Shukhov tower in Polibino: the secret of architectural longevity

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

In the village of Polibino, from all windows you can see a monument that is of federal importance - the estate of the Nechaev-M altsevs. Talented patrons and connoisseurs of real Russian art decided to take a special approach to the water storage facility. Today, the tower in Polibino enjoys great attention from lovers of beauty and history.

A unique place

The village of Polibino in the Lipetsk region is a unique historical place, a real island of Russian culture.

In this place on September 8, 1380, a battle took place between Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy and the Golden Horde Khan Mamai, which went down in history as the Battle of Kulikovo. Also here is a park of unique beauty and the main attraction of the city - the estate of the Nechaevs-M altsevs. At one time it was the main museum of the history of the Battle of Kulikovo. Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, Ilya Efimovich also visited and created their unforgettable masterpieces here. Repin and others.

About the master of the tower

Nechaev-M altsev Yuri Stepanovich is a real Russian philanthropist, diplomat, one of the twelve richest people of the second half of the 19th century. He was the owner of the estate until 1913.

Yuri Stepanovich went down in history not only for his good deeds in politics, agriculture and everyday life, but also for his significant contribution to the development of Russian culture and art.

From history

For the first time the tower was presented at the All-Russian Exhibition on May 28, 1896 in Nizhny Novgorod. The creator of the unusual design was the Russian architect and engineer Vladimir G. Shukhov.

Yuri Nechaev-M altsev was at the exhibition and immediately fell in love with this beauty as soon as he saw her. From the exhibition there are historical photos of the Shukhov Tower. She was transferred to Polibino on October 1 at the request of the patron.

Structure

The Shukhov tower in Polibino had no analogues of its kind. Its structure consists of three parts: a hyperboloid shell, a reservoir with water and an observation tower. The highest part is a mesh frame, the design of which is made according to the single-sheet hyperboloid principle of connecting beams. Eighty straight steel profiles are attached to the ring bases to the foundation. The curved structure of the Shukhov Tower in Polibino is given by 8 horizontal rings. All elements of the mesh shell are connected with rivets. From the ground level, where the foundation is located, and up to the water tank, a steelspiral staircase.

The tin tank, which serves as a reservoir, connects the mesh frame and the observation tower. A ladder and a cylindrical passage for access to the top are constructed along the tank.

The observation deck has two levels, which are separated by a similar hyperboloid superstructure. The first and second levels are connected by a straight vertical staircase.

Technical parameters

The height of metal beams in a hyperboloid shell is 25.5 meters. The total height of the Shukhov tower in Polibino, together with the foundation, the water tank and the superstructure for viewing, is 37 meters. At the base, the diameter of the ring is 10.9 m, and the uppermost ring is 4.2 m. The diameter of the water tank is 6.5 m, and the height of the tank itself is 4.8 m. The volume of the tank holds up to about 9.5 thousand buckets of water. The observation deck in two levels, not counting protection and overlap, is 7 m.

About constructor

Shukhov Vladimir Grigoryevich - a famous Russian and Soviet architect and inventor.

Through his work he made a huge contribution to the development of the Russian oil industry. He owns new ways of delivering and extracting oil in Russia - airlift. Creation of the greatest pipelines in the country, oil hydraulics, tubular steam boilers. In architecture, V. G. Shukhov's single-cavity hyperboloid tower has become a favorite design of representatives of the futurism movement.

Junior known throughout Russiabrother

Inspired by the success in the village of Polibino, Vladimir Grigoryevich was preparing for a new triumph. On February 14, 1922, in Moscow, on Shabolovka, under his leadership, a new Shukhov tower was built, only not a water tower, but a radio communication tower.

The new facility was built very hard, and a terrible accident occurred in the process of its creation. But the giant's fate was sealed. The height of the new tower was three hundred and fifty meters (it is 15 m higher than the Eiffel), and the weight is more than two thousand tons.

Restoration and restoration works

Both monuments turned out to be defenseless against the forces of nature and time. But in Polibino, the Shukhov tower has survived even though it is much older.

In 2012, the Ministry of Culture allocated funds for a new foundation, cleaning and painting. The wood decking has been replaced with stone blocks, rust has been removed and many of the fixtures have been heavily reinforced.

Legends of the famous tower

There are various rumors and conjectures around the Shukhov Tower in Polibino, but none of this has been documented. Some historians claim that its design is so unique that the tower can be assembled and disassembled repeatedly. If the Lipetsk Tower can be disassembled and reassembled, then this experiment can be done again, including with the Shabolovskaya structure.

In 1896, the tower, bought by a patron of the artsNechaev-M altsev at the exhibition, was dismantled and transported to Polibino. But someone claims that the tower was built by V. G. Shukhov for Yuri Stepanovich from scratch already in the village.

These disputes have received wide resonance, because the structure on Shabolovka needs a good repair, but so far it has not been possible to find an effective method of replacing defective structures due to its huge size.