The daughter of the architect of the Zdorovye plant is waiting for the owner and city authorities to fulfill their promise and invite her to discuss the project
Bulldozers and excavators began a destructive march through the complex of buildings of the Zdorovye plant. The daughter of the architect who designed the building, Anna Medleva, agrees with Kamil Iskhakov’s right to demolish her father’s legacy, but is ready to revive the façade elements from the construction “ashes” in a new project on the same site. The Kazan Executive Committee has already invited her to discuss the new project. “Anna and I don’t have any problems,” says Kamil Iskhakov himself, but for now he keeps the sketches of the future building secret.
The demolition of the Zdorovye plant building has entered the final stage with the participation of heavy construction equipment
“HEALTH” DESTROYED BY 70%
Today it became known that the demolition of the Zdorovye plant building has entered the final stage with the participation of heavy construction equipment. The sidewalks around the buildings along Ostrovsky, Universitetskaya and Pravo-Bulachnaya streets were covered with canopies-transitions to protect pedestrians in case of falling debris from a destroyed building. They block access not only to the health center itself, but also to the tenants who occupied its premises.
All the establishments that once worked in the plant buildings are closed - a cafe at the bus stop, the Flowers store, an orthopedic salon. Before entering the courtyard of the reconstructed building from Ostrovsky Street, two notices hang on the gate: “The office of the ANO “SNVTS “PROTON” has moved and is located at the address:...” and “Bicycle rental has moved. New address:...” It’s unlikely that anything will remain of the gate itself today. Right in front of BUSINESS Online correspondents, a Hyundai excavator was vigorously hollowing out their base from the ground, while also capturing the corner of a neighboring building.
Apparently, builders armed with excavators will begin their destructive march from here towards Universitetskaya Street, breaking into bricks the complex that was once one of the symbols of our city. According to the workers, the “movement” here began last Saturday. Over the past period of time, a couple of excavators have broken down the standing buildings in the yard, and today work begins on the buildings standing along the perimeter. Our interlocutors reluctantly reported that “the work is about 70 percent done,” and it will take them about a month to complete it. No one dared to voice the name of the organization carrying out the demolition work, but one of the drivers said: “We hired private traders...” Judging by the fact that most excavators and approaching dump trucks have the inscription “Rent” on them, perhaps this is so .
Work on the site began several days ago, but a final determination of its type - reconstruction or demolition - was not given. Whether the façade of the building will be preserved or not is also not clear yet.
DEMOLITION OR RECONSTRUCTION?
Serious passions flared up around the future Zdorovye plant in June, when the building ceased operations. The closing of the plant for reconstruction was reported by the Vechernyaya Kazan newspaper with reference to the general director of Kombytservis JSC. Elena Gendelman. In response, a public letter appeared, “Reconstruction - yes, but not demolition,” signed by the architect Anna Medleva and addressed to the Minister of Construction of the Republic of Tatarstan Irek Faizullin. The architect proposed announcing an international competition for projects and not turning the city into a “pump for pumping out money.” “As a professional, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this facility, built in 1978, is an excellent example of environmental architecture with features of national originality,” Medleva wrote. — The authors of the project are architects L. Ershova and V. Pospelov (Giprokommunstroy, Moscow). But my father, Vladimir Petrovich Medlev, worked on the plasticity of the facades, its national identity, by order of the chief architect of Kazan M. Kh. Agishev, being the chief specialist in the field of architecture at the Remproekt Institute.”
The 100% founder of Zdorovye LLC, registered in 2014, is Karina Kamalova, granddaughter of the ex-mayor of Kazan, and now assistant to the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Kamilya Iskhakova. In a conversation with a BUSINESS Online correspondent, Iskhakov favorably accepted Medleva’s proposal to preserve the appearance of the building. However, as the advance of the builders progresses, the architect loses confidence that reconstruction work is being carried out on the territory, and not demolition, and the facade of the aquarium building will remain intact.
“I really hope that the legislation will be respected, but for now I see demolition, not reconstruction of the building,” Medleva said in an interview with a BUSINESS Online correspondent. — I understand why the building owner does this: reconstruction is more expensive than constructing a new building. But in this case, he has no right to call it reconstruction, he must say: “Guys, we will demolish this house, don’t worry about its fate, because there will be a new one that will take into account all the characteristics of this building.” That would be fair. And when Iskhakov declares that there will be reconstruction, and then they launch bulldozers there, this is an obvious lie, or people simply don’t know the terms, but then consult with experts first.”
At the same time, the daughter of the architect Medlev assured our publication that she intends to take an active part in the fate of the place where the plant is still located. The architect sees the executive committee of Kazan as an ally in this matter. “Literally last week I received a letter by mail from the executive committee of Kazan with an offer to take part in the discussion of the project for a new building,” Medleva added. — From the letter it follows that there will be a new project and it will be agreed upon by the city administration in accordance with all the rules and regulations, as required by law. But there is another side to the coin - there is not a single legislative act that could stop this demolition. The new owner, the gentleman, bought this building, and it is his property, and he does what he wants with it. But this is the territory of the historical development of the city, and it is strictly regulated by law, so they cannot build anything there. From a legal point of view, we also cannot stop the demolition, but we can influence what will be built there later.”
Anna Medleva: “I had one conversation with Iskhakov, and he assured me that he wanted to preserve the design of the facades and include them in the new building”Photo: BUSINESS Online
“I WILL KEEP MY HANDS ON THE PULSE, THE QUESTION IS DIFFERENT – HOW MUCH I WILL BE AUTHORIZED TO THIS PROJECT”
At the request of BUSINESS Online, Medleva made the letter from the mayor’s office available to BUSINESS Online. The appeal was signed by the deputy head of the Kazan executive committee Radik Shafigullin, and in it, in addition to an invitation to discuss the project, it is said that the new owner is now carrying out “a conceptual study of the health center taking into account compliance with the requirements of urban planning legislation, including resolving issues of transport infrastructure and organizing parking spaces for guests and employees of the center.” It follows from the document that a draft proposal for the reconstruction of the plant building was not submitted to the executive committee for consideration. However, construction work is being carried out on the territory of the city, which belongs to historical buildings, therefore, the project will be necessarily considered at a meeting of the town planning council with the participation of the mayor of Kazan, the president of the Republic of Tatarstan and experts. As indicated in the notice from the mayor's office, the development of project documentation will start only after receiving the appropriate permit. After this, the developer can prepare documents to obtain a building permit.
According to Medleva, Iskhakov still declares his readiness to preserve the architecturally valuable parts of the building. “I had one conversation with Iskhakov, and he assured me that he wanted to preserve the design of the facades and include them in the new building,” the architect recalled. - I will keep my finger on the pulse, the question is different - to what extent I will be allowed into this project. I plan to come to Kazan in the near future and arrange a meeting with the owner of the building to discuss the further situation. I would like to know who the developer of the new project is, I would like to consider the possibility of influencing the project.”
In addition, Medleva recalled that she herself is an architect and is ready to offer herself to the owner as the author of the project for a new building. “I can offer my services in creating an architectural project,” the publication’s interlocutor emphasized. “Why not have an open discussion, since such a wave has arisen?”
Kamil Iskhakov: “It’s hard to say when the project will be presented and the discussion will begin”Photo: BUSINESS Online
“WE ARE APPLYING FOR A LINE OF CREDIT, THIS PROCESS IS NOT COMPLETED YET”
Iskhakov himself, in a conversation with a correspondent of our publication, confirmed that work on the site began several days ago, but did not give a final definition of its type - reconstruction or demolition. It is not yet clear whether the façade of the building will be preserved or not, he noted. “We are resolving this issue with the daughter of the building’s architect, Anna, we have no problems,” Iskhakov assured the BUSINESS Online correspondent. - We are doing this together. She called herself, showed up, she wants her father’s legacy to be preserved. But there’s a lot that needs to be decided before that...”
The ex-mayor of Kazan added that work on creating a preliminary design for the new building is moving forward, but he will not publicly disclose the details. “It’s difficult to say when the project will be presented and the discussion will begin,” the publication’s interlocutor warned. “I have no desire to delay [this process], but I also have no desire to move forward with big steps, because we are in the process of issuing a credit line; this process has not yet been completed. Without clarity on this issue, it is impossible to rush through other issues.”
The legendary Kazan bathhouse on Pravo-Bulachnaya, where party bosses liked to relax in the 80s, and the leaders of criminal groups in the 90s, stops operating on July 1. Visitors to the steam rooms and swimming pool are alarmed: will the plant be closed forever? There are rumors in the bath complex itself that the building will be completely demolished, and another Luciano spa will be built in its place. “Evening Kazan” found out what will happen to the “Zdorovye” plant.
One of the steam bath lovers told VK about the closure of the Zdorovye complex, built in the 1970s in the center of Kazan: “The bathhouse attendants were upset, they say, we’ve been working for the last week.”
Tenants of premises in the health complex, who today received notices asking them to vacate their space, are no less upset. For many of them, the news of the plant's closure came as a complete surprise.
We are shocked! How can we find a new premises in the same area in ten days? We rented a gym and locker rooms here for seven years. “We have an established clientele here,” the administrator of the Milton fitness center shared with VK an unexpected problem.
They urgently call their regular clientele: “We’re moving!” - and employees of a small hairdressing salon on the ground floor.
They say that the plant will be demolished, and a beauty institute will be built here, plastic surgery will be performed, fat will be pumped out, faces will be tightened, the upset tenants speculate. According to others, the plant was transferred to the Luciano hotel and spa chain, controlled by the wife of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan. One of the Luciano hotels is located literally a few meters from the bathhouse.
However, as it turned out, “Luciano” had nothing to do with it.
The fate of the “Health” plant “Evening Kazan” was clarified by the general director of Kombytservis JSC (97 percent of the shares of this company belong to the ex-mayor of Kazan, and now assistant to the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Kamil Iskhakov) Elena Gendelman.
The plant will close on July 1 for large-scale reconstruction. City authorities have repeatedly pointed out to us that it is necessary to improve the appearance of the building. This was the case before the 2013 Universiade, and now, before the Confederations Cup. The updated complex will open in about a year. The reconstruction was initiated by the new owner of the plant, Zdorovye LLC, which had previously rented the bath and health complex from Kombytservis for several years. The transfer of property to “Health” took place in May of this year, Gendelman said.
As Vechernyaya Kazan found out, the founder of Zdorovye LLC is Kamil Iskhakov’s granddaughter, Karina Kamalova. Consequently, the bath complex remained part of the family business.
Kamil Iskhakov himself told Vechernaya Kazan that the old building of the plant, which has long been in a deplorable state, will be almost completely demolished, and a new one will rise in its place - probably with underground parking and additional floors.
We have long been planning the reconstruction of the Zdorovye plant and now we have found an opportunity and are opening a credit line,” Iskhakov explained. - Let Kazan residents not worry, the profile of the new complex will not change: there will be swimming pools, Russian and Finnish saunas, Turkish baths. I also want to make a Korean one so that city residents can try this unique bathhouse - it has an interesting steam supply system. In general, there will be many new products.
According to the former mayor, in the coming days, builders will surround the plant with a high fence. But after reconstruction “to the highest European level”, the bathhouse will regain its former glory of Kazan “sanduns”, a cult place of meetings and relaxation.
In turn, Elena Gendelman assured VK that during the renovation, regular visitors of the Zdorovye plant will be offered, as an alternative, the services of other city baths, which are located at a relatively short distance and also belong to the Kombytservis company:
We are now completing renovations at the oldest city bathhouse No. 3 on Bolshaya Krasnaya. Residents of the historical center will soon be able to go there. In addition, our bathhouse No. 5 on May 1st Street is in excellent condition. The 7th bathhouse on Pavlyukhina, which was overhauled four years ago after several years of inactivity, the 10th on Yugo-Zapadnaya and the 12th on Tovarishcheskaya are ready to welcome new visitors. If necessary, we will organize a transfer for clients from the Zdorovye plant to these baths...
Photo by Alexander GERASIMOV
My dad, Vladimir Petrovich Medlev, was a co-author of the project of the Zdorovye plant: he worked on the facades. The other co-authors of the project are Muscovites (architects L. Ershova and V. Pospelov, Giprokommunstroy - Inde's note), and I would really like them to be alive. In this case, demolition of the building without the permission of the living author, according to Russian law, as far as I know, is impossible. My dad worked on the facade of this building by order of the chief architect of Kazan Agishev (Munir Khasyanovich; he held this position from 1971 to 1990 - Note "Inde") in 1978. At that time, this building was certainly very innovative and valuable for the city: similar institutions did not yet exist in Kazan at that time. In the city, and especially in its center, there were a large number of apartments that did not have water. People used the baths, but in addition to them, the plant also had a swimming pool. It was a good health center. In addition, it fits well into the urban environment of the center of Kazan in terms of high-rise buildings and scale. Today, the building, which has existed for almost 40 years, is, of course, outdated in terms of functionality and content.
Most of all, in the situation with the Zdorovye plant, I am outraged by the attitude of the new owners towards what they call demolition and reconstruction. If they are threatening demolition, then what kind of reconstruction are we talking about? If they want to reconstruct the object for the city, then let’s decide on its value, because the facades in this case turned out to be unique and interesting. They do not cause any irritation among the townspeople. I am outraged by this shameless attitude of the new owners. We need to decide: either it’s demolition or it’s reconstruction. If it’s reconstruction, then I, as an active architect, as the daughter of a man who had a direct connection to this building, with great pleasure would take part in the project, even at the level of consultations - what can be done, how to renovate the building, what is valuable, what is not valuable.
The danger of demolition is that without any design and preliminary hearings, some high-rise building, hotel or luxury residential building could be built on this site, which, of course, will be discordant with the surrounding buildings and will not add beauty to the city. The Zdorovye plant is not an architectural monument, and it does not pretend to be. Maybe another ten years would have passed, and he would have been able to get on the list of monuments. Local historian Sergei Sanachin has a book “Excursion into the architectural life of Soviet Kazan”, and the “Zdorovye” plant is included in the list of interesting objects of the Soviet period. I wouldn't want to destroy it so mercilessly. I would like both the city authorities and the people who own this facility to treat the previously created urban fabric more carefully and act more thoughtfully.
The legendary Kazan bathhouse on Pravo-Bulachnaya, where party bosses liked to relax in the 80s, and the leaders of criminal groups in the 90s, stops operating on July 1. Visitors to the steam rooms and swimming pool are alarmed: will the plant be closed forever? There are rumors in the bath complex itself that the building will be completely demolished, and another Luciano spa will be built in its place. “Evening Kazan” found out what will happen to the “Zdorovye” plant. One of the steam bath lovers told VK about the closure of the Zdorovye complex, built in the 1970s in the center of Kazan: “The bathhouse attendants were upset, they say, we’ve been working for the last week.”
Tenants of premises in the health complex, who today received notices asking them to vacate their space, are no less upset. For many of them, the news of the plant's closure came as a complete surprise.
We are shocked! How can we find a new premises in the same area in ten days? We rented a gym and locker rooms here for seven years. “We have an established clientele here,” the administrator of the Milton fitness center shared with VK an unexpected problem.
They urgently call their regular clientele: “We’re moving!” - and employees of a small hairdressing salon on the ground floor.
They say that the plant will be demolished, and a beauty institute will be built here, plastic surgery will be performed, fat will be pumped out, faces will be tightened, the upset tenants speculate. According to others, the plant was transferred to the Luciano hotel and spa chain, controlled by the wife of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan. One of the Luciano hotels is located literally a few meters from the bathhouse.
However, as it turned out, “Luciano” had nothing to do with it.
The fate of the “Health” plant “Evening Kazan” was clarified by the general director of Kombytservis JSC (97 percent of the shares of this company belong to the ex-mayor of Kazan, and now assistant to the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Kamil Iskhakov) Elena Gendelman.
The plant will close on July 1 for large-scale reconstruction. City authorities have repeatedly pointed out to us that it is necessary to improve the appearance of the building. This was the case before the 2013 Universiade, and now, before the Confederations Cup. The updated complex will open in about a year. The reconstruction was initiated by the new owner of the plant, Zdorovye LLC, which had previously rented the bath and health complex from Kombytservis for several years. The transfer of property to “Health” took place in May of this year, Gendelman said.
As Vechernyaya Kazan found out, the founder of Zdorovye LLC is Kamil Iskhakov’s granddaughter, Karina Kamalova. Consequently, the bath complex remained part of the family business.
Kamil Iskhakov himself told Vechernaya Kazan that the old building of the plant, which has long been in a deplorable state, will be almost completely demolished, and a new one will rise in its place - probably with underground parking and additional floors.
We have long been planning the reconstruction of the Zdorovye plant and now we have found an opportunity and are opening a credit line,” Iskhakov explained. - Let Kazan residents not worry, the profile of the new complex will not change: there will be swimming pools, Russian and Finnish saunas, Turkish baths. I also want to make a Korean one so that city residents can try this unique bathhouse - it has an interesting steam supply system. In general, there will be many new products.
According to the former mayor, in the coming days, builders will surround the plant with a high fence. But after reconstruction “to the highest European level”, the bathhouse will regain its former glory of Kazan “sanduns”, a cult place of meetings and relaxation.
In turn, Elena Gendelman assured VK that during the renovation, regular visitors of the Zdorovye plant will be offered, as an alternative, the services of other city baths, which are located at a relatively short distance and also belong to the Kombytservis company:
We are now completing renovations at the oldest city bathhouse No. 3 on Bolshaya Krasnaya. Residents of the historical center will soon be able to go there. In addition, our bathhouse No. 5 on May 1st Street is in excellent condition. The 7th bathhouse on Pavlyukhina, which was overhauled four years ago after several years of inactivity, the 10th on Yugo-Zapadnaya and the 12th on Tovarishcheskaya are ready to welcome new visitors. If necessary, we will organize a transfer for clients from the Zdorovye plant to these baths...
Photo by Alexander GERASIMOV
City authorities have repeatedly pointed out to us that it is necessary to improve the appearance of the building. This was the case before the 2013 Universiade, and now, before the Confederations Cup. The updated complex will open in about a year. The reconstruction was initiated by the new owner of the plant, Zdorovye LLC, which had previously rented the bath and health complex from Kombytservis for several years. The transfer of property to “Zdorov” took place in May of this year,” Elena Gendelman, general director of Kombytservis JSC, told Vechernaya Kazan.
As Vechernyaya Kazan found out, the founder of Zdorovye LLC is Kamil Iskhakov’s granddaughter, Karina Kamalova. Consequently, the bath complex remained part of the family business.
Kamil Iskhakov himself told Vechernaya Kazan that the old building of the plant, which has long been in a deplorable state, will be completely demolished, and a new one will rise in its place - probably with underground parking and additional floors.