At VDNH, we have launched a restoration project to refurbish one of the site’s most colourful and eclectic pavilions – Tsentrosoyuz, Pavilion No. 61, located near the Stone Flower fountain. Designed by architects Rudolf Kliks and Boris Vilensky and built in 1954, the pavilion was originally dedicated to trade between the city and the countryside. The pavilion was rebuilt and renamed many times: first Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes, then Light Industry, and today Tsentrosoyuz, serving as an administrative building. Now, the works will restore the original appearance of the pavilion, first of all its façade.
“The pavilion has a huge amount of architectural decorations. The building features stucco on the façades, high reliefs, sculptures, ceramic fountains, and glazing in metal frames,” said architect Lyudmila Abdullayeva.
Kirill Bakakin, the restoration project director at MSU-1 GC, spoke about the process details: “Almost all the stucco decorations have been lost. Probably 25%–30% are left, no more. The first thing we did was establish the stucco composition, because the new stucco must be identical. It had a very authentic tint, ferric oxide, so we used the authentic ferric oxide as well to colour the stucco mass for decorations.”
To date, masters have restored almost all the stucco decorations and are installing them.
Alexander Tarasov, Deputy CEO of VDNH, said that the bulk of the façade restoration works has been completed, and the project is now at the interior stage: “Now the restoration has moved inside, for the interiors. We plan to complete the project by the end of August.”
After the restoration, the Tsentrosoyuz pavilion will become a universal exhibition space.
For more details on the Tsentrosoyuz pavilion restoration project, watch the Moscow 24 report.
