Moscow news
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28-Oct-2009
Air conditioners under fire
Ayano Hodouchi
City authorities have been threatening an aggressive campaign against ugly air conditioner units, but uncertainty remains over how they will proceed.
Authorities originally announced their intentions to target the installation of unssightly externally-mounted air conditioners in mid-August and reiterated the call for their removal earlier this month.
Speaking at a press conference held at the "Architecture-2009" expo, Moscow's chief architect, Alexander Kuzmin, promised to fight air conditioners that disfigure urban facades.
"Air conditioning devices and antennas can be mounted so that not every part of the façade is peppered with them, and each house can be designed differently, with special places for these devices," Kuzmin said. "If a person simply attaches such things wherever he wants, there's a good chance that it could just fall off.
And of course, it ruins the outer appearance of the building."
Kuzmin stressed that authorities were preparing a law on the appearance of the city, in which this question would be addressed in detail, RIA Novosti reported.
Over the past decade, buildings in Moscow have become increasingly dotted with devices such as air conditioners, satellite dishes and antennas, leading to the buildings resembling industrially ornamented Christmas tress.
Kuzmin said that it remained to be worked out how the duty of "preserving the outer appearance of facades" would be enforced - as a separate legal act, or through amendments to the City Planning Code. He added that at present there is no legal framework to deal with these issues, and taking care of buildings' appearance rests solely on the managers of organisations or owners of non-residential buildings. Kuzmin added that after adjusting the legislation, uniform requirements for the improvement of facades would be established.
The chief architect said that the fight against air conditioners would begin at "home" - his office looks out into the courtyard, but on the façade of the Moskomarkhitektura building, facing Triumfalnaya Ploshchad, there are no fewer than 10 apparatuses of various sizes and shapes.
"It's not easy. But we will solve the problem," he said.
Evolution not revolution
At a press conference held on Friday, Kuzmin, however seemed to change tack from his previous stance, softening the city's position.
"I want to remove the conditioners from Moskomarkhitektura," said Kuzmin, "however, there will not be a special programme." He added that he intended to deal with the air conditioners installed on architectural monuments and in the areas surrounding historically valuable buildings. "Then we will proceed," said Kuzmin.
"Nonetheless, there will be no revolution, it will be an evolution of the brain," said Kuzmin, adding that the decision whether to remove them was up to every city resident individually.
Permission required
Since 2005, mounting antennas and air conditioners on residential buildings has required approval from the authorities. To receive approval, the owner of the flat has to provide the Moscow Housing Inspectorate with a plan for the installation, a packet of application documents, including permission from the planning authorities, fire-safety department and so on.
The application is then processed over 45 working days, and is not always approved. As a result, the majority of air conditioners in the city have been unlawfully installed.
"In some cases, we can dismantle these appliances with a court order, and even fine the owner 1,000 to 1,500 roubles for violating the Administrative Code," a source in the city administration told RIA Novosti. However, the authorities promised that a mass targeting would not take place.
"We're not racing to take conditioners off the facades. We need to systematically pressure residents so that they will voluntarily restore some order to their buildings," said Moscow Duma Deputy Mikhail Moskvin-Tarkhanov.
According to the chief artist of Moscow, Igor Voznesynsky, Muscovites will most likely be asked to relocate their air-conditioners to the courtyard-facing walls of the building or to balconies. In his opinion, the reform will firstly affect the tenants living in buildings considered historic monuments, as well as those in historical areas or close to main roads.
The Moscow News