

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City Culture Center

200 years ago, a small county town in the Tula region was known throughout Russia. Many notable guests came to Bogoroditsk, the estate of Count Bobrinsky, the illegitimate son of Catherine II and Grigory Orlov, was located here. The city was also very lucky when Andrei Bolotov came to work here in the 1790s. Who is it? In one word, a genius. Writer, architect, encyclopedic scientist, agronomist, landscape designer… Bolotov managed to deal with the breeding of rare varieties of apple trees, and the creation of the first landscape park in Russia, and the first in Russia (again!) a theater in which the actors were children.

General view.

The Palace of Counts Bobrinsky.

There is a special culture in the city. And a new industrial stage in its formation came with the arrival of the railway station. The war did not spare Bogoroditsk — in four years every third building was destroyed here, including the once beautiful palace. After the war, bogorodchane sought to return to peaceful life as soon as possible and recreate the legacy.

Voronezh street.

Voronezh street.

Bogoroditsk was not spared the decline of the 90s and the mood that settled in every small town at that time: a rapid outflow of the most active citizens, dilapidation and desolation of buildings, unclear today and foggy tomorrow. But the special active and creative urban culture, apparently, simply could not disappear without a trace. A few years ago, citizens, entrepreneurs, patrons, professional planners were able to unite to come up with what Bogoroditsk could become in the future. And not just to share fantasies, but also to start implementing plans.

City school.

A social club.

Theater City

How can you turn from a city where many people leave and where almost nothing interesting happens, into a place where you can invite guests with pleasure? In search of an answer to this question, the city could not help but look through itself. After all, once, 200 years ago, Bogoroditsk already did it. The concept, or master plan, of the development of the historical part of Bogoroditsk is based on the heritage, while filling it with new content. “We used the same principles that guided Andrey Timofeevich Bolotov: to be focused on the needs of citizens, the economy of tourism and entertainment, the development of children’s creative education and to restore a unique historical urban environment,” explains managing partner of the Novaya Zemlya company, urban planner and urbanist Grigory Solomin.

Thanks to this work, Bogoroditsk got a master plan of the historical center “City-Theater». The main thing in it is the return of the spatial structure of the city, which in itself is a monument of urban art and contributes to the emergence of a comfortable environment inside and the development of small businesses. No less important was the return to the legacy of Andrei Bolotov and ideological and imaginative solutions based on urban culture.

The master plan covers the entire historical part of the city and offers design solutions for three territories. The improvement of the dam and dam was the first stage of implementation.

Patron for the city

A few years ago, a patron of the arts appeared at the little Bogoroditsk. And this is an incredibly rare case for a small Russian city. Irina Glik was born and grew up in Bogoroditsk, in a friendly family in a large house on the Count’s side by the pond, almost under the shadow of Bolotov’s apple trees. Irina became an interior designer and founded the Geometry Design bureau, which owns the interiors of many Moscow restaurants, residences and apartments. But I didn’t forget about my hometown.

“The way the city has been decaying in recent decades has been very upsetting for everyone. I understood that spot actions would not solve the problem. Therefore, I gathered a team to make a comprehensive project that includes many tasks. Firstly, a serious infrastructural “general cleaning» was needed. The heart of the city — the big city pond — was swamped, the dams were in disrepair, the embankments were broken. We have made projects for clearing ponds and reconstructing dams. And then they took up the development of landscaping of adjacent territories together with specialists in urban development, the Novaya Zemlya company, and Nefa Architects. The landscape concept was done by my bureau,” says Irina Glik.

Step by step, the team began to implement parts of this large project. We were looking for different forms of raising money, opportunities to participate in programs and competitions. In 2019, the city became the winner of the Competition of small towns and historical settlements, which is held by the Ministry of Construction of Russia, and received 70 million rubles. Thanks to this, by the autumn of 2020, a promenade and an amphitheater by the water appeared in Bogoroditsk. The team accompanied the entire process — from searching for archival documents to monitoring the installation of equipment and tile joints.

“Ponds have been cleared, dams have been restored, and the city has received a beautiful picturesque embankment with many functions. Bogoroditsk began to come to life. I want to live comfortably here, to have creative and financial energy. So that the guests who come to us want to come back and enjoy our heritage and beauty,” says Irina Glik.

City Promenade

It’s like in a theater. The dam and the dam became a promenade that connected the estate and the city. Here the “Theater City” unfolded: the layout reproduces the structure of the theater. There is also a parterre by the water, and an amphitheater, and a mezzanine and a benoir box with swings.

In the spirit of Bolotov. The space is full of functional and imaginative details: tables for board games, swings and, of course, a “Snail». The interactive art object is based on architectural forms created by Bolotov in the XVIII century. Both then and now, such objects become real points of attraction, especially for young visitors.

New routes. The promenade by the pond successfully connects almost all points important for citizens and tourists: the city garden, the embankment, the bath complex, the transport hub on the territory of the bus station, the children’s educational complex, the Bobrinsky estate. Thanks to the project, new connections and new walking routes appear in the historical center both for citizens and for those who came here from afar.

Floating stage and Bolotov chips. In the future, the center of a new place may be a floating stage on a city pond with natural scenery — landscapes of the pond itself. Celebrations for the city and festivals of contemporary art will be held here. And a theater cafe will appear on the promenade, the menu of which will offer dishes according to Bolotov’s recipes. Given the scientist’s passion for landscape experiments, a greenhouse based on his ideas will appear here by summer.

Bogoroditsk, like a real “Theater City”, is preparing for the premiere next season. Taking into account the universal love of traveling in Russia, a trip here can turn into an ideal weekend.

Weekend itinerary

You can get from Moscow to Bogoroditsk in about four hours by car, by bus from the stations Salarievo, Novoyasenevskaya or Orekhovo, as well as by train to the station Zhdanka. It’s worth planning a trip for the whole weekend. The most important point of attraction of the city is the Bobrinsky Palace, where you can look at a rather interesting museum collection, and then take a walk in the unique manor park, a masterpiece of landscape design of the XVIII century.Bogoroditsk makes its urban layout recognizable: the streets diverge from the palace “fan». You will see this effect if you go up to the observation deck. At the edge of the manor park there is a Gate tower, after the restoration of which everyone will be able to go inside and climb up the spiral staircase.From Bogoroditsk in less than an hour you can get to Kulikovo field. Here tourists will be told about the history of the legendary battle, offered to shoot arrows or take a riding lesson.Also an hour’s drive from Bogoroditsk is the ancient Venev. This is a provincial and charming city where you can feel peace, as well as see the St. Nicholas Bell Tower, which was the tallest in the Tula province (now under restoration), stone chambers of the XVII century, try a local sweet called “venevka».The route fits perfectly as a place to spend the night “Marshes.Dacha”: spend an evening in the living room, try onion bread in butter for breakfast, and the next day look into the Bolotov estate museum “Dvoryaninovo». A walk in the park, where Bolotov apple trees are still preserved, can be turned into a quest about the life and work of this amazing person. A half—hour drive away is the farm restaurant of Russian cuisine “Mark and Lev” — it has been working for the last few days, and there is a chance to catch the farewell sets before the end of April. They contain dishes that have been loved by guests for all the years of the restaurant’s operation. You can try botvinya, rabbit pate with chokeberry jam and sorrel ice cream with lazy nettle cookies.

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