LOCAL

By Andy Potts

With a world-wide reputation among architects and engineers, Moscow's Shukhov Tower should be a gleaming monument to Russian technical expertise and scientific know-how. However, the former radio and television tower in the Shabolovka neighbourhood is a neglected gem. Worse still, the structure is under threat from the elements, while some aspects of Vladimir Grigoryevich Shukhov's design have been lost amid insensitive renovations.

In a bid to preserve the tower, the architect's grandson, Vladimir Fyodo­revich Shukhov, has established the Shukhov Foundation, which also aims to develop the site as a conference centre and tourist attraction. At present, the tower itself is property of the federal Russian Television and Radio Broad­casting Network and surrounded by a concrete fence - off limits to the general public.

"At the moment we have requests from experts in America, Western Europe and China who want to come and see the tower, but we can't get closer than 100 metres," he said. "We want to be able to take people right into the site, to let them stand underneath and see it like in the photos [Alexander] Rodchenko took."

Other plans include removing extra layers of metal attached by anxious builders as more antennae were added to the tower, and, if possible, recreating the original movable base, now incarcerated in a concrete shell. "We need to look inside that concrete," added Shu­khov. "We don't know what has hap­pened in there, but usually metal corrodes as much as five times faster when it's encased in concrete. We have to check the state of the metal, and find out if that flexible mechanism is still there."

Part of the foundation's vision for the site is to create a fitting legacy for the versatile engineer, whose expertise also kick-started Russia's fledgling oil and gas industry back in the 19th century. The proposed Shukhov Centre, which could be partially built underground at the tower site, would include a museum, rotating art exhibitions and performing space as well as conference and education facilities. The aim is two-fold: to share the significance of Shukhov's work and legacy with a wider audience, while allowing experts to share their ideas.

The proposed centre is expected to take at least five years to build, with restoration work on the tower set to take between 12 and 18 months in total. The Commu­nications Minister Igor Shchegolev's announcement during a working meeting with prime minister last week that a budget for repairs was soon to be provided should mark the end of official inertia, which threatened to abandon the tower to its fate.

"This is an architectural monument which, unfortunately, has been forgotten about for too long," said Shchegolev. "Although we face severe restrictions on financing, we hope in the near future to find the funding to conduct an analysis and then maintain this monument of the engineering arts." Prime Mi­nister Vladimir Putin agreed, saying that as the nation's first television tower, "it is one of the symbols of our television broadcasting."

Funding is to be made available for anti-corrosion work well as an expert analysis of what needs to be done to the surrounding site.

For Shukhov this is good news, but while conservation in Russia remains in its infancy, he is keen to ensure his foundation is able to play a role in the planned work - and other projects. "People often talk about helping preserve our heritage, but that's all that happens," he said. "In Europe people pay much more attention to this, but in Russia it is still a very new idea. We are losing a lot of important buildings because developers prefer to crash them down and build something new. We created the foundation not just because of the tower but for other cultural and historical projects. This is part of our history, and we want to show why it's important that we protect it."

Moscow masterpiece

The Shukhov Tower

• Built 1919-1922.
• Designed to be 350 metres high - taller than the Eiffel Tower - yet weigh just 2,200 tonnes due to its innovative lattice-like hyperboloid design. The French monument weighs 7,300 tonnes.
• The finished tower was restricted to 160 metres due to lack of building materials during the civil war.
• Elegant, economic design inspired the likes of Antonio Gaudi, Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer.
• The planned "Vortex" skyscraper in central London, designed by Ken Shuttleworth, will also adopt Shukhov's "hyperboloid" ideas, while Norman Foster is another high-profile enthusiast.
• Years of neglect have left it in urgent need of repair, starting with anti-corrosion measures to preserve the steel structure.

 Who was he?

Vladimir Grigoryevich Shukhov (1853-1939)

• Architect, engineer, scientist.
• Revolutionised the Russian oil industry, building the first oil tankers in the country, developing a "cracker" to refine oil and laying the Russian Empire's first oil pipeline across the Absheron Peninsular (now in Azerbaijan) in 1878.
• Buildings in Moscow include the roof vaults in GUM, the platforms at Kievsky Vokzal and the radio tower at Shabolovka.
• Awarded a place in the Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1929.
• Late last year a statue to Shukhov was unveiled in Turgenevskaya Ploshchad, outside the offices of Lukoil.