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On December 8–10, the Museum of Moscow hosted the 7th scientific and practical conference “Museum in the City – City in the Museum”, dedicated to the industrial heritage of Russian cities.

Leading experts in the field of urbanism and architecture discussed the history of current and former factories and industrial zones, their changes and the future of industrial heritage.

The first day of the conference focused on global approaches to industrial heritage – what it means and how to preserve it. Examples from different regions of the country showed changes in the approaches of developers and architects to the development of industrial zones.

Ketevan Khelaya, co-founder and CEO of CENTER Lab International Urban Laboratory moderated the “State of Industrial Heritage in Russia” panel session.

During the discussion, experts touched upon the cultural understanding of industrialism, as well as redevelopment and the methods of working with industrial heritage.

Alisa Prudnikova, artistic director of the Ural Industrial Biennale of Contemporary Art, program director of the V-A-C Foundation and GES-2, spoke about such projects as the reconstruction of Iset hotel in Yekaterinburg and House of Culture GES-2 in Moscow. GES-2 is a vivid example of a new point of attraction in the city that appeared through careful restoration and transformation of urban infrastructure into an art space.

The small Russian town of Vyksa has great potential for development in the field of tourism, thanks to the transformation of industrial heritage into art objects.

Yulia Bychkova, managing partner of Nikola-Lenivets bureau, producer of Archstoyanie and Archstoyanie Kids festivals, and expert on the development of urban and natural areas, talked about the Art Ravine Festival, which takes place in Vyksa in summer. Moreover, as part of the festival, a street art park was opened, where the exhibits are machines and mechanisms that used to be part of real production.

Sofiya Poznanskaya, head of the Center for Territorial Development of Ivanovo region, and advisor to the governor of Ivanovo region on territorial development, spoke about the Big Ivanovskaya and Konovalovskaya manufactories redevelopment project.

IND Architects bureau has extensive experience of working with industrial heritage. Its founder and CEO Amir Idiatulin spoke about the famous Gzhel factory as a vivid example of local identity. After reconstruction, the area will have a unique point of attraction for both locals and tourists.

The business program of the conference “Museum in the City – City in the Museum” also included a “Study of Industrial Heritage: Features and Experience” round table.

The moderator was Inna Krylova, historian, industrial heritage expert and coordinator of the MosPromArt project.

Elena Stieglitz, researcher at the Department of Aesthetics and Ethics at the Institute of Human Philosophy of the Russian State Pedagogical University named after A.I. Herzen and director of the Baron Stieglitz Legacy Foundation, spoke about the plans to restore the unique flax-spinning factory of Baron Stieglitz, located in the Parusinka district in Ivangorod.

In the near future, an information and tourist center, cafes, viewing platforms and promenades, as well as a square with a summer cinema will appear in one of the buildings.

Mikhail Timofeev, head of territorial branding at the ANO Center for Territorial Development of Ivanovo region, and curator of the Internet project “Factories and People” talked about the study of factory facilities in Ivanovo region. The development of the project “Factory and People” will put industrial architecture sites of the Ivanovo region on the tourist map of Russia.

For the past year, Old Demidovsky plant in Nizhny Tagil has been visited by more than 5,000 tourists. It became possible thanks to a set of measures to transform the plant into an eco-industrial technopark format. Margarita Kuzovkova, deputy director for the preservation of industrial heritage and head of the technopark, talked about it.

Yulia Shulenina, an architectural historian of the National Research University Higher School of Economics and an employee of the Moscow Museum of Mosenergo and Power Engineering, talked about industrial sites near Moscow, the reconstruction of which is actively supported by the local history program.

During the discussion, Maria Sedletskaya, head of the analytical group CENTER Lab of the International Urban Laboratory, shared the results of the “Moscow RE:industrial” comprehensive study, which helped develop a strategy to integrate industrial areas into the fabric of the city. Reorganized territories are a powerful driver of redevelopment, necessary for the creation of new points of attraction.

Industrial heritage is a resource for reinforcing the local identity and significance that social and cultural institutions can bring to the work on the preservation and revitalization of industrial sites.