Moscow’s modern television tower is a famous landmark and tourist attraction. Often forgotten, the city’s earlier broadcast tower that was constructed in the 1920’s from a unique and innovative design by architect / engineer Vladimir Shukhov.  The tower was originally designed to be taller than the Eiffel Tower and use less than 1/3 the material thanks to its hyperboloid design.

“This is an architectural monument which, unfortunately, has been forgotten about for too long,” said Shchegolev. “Although we face severe restrictions on financing, we hope in the near future to find the funding to conduct an analysis and then maintain this monument of the engineering arts.” Prime Mi­nister Vladimir Putin agreed, saying that as the nation’s first television tower, “it is one of the symbols of our television broadcasting.”

Funding is to be made available for anti-corrosion work well as an expert analysis of what needs to be done to the surrounding site.

For Shukhov this is good news, but while conservation in Russia remains in its infancy, he is keen to ensure his foundation is able to play a role in the planned work - and other projects. “People often talk about helping preserve our heritage, but that’s all that happens,” he said. “In Europe people pay much more attention to this, but in Russia it is still a very new idea. We are losing a lot of important buildings because developers prefer to crash them down and build something new. We created the foundation not just because of the tower but for other cultural and historical projects. This is part of our history, and we want to show why it’s important that we protect it.”(Moscow News)

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