When will Children's World open? Central children's stores

The architectural and planning solution of the department store made it quite difficult for Soviet-era general contractors to work on the creation of the project. Initially, the architects (the author of the Children's World project was A. Dushkin) solved only the problem of reconstructing the existing building of the Lubyansky Passage. The desire to use the foundations of the passage ultimately led to unfortunate errors in the design solution, which were in no way compensated for by the insignificant economic benefits.

We are talking about the problem that the investor faced today when agreeing on the project of the main hall and its further reconstruction. Thus, due to overstressing of the existing foundations, the creators of Detsky Mir abandoned the construction of a central trading floor for the entire height of the building, with two or three mezzanine floors and an overhead light at the level of the seventh floor. The blind ceiling above the hall was made at the level of the third floor, as a result of which a closed “courtyard-well” was formed above the roof of the hall. Atmospheric precipitation began to collect in the so-called well, dampness appeared and, as a result, the destruction of walls made of silicate brick.

Load-bearing structures were recognized by numerous commissions as pre-accident. An official conclusion was prepared in which more than a third of the areas of the current building were recognized as not meeting modern fire safety standards. On July 1, 2008, it was decided to close Detsky Mir for reconstruction.

The authors of the new project for the reconstruction of the Children's World on Lubyanka made the only correct conclusion - the operation of the building of the legendary store is impossible without bringing it to a single foundation slab. To ensure safety, it was decided to replace the internal load-bearing structures in the building. At the same time, the walls of the building, which are the subject of protection, will be carefully restored. Moreover, the original author’s view of the three-span loggia from the side of Lubyanka Square will be returned.

According to the chief architect of Moscow, Alexander Kuzmin, the new project is the most successful solution, which, on the one hand, allows us to recreate the historical atmosphere familiar to us all, and on the other hand, allows us to eliminate many of the construction shortcomings caused by the rapid construction of the building in 1957.

However, “The work to dismantle the structures of Detsky Mir, which began in December 2011, may ultimately lead to the loss of the original building and its replacement with a “remake”, - Arkhnadzor fears.

The history of the emergence of "Children's World".

Drawing 1976 E. Kumankov. In "Children's World".

Photo from the early 1960s. (colorized)

Now "Children's World" is closed... Only the facades are guarded. Inside there is devastation and outright vandalism. But I already wrote about this (and also see the label " ").

Photo from the 2000s. Central hall.

2008 "Children's World". Ladder. Photo by Uncle Kolya

Uncle Kolya

2008 "Children's World". Interior fragment. Photo by Uncle Kolya

2008 "Children's World". Interior fragment. Photo by Uncle Kolya. The pictures were taken the day before the closure of Detsky Mir, which occurred on July 1, 2008.

"The priorities for the Sistema-Hals company are the following areas of social responsibility:<...>- development of socially significant cultural and historical objects..." link

"...all areas of activity of the Sistema-Hals company have a high social significance. Social responsibility to society is a key task and an integral part of the daily work of the employees of the Sistema-Hals company"link

Photo from 2009 "Children's World". Interior fragment. Archnadzor

Well, a photo with Alyonka from the last time (before closing):

On Tuesday, January 24, 2012, the president of the development company "Gals-Development" Sergei Kalinin said that the right to recreate the interiors of the Moscow "Children's World" will be put up for competition: “An open architectural competition has already been announced to recreate the interior. Moreover, several hundred participants have already decided to take part in it.” He noted that when developing a project to recreate the interior, the developer is ready to involve a wide range of experts.

This, of course, AFTER the marble balusters and other things inside that were not included in the register of historical heritage at the time the “dismantling” began, reliably hidden from the eyes of the people behind the walls, were so fortunately included in this historical heritage in time... *(

A complete dismantling of the internal structures of "Children's World" and its unique interiors of the 1950s is currently underway. last century, while preserving only its outer walls, the goal is to construct a single foundation slab under the building. “Carrying out this work urgently will make it possible to protect the building from further destruction and deformation.”, - emphasized in "Hals-Development". In response to this statement, Arkhnadzor recalled that quite recently in Moscow they were laying a single foundation slab for the Bolshoi Theater - and for this it was not at all necessary to destroy all the interiors of the monument.

Advisor to the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences, honorary architect of Russia Lyudmila Moldavskaya believes that in order to preserve both the function of the building and its appearance, it is necessary to reconsider its structure, analyze the strength of the structural scheme in new conditions, and carry out certain construction work. "The uniqueness of the building is in its appearance and scale (!!!) that need to be preserved, which is what the development company is trying to do"“,” she said, recalling that “Children’s World” was built in times of shortage, in a hurry, which led to design miscalculations and planning features. “At one time, this building was erected as a palace, where there was an unprecedented sense of respect for its visitors - children. This is what needs to be preserved first of all. After all, the requirements of modern life are no longer what they were before.”, - said Moldavskaya. According to her, “People want a comfortable, convenient and safe space to bring their children to, and the needs of those for whom this iconic and unique store is being recreated cannot be ignored just to mothball the building.”.

The modern world certainly does not experience a lack of “scale”, if this word is used to describe large buildings. From childhood, of course, I remember the high round glass arches in the external appearance of Detsky Mir, but I cannot say that this is what is important. The most important thing is that when entering “Children’s World” from any street you find yourself in the main hall, royally majestic and childishly alive with all these toys, a carousel, a Christmas tree, moving creatures suspended from the ceiling... escalators, like in the subway , to the upper floors. And the higher you go, the more mature you get - there’s a store for artists right at the top, tools for carving wood on the second floor, interesting clothes - not a lot, but interesting. And if you enter correctly, it seems from Rozhdestvenskaya Street, then immediately up the stairs on the second or third floor you will find yourself in a CAFE, a real cafeteria type!, with compote and pies at a low price *) Maybe it was worth reconsidering the ventilation in the store, I don’t remember how stuffy it was , but people write. Conduct an explanatory conversation for sellers (with a salary increase!) so that they become kinder, they also write about this. The rest is a matter of rearranging the goods. In any case, it is more important to preserve the inside than the outside.

Arkhnadzor believes that reconstruction work on the building will lead to its loss and destruction of the historical and cultural value of the historical monument, the responsibility for the preservation of which lies with the Russian state.

The Central Children's World was built in 1957 - especially for the International Festival of Youth and Students, so that guests of the capital could see with their own eyes that there is a happy childhood in the Soviet country.

The building grew up on the site of an entire block, consisting of several buildings, which also included Lubyansky Passage. The established historical ensemble of shopping arcades was demolished in 1953-1954.

The central children's world was also supposed to play the role of an ideological symbol of successful Soviet trade and prosperity.

Initially, the government decided to preserve the Lubyansky Passage and, after reconstructing it, make it part of the new building. However, as A. Dushkin recalls, “I started working, examined the passage in detail and came to the conclusion that there was no point in this - it was necessary to build a new building on a new foundation with partial use of old structures.”

Everyone remembered the delicious ice cream, the huge wall clock with chimes and moving figures (which did not appear immediately, but only during the store’s opening hours), toys and school uniforms bought here once, a New Year tree, a carousel, huge queues, crowding, stuffiness and numerous counters that were difficult to get through.

Children's World was the only children's goods store of its kind, where, in an era of total shortages, you could find and buy everything after standing in lines.

In 2008, the Central Children's World was closed for reconstruction. The project for the future store, which existed at that time, provided for a complete reorganization of the internal space of the building: new layouts, a new funnel-shaped atrium, a new round glass dome. In 2011, after lengthy debates and discussions of the project in the press, the development company abandoned the previous concept in order to preserve the historical configuration of the central hall and completely recreate the memorable interior. This decision was supported by the authorities and approved by the shareholder. At the beginning of 2012, after work to strengthen the external walls of the building, the company began to partially dismantle the internal emergency structures in order to avoid sudden collapses of the metal roof of the central hall, which could not withstand another snowy winter.

Detsky Mir will move its flagship store to a building next door to its “historic” location on Lubyanka. The chain will open a department store in the Fashion Season gallery on Okhotny Ryad

The Children's World store in the Voentorg building on Vozdvizhenka (Photo: Lori)

Several participants in the commercial real estate and children's goods markets told RBC that the flagship store of Detsky Mir will move from the Voentorg building on Vozdvizhenka to the Fashion Season shopping gallery on Okhotny Ryad. According to one of RBC's interlocutors, the opening of the store is scheduled for spring 2017. At the same time, the store area “will be no less than the current 7 thousand square meters. m flagship in Voentorg,” the source claims and adds that “based on the current gallery space, Detsky Mir can occupy the space of the Podium market store (occupies about 13 thousand sq. m on two floors. — RBC)».

“At the moment, we are at the stage of negotiations on the relocation of our store inside the shopping center,” creative director of Podium market Polina Kitsenko said through the press service.

Detsky Mir will open a store during the Fashion Season, a representative of the retailer’s press service confirmed. At the same time, the chain also plans to keep the store on Vozdvizhenka.

Way home

AFK Sistema acquired a controlling stake in Detsky Mir JSC in 1995 and created from it a full-fledged retail chain with a flagship in Lubyanka. In July 2008, the central department store was closed for reconstruction, which was supposed to be completed within three years. But due to the crisis, AFK Sistema had to make changes to its plans: in 2009, Vladimir Yevtushenkov’s company was forced to sell for a symbolic 60 rubles. its development subsidiary Sistema-Gals, together with the building on Lubyanka, to VTB Bank as part of a debt restructuring of more than $1.3 billion.

A change in the structure of investors ultimately delayed the opening for almost seven years: the Central Children's Store received its first visitors only in the spring of 2015. Despite Detsky Mir’s desire to return as an anchor tenant to the renovated department store, which the chain’s general director Vladimir Chirakhov spoke about in 2014, the main tenant became the British toy store Hamleys World, developed as a franchise by the Ideas4retail company of Alexander Mamut and Evgeny Butman.

Detsky Mir itself also did not immediately find a new location for the flagship department store: only in 2014 the company announced the conclusion of a ten-year lease agreement in the building of Voentorg - one of the most famous Soviet stores, closed in the early 1990s due to disrepair. In 2002, the owner of the building became the AST group of Telman Ismailov, which sold it in 2009 to Nafta-Moscow of Suleiman Kerimov. He, in turn, a year later transferred Voentorg to Rybolovlev’s structures in exchange for part of the shares of Uralkali. In 2014, Voentorg was put up for sale, and the BIN group offered about 12 billion rubles for it. (the deal fell through). Now the main contender for the purchase of the building is the alliance of Avica, which manages private equity funds in the field of commercial real estate, and the Chinese Fosun.

How does Detsky Mir work?

The revenue of Detsky Mir Group for the first half of 2016 amounted to 33.7 billion rubles, net profit - 627 million rubles. The group manages 400 Detsky Mir stores and another 44 points under the ELC brand. At the end of 2015, AFK Sistema sold 23.1% of the retail company to the Russian-Chinese investment fund (owned by the Russian Direct Investment Fund and China Investment Corporation) for RUB 9.75 billion. As stated by the main owner of AFK Sistema, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, Detsky Mir may hold an IPO in March 2017.

Central children's stores

According to one of RBC’s interlocutors in the real estate market, Detsky Mir wants to occupy the space during the Fashion Season, including in order to “take over part of the traffic from the Central Children’s Store on Lubyanka.” “The failed return to the “historical walls” of the department store was experienced quite “painfully” by the shareholder of Sistema and the company’s top managers,” another RBC source claims.

In addition, RBC’s interlocutors are confident that placement in such a location will be another attempt by Detsky Mir to open a “premium format” store, since it is strange to open an ordinary hypermarket in one of the most expensive department stores in the capital. True, Detsky Mir already had projects in premium children's retail, but they were not successful. The operator tried to develop the Yakimanka children's gallery for six years, but at the end of 2014 he sold the building to the owner of the nearby Gimeney shopping center.

General Director of INFOline-Analytics Mikhail Burmistrov believes that a new attempt to return to the premium format may be more successful. In his opinion, over the past two years, Detsky Mir has “significantly improved its position in the market and increased the efficiency of company management.” “The location near the Central Children's Store on Lubyanka may even play into the hands of both stores,” says Burmistrov. “Buyers in premium stores love choice, so stores won’t take customers away from each other.”