Kotelnicheskaya Embankment is a street on the northern bank of
Moskva River in central Tagansky District of Moscow, Russia. It
spans from the mouth of Yauza River (west) to the point one
block west from Bolshoy Krashokholmsky Bridge (east), where it
changes name to Goncharnaya Embankment. Kotelnicheskaya
Embankment Building is one of seven stalinist skyscrapers laid
down in September, 1947 and completed in 1952, designed by
Dmitry Chechylin (then Chief Architect of Moscow) and Andrei
Rostkovsky. Main tower has 32 levels (including mechanical
floors) and is 176 meters tall. The building also incorporates a
9-story apartment block facing Moskva River, designed by the
same architects in 1938 and completed in 1940. Originally build
in stern early Stalinist style, with wet stucco wall finishes,
it was re-finished in terra cotta panels in line with the main
tower and acquired ornate pseudo-Gothic crowns over its 12-story
raised corners and center tower. By the end of World War II, the
side wing was converted to multi-family kommunalka housing, in a
contrast to the planned elite status of the main tower. The main
tower, of a conventional steel frame structural type, has a
hexagonal cross-section with three side wings (18-storeys,
including two mechanical floors). While it is not exceptionally
tall or massive, the "upward surge" of five stepped-up layers,
from a flat 9-storey side wing to the spire, produce a visual
image of a far superior structure. The structure hides behind
itself a so-called "Shvivaya Gorka", a hill with historical
architecture and a maze of steeply inclined streets. Chechulin
was initially criticized for complete disregard of this area,
but his bureaucratic influence brushed off any criticisms.
Notable residents of the building include(d): Galina Ulanova (her
apartment is preserved as a museum); Yuri Lyubimov, a kommunalka
dweller; Faina Ranevskaya; Andrey Voznesensky. |