Project “Historical Design Code of Rybinsk”. Part 2

The previous article presented a project of the historical design code of Rybinsk that allowed to preserve the historical appearance of the city. How it succeeded and what results it led to is presented below.

The implementation of the project has started since 2018, . More than 400 new “vintage” signs had been placed, about 100 facades had been repaired. Artists, historians, designers and entrepreneurs were actively involved in the process of transforming the urban environment. As a result, there was a revival of the historical image of the city center, new stores, museums, cafes opened. “Piano Museum”, “Ushakov Museum”, Museum of Flooded Lands, Nobel Brothers Museum. Workshops “Ethno-Kuznya”, “Living Antiquity”, “Rybinsk Fishes”. Krestovaya Street is recognized as the best shopping street in Russia, Red Square is included in the register of the best urban planning practices of the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation. In 2020, the project received the Star of Quality in the nomination “Preservation of Hospitality Traditions”. The project was awarded a silver mark at the annual All-Russian contest of the Union of Architects of Russia “Architecture 2021”. The historical center became a favorite recreation place for residents and tourists.

The signs allowed the forgotten cultural code to be broadcast, and now city holidays are held in the historical core of Rybinsk, the space turns into a fair, then into a hayloft, then into a theatrical booth, then into a concert hall. Rybinsk annually hosts “Merchant’s Day”, “Invasion of Deds Moroz”, the City Day. These events attract many visitors to the city.

The craft of “ancient and living” signage has been mastered by many artists, designers, local historians and the customers of signage themselves – entrepreneurs who become co-authors of signage projects. An open-air museum of ancient signage has been formed.

The city has preserved the beautiful architectural and urban planning ensemble of the center. Only in Rybinsk, on the bank of the Volga, you can see two bread bourses – the old one from the beginning of the 19^th century with an 8-column portico in the style of classicism and the new one from the beginning of the 20^th century with numerous hipped turrets and barrel-shaped completions in the neo–Russian style. On the bank of the Volga, there is the majestic Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral with a bell tower, which has raised its spire to a height of 94 m, called by the residents “The Beauty of the Volga Region”.

The whole system of urban planning, silhouette and semantic accents laid down by the ancestors has been preserved. And the urban environment, which was silent during the Soviet period of history, with the facades of numerous shops and stores, devoid of architectural decorations, merchant color, signboards, lanterns, awnings, has again spoken to visitors in its native language.

Thanks to the implementation of the project, created on the initiative of the public and supported by the city administration, the center of Rybinsk turned into the Museum of Ancient Signage. The creation of such a space was a logical development of the processes of reviving interest in the history of the city, which intensified in Rybinsk in the second half of the 1980s, when Rybinsk became one of the historical cities.

Based on the materials of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of the city of Rybinsk

14.11.2024

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