Monotony, dullness, wretchedness and "no man's property" of common property, which are the entrances of multi-storey buildings, since the Soviet era, people have developed a hopelessness in which they don’t really want to live, but it’s scary to change. But there are people who are frankly tired of contemplating shabby (at best, faceless) or obscene-scribbled walls. This is exactly what happened in Rostov-on-Don, in one of the entrances, which the local artist Konstantin Nikolaev decided to turn into an art museum. It would seem that a good and necessary thing. But no, it was not without strife and litigation!
Nothing spoils the taste and perception of a person like the facelessness and dullness of the environment. Devastation, dirt have never led to anything good, have not developed aesthetic taste in people, have not cheered up, have not been forced to take care of what we have. Most often this happens with common house property - entrances, which allegedly belong to tenants, but no one thinks of improving them or at least not spoiling them, maintaining feasible cleanliness and order.
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Fortunately, not everyone likes such rudeness, yet there are initiative people who are trying to radically change the situation, turning entrances to an aesthetically attractive area where you can not only enjoy the beauty you see, but also improve your level education. Just such a miraculous transformation took place a few years ago in one of the entrances of a multi-storey building in Rostov-on-Don thanks to the efforts of Konstantin Nikolaev. True, this story was not without tough confrontations, both from some residents, activists of the HOA, and officials who could not allow such self-will and the desire for self-expression on common house property.
How it all started: Konstantin Nikolaev - theater designer, graduate of the Rostov Art College. M. B. Grekova, who always admires the Italian Baroque, bought an apartment in a panel high-rise building back in 2001. As expected, the new dwelling and entrance could not please his creative nature, so he began to make plans for the transformation of all premises. To begin with, he put the apartment in order, and then set about the entrance. But at this stage, problems began, since the desire of some for the beauty of the world around them ran into the "soviet" mentality of others.
The author of the idea himself, who decided to turn the entrance into a branch of an art gallery, said: “When I bought an apartment in this building, I looked around - it became scary that I would have to live here. In these dull walls, in this monotony... But I was even more frightened by people who run around like cockroaches: back and forth, sniffing, sniffing, and you can’t see them, and they don’t care about anything. Previously, teenagers wrote anything on the walls, it was useless to talk to their parents so that they would at least try to influence them.
It took 10 years for centimeter by centimeter the dull atmosphere of flights of stairs turned into “Little Italy”, that is what the front door of this high-rise building is called. Now on the walls of each site you can see Venetian streets, charming urban, natural and sea landscapes, fantasy scenes, still lifes, mirrors. The ceilings are adorned with frescoes and baroque stucco, but the standard railings could not be replaced - a very expensive pleasure. The only thing we managed to do was to paint them in a color that matches the decor and style, make decor and put “plugs” in the form of angels, which slightly covered the protruding metal.
A keen artist, basically, invested his own funds for the purchase of materials and this, not to mention his time and labor costs. Fortunately, there were caring neighbors who helped with money or independently purchased paint, mirrors, finishing materials (on a voluntary basis, no one demanded money). Initially, the HOA with the former chairman at the head even joined. It was decided to allocate 50,000 rub. for the repair of the entrance, which, although they gave it away with a creak, nevertheless they helped a lot in the design. But still, it was not without confrontation, and without outright sabotage.
It would seem that what else do the residents, the management company and the HOA need - cleanliness, beauty, spiritual atmosphere. But no, some could not get used to walking on beautiful tiles, and not on shabby areas, others did not like the plots so much that they tried to spoil them with markers or scratched them with keys. And the most incomprehensible thing is that such blatant vandalism was carried out by those in whose common property this entrance is located.
The artist said about this: “It’s just not clear to me: the wretched entrance is your face. And we have such cool cars worth millions of rubles under our house. And some people are ready to spend money on them, but not on a tile that not only they will walk on, or a door handle that everyone holds on to several times a day - no.
Especially zealous (newly elected) activists of the HOA, worried about their presiding positions, added fuel to the fire, suggesting that in this way Konstantin Nikolaev dreams of taking their place. Complaints rained down to higher authorities, which also did not approve of such amateur performances. Of course, if you look at the rules and regulations of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, then all work carried out in the entrances independently and without approvals - are a violation, since initially permission was not received from the tenants for such reconstruction. This became the main reason for filing a lawsuit in court, which was fully satisfied. It was decided to return the entrance to its original state, prescribed in the regulatory and technical documentation of the multi-storey building. And again at your own expense!
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It took a lot of effort for the caring residents, together with the artist, to defend the entrance in the state it is in at the moment. Thanks to an appeal to journalists, the impressive vernissage was seen not only at the local level, but also at the national level. The professionally covered problem caused an unprecedented resonance, which had a positive result. This report was noticed by the mayor's office, which supported the artist. The city department of culture also decided to note the invaluable contribution of the enthusiast to the creation of a unique art entrance. Konstantin Nikolaev was awarded the distinction "For services to the city of Rostov-on-Don". Also, the mayor's office was advised to apply to a higher court and appeal against the decision already made, while the city administration agreed to act as a third party. Which is what was done.
Considering that cardinal transformations do not concern the construction/demolition of additional walls/partitions, do not increase the load on the floor slabs and do not interfere with the evacuation of citizens, the judge advised to conclude a settlement. At this, the litigation was terminated, but they did not come to an agreement, according to the Rostovite, who decided to resist despondency: “We are in a state of cold peace: we do not notice each other”.
While everything is quiet and peaceful, the enthusiast continues to work on his brainchild, because many paintings are painted on the walls that have the property to crumble, and ill-wishers can still draw keys on the canvas or beat off the plaster to do from stucco, sometimes during the lifting of large-sized equipment or building materials, some masterpiece is caught or dampness with mold begins to spoil the whole picture. But these are all trifles, because the residents have almost learned to appreciate the beauty of their surroundings. For more than 10 years, many things have remained untouched, which in the old days would not have lasted a day in the entrance.
According to the Novate.ru editorial staff, guests come in crowds to the residents of this entrance (sometimes just curious people drop in, sometimes officials and even celebrities), while trying not to use the elevator, because to walk along the entire route, observing the amazing beauty - expensive costs. Unfortunately, throughout the post-Soviet space, residents of high-rise buildings can only complain about dullness and wretchedness, but it is decided to start the transformation very few, although there are exceptions to the rules and spiritual enthusiasts who are trying with all their might to get out of the dullness and oppressive monotony.
Not all artists managed to defend the amazing beauty (as for entrances) of the transformation. The creations of a Kiev woman who decided to decorate the landing and her apartment with fantasy sculptures, also caused controversy, but the outcome of the lawsuits was not in her favor.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/070122/61734/