The reasons for the demolition of the famous film center reveal the materials testing fire safety of the building
Last week the management of the cinema “Nightingale” on Krasnaya Presnya made their fans can say, as a parting gift: the closing date has moved from November 15 to December 2. There is no doubt that the “detention” will be held under noise of protests, both in social networks and on the streets: the defenders of “the Nightingale” are determined. However, few of them know what the cost to the owners of the cinema center were able to keep it in “working” status in recent years. In our possession were documents which show that the demolition of the building “Nightingale” is actually a necessary step.
In April 2018, in the Wake of the terrible tragedy in Kemerovo, the Supervisory authorities across Russia have begun total check of all cinema, concert, exhibition halls and other public spaces on their conformity to requirements of fire security and counter-terrorism. 3 APR relevant resolution in respect of the cinema “Nightingale” on Krasnaya Presnya was issued by the office of public Prosecutor TSAO of Moscow. The document frankly stated that the inspection is conducted “on the instructions of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation in connection with a fire that occurred in a shopping centre, “Winter cherry” in the city of Kemerovo”. For the capital’s cinema center on Krasnaya Presnya, really loved and visited by many Muscovites, this check could well be the last.
But it would be naive to believe that this was the first inspection of the Nightingale in many years. Unlike regional peers, the city, emergency workers, prosecutors and other competent authorities never relaxed, as a minimum, the terrorist threat has not been canceled. Therefore, administrators of cinema to the next test reacted without trembling: their memory in recent years these “events” took place at least a dozen. The life of the owner of the building was, you might say, a constant struggle with such inspections, and ways to “appease” the inspectors, as we all know, is not always legitimate. The peculiarity of the latter, the public Prosecutor, check has become something to “negotiate” with the inspectors in this case had no chance: Kemerovo tragedy shocked not only ordinary people, but “security forces” that approached the subsequent preventive measures with full responsibility.
That is why the results of the audit of cinema can be found in the public domain. According to its results, the Prosecutor’s office filed a lawsuit against the owner of the cinema centre in the Presnensky district court and court materials, as we know, laid out in the Internet. Looking ahead, we say that civil case No. 2-3371/2018 this claim may 18, was terminated, due to the fact that the prosecution seen in the elimination of most of the 35 violations. Most stress, but not all. Because a significant portion of defects that endanger the safety of the visitors of the cinema “Nightingale” due to structural features of the building, and, accordingly, can be remedied in only one way: to demolish and re-build. And the Prosecutor’s office and Ministry of emergency situations is well understood.
According to one of the employees of the cinema, at the time of the audit, the officer of fire protection said a key phrase: “it is Easier to carry everything to hell…” Indeed, provisions like the insufficient number of signs banning Smoking or violation of terms of verification of several fire extinguishers, fix was easy, what was the administration of the cinema and performed, as you can see, fairly quickly. But what about the doorways that do not meet the safety requirements of the width? To expand all of them, including those made in load-bearing walls? But in this case, it may crash, sorry, all the building…
And with the basement, the output of which is 1.9 metres high, and which should be used as one of the ways to evacuate, what would you do? And to completely change the system for smoke exhaust in the already functioning building – how do you imagine that?..
In the end, “the settlement agreement” concluded between inspection organisations, it was a compromise and temporary. As they say in informal conversations employees of the cinema, the prosecution has made concessions only because the decision to demolish the building has been decided and agreed upon with the city of Moscow. The owner submitted the relevant documents and just asked to modify some time by eliminating all the violations which can be resolved.
What could be the options for saving the building of the cinema in its current form? First, it should lead to the original architectural plan, which is invested in a project by the famous Soviet architect Vladimir Ginzburg and Julius Filler. This means, not only to pull out from the facade, creepy plastic, veneer dotted with led stars that went to “Nightingale” the legacy of casino, night clubs and other dens who settled there in fact since it was built. It would mean that you need to carry countless internal partitions and communications, built on over 30 years, including to the cinema could work in its current format. 26 cinema halls is certainly good, but the building is in the design and construction simply was not designed for such a format. It was conceived as a typical, by and large, Soviet cinema, with one big concert, and two or three small rooms, nothing more. Well, plus a separate space for the Museum Movie. All…
As shown by polls, opponents of the construction of the new “Nightingale” are fighting for the preservation not so much the building, but their favorite format of film screening: long-term rentals, a large selection of movies, due to the gigantic number of rooms – all this is written in their posts on Facebook, a specially created group. But here’s the dilemma then is that, while maintaining the building to modern safety standards format this in any way cannot be saved. Meanwhile, the cinema “Nightingale” and the network of cinemas “Karo” has signed a cooperation agreement, which involves the preservation of the “Karo” repertory grid and the pricing of the cinema after its closure. This was reported to journalists by the President of “Karo” Olga Sinyakova and Executive Director of “the Nightingale” Yuri Soloviev.
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