Architectural curves of Soviet city

An analog of Macao and Las-Vegas in Minsk promised to the Belarusan nation looks more like an analog of secret humanoid settlement.

Take a look at the buildings that are now being built not far from the National Library - they are going to look like the enhanced to the many-colored parallelepiped condition standard Soviet five-story blocks of flats.

But if you listen to the Belarusan TV, then you’ll hear that it is there where the building of another architectural wonder of the world is going on. Specialists from Mass Media assure that “Minsk Beacon” complex will be “a modern European center”, and “the aim of the development plan of the complex is the creation of modern, integral commercial and dwelling surroundings that will combine modern design and latest technologies, as well as promote creation of absolutely new urban space in Minsk”.

The people responsible for that continue to convince their naïve fellow citizens that “there are only three such projects as “Minsk Beacon” in the world – Dubai, Macao, Las-Vegas. And now Minsk will also have its Mecca for tourists and the fire of the beacon will be lit. The builder of this unseen “wonder” without false modesty names it “ultra-modern mega-project”.

It is interesting that when you look upon the numerous layouts of the “Minsk Beacon” project it is very hard to find similarities with how the building process is going on now. The original project underwent a lot of considerable changes. And one can forecast with certainty that the result will differ from the original layout a lot.

At the layouts given to the public “Minsk Beacon” complex looks fresh, modern and bright. But under the close investigation the house blocks built at the Independence Avenue have little difference from those in Minsk dormitory areas.

The foreground of the “Minsk Beacon” complex can be mistaken for the common city construction site that can’t be compared to the best world examples of modern architectural buildings.

For the people who are ignorant in this field new houses look like common bearing-wall buildings. They look beautiful on the paper, but they acquire elements of common and unremarkable constructions as they are being built.

The building gets elitism only because it is close to the National library.

However, the “Minsk Beacon” can be named one of the main city construction sites only because the municipal authorities cannot decide on the investor for the largest complex in the city, i.e. “Minsk-City”. Besides, building processes near the National library don’t arouse that much of indignation from Minsk citizens as the building processes in the city center do.

When you look at the building of “Minsk Beacon” it is hard to imagine what was the appearance of more than 20 projects that were fighting for the site development license. It was almost five years ago when the international contest on the best architectural concept was announced and the President demanded that “on this territory modern high-tech objects should be present”.

Optimists expect that the new wonder of Minsk “Beacon” will provide an additional accent for the dull 16-floor houses across the road.

 children indulge themselves by playing hockey near the future “Minsk Beacon” complex …

We shouldn’t be doubtful: in comparison with the “Beacon” the library will still look like an architectural “diamond”. But not for a long time: “Gazprom” has promised to build one more architectural masterpiece there.

The representatives of the Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom have already announced to the public that the leading architectural schools of the world are involved in the work on the complex that is planned to be built at the place of the “Moscow” bus station. The minister of architecture and construction of Belarus Anatoly Nichkasau has stated recently that the office of the “Gazprom” will take an important place in the site development of the capital: “It is the entrance gate from the side of Russia; this place is already honored with such object as the National library. There is also a goal to make the future building ensemble-like”.

…The generation that is getting used to play hockey near the National library today will be unraveling the mysterious messages of the ancestors who have left such architectural fortune in legacy for a very long time.