In Vladikavkaz, architects call on authorities to coordinate works at local planetarium

The repair works at a former Shiite mosque of Vladikavkaz are being carried out without any sanctioned project, and they violate the architectural appearance of the building, the architects report. According to officials from the authorities, the temporary roof is arranged to prevent the destruction of the building.

Starting from 2009, the fate of the planetarium was unclear, since the building had no owner. Only in late 2015, the building was passed to the Ministry of State Property and Land Relations with subsequent transfer to the Ministry of Culture, reports Ruslan Tedeev, Minister of State Property.

According to him, the works at the planetarium were launched in December 2015 due to the help of patrons of arts. It is still unknown when the restoration works will be started at the planetarium, since the budget does not provide allocation of funds for this purpose, the Minister reports.

According to the conclusion of the working group of the North Ossetian organization of the Russian Union of Architects, the external appearance of the building has been changed significantly in the course of alterations. The current works on the construction of the temporary roof further distort the historical appearance of the building, the document reports.

The working group has noted that even at the extant state, the building is of high historical, architectural and artistic value.

The building of the planetarium (a former Shiite mosque) is a very important cultural place, believes Lyudmila Gaboeva, the director of the public institution "The Heritage of Alania".

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.