Information about the building

The apartment building of merchant Old Believer V. E. Bykov, located at 19/18, 2nd Brestskaya Street, was built in 1909 and is one of the last works of the famous architect of Moscow modernism L. N. Kekushev. The four-story building, with Kekushev's characteristic wavy bay windows and curved cornices, adorns the corner of 2nd Brestskaya and Y. Fuchik Street.

This area began to be developed only in the 1870s. At that time, the plot at the corner of Novovasilievskaya Street and 3rd Tverskaya-Yamskaya belonged to the coachmen brothers Kokorin, who built a two-story house there. In the early 1900s, the brothers divided the plot, and in 1902, Sergey Egorovich erected a three-story residential building on his part, designed by architect K. I. Duvanov.

In 1905, merchant V. E. Bykov purchased the northern corner part of the property from the Kokorin brothers. After the unrest related to the first Russian revolution subsided, he commissioned architect L. N. Kekushev to build an apartment house. The four-story building has an L-shape and decorates the corner of the alley. From the side of 2nd Brestskaya Street, there is an entrance to the courtyard, the arch of which is adorned with a lion mask, the architect's signature. The first floor housed a bakery, a pharmacy, a house management office, and apartments. The other floors were occupied by rental apartments. Each apartment had two staircases, a front and a service one. The basement contained a boiler room, a doorman's apartment, and storage for the shops.

The facades of the house are decorated with wavy bay windows featuring large windows with complex latticework. Each window has two vertical bars with protrusions at the top, which is a characteristic feature of Kekushev's style. The windows of each floor have their unique design and are deeply set into portal frames. The bay windows on the side of 2nd Brestskaya Street are topped with high semicircular cornices, while those on Fuchik Street are more gently sloped.

In 1910, Bykov acquired both plots from the Kokorins, and Kekushev completed and decorated in the style of the corner house the part that had previously been built on Fuchik Street. The new facade acquired features of modernism and unified both buildings.

During the Soviet era, the house was also used as residential. From the 1970s, as residents were evicted, the premises began to be transferred to various administrative institutions, and former apartments were converted into offices. Some premises remained vacant for a long time.

In the early 2000s, the building retained its original layout and decorative furnishings, including window and door carpentry, convex glass, stucco decor, and original downspouts.

On September 16, 2009, a fire occurred in the building, destroying part of the fourth floor and the roof. As a result of the loss of the roof, the walls and ceilings began to collapse. Part of the ceilings collapsed, and one of the front staircases was completely destroyed. The building became emergency.

Restoration

Comprehensive restoration of the house began in 2013 with the strengthening of the foundation and basements, eliminating cracks and corrosion of the frame. In 2017, the second stage of restoration began, which included the restoration of load-bearing walls, door and window openings. Special attention was paid to returning the historical appearance of the facades. Work was completed on recreating the stucco decor of the cornice and the front staircase. The lion mask in the arch was restored and installed. Finishing work in common areas was also completed.

After the restoration, the building once again became residential, housing apartments. In 2021, the house opened to visitors as part of the Days of Historical and Cultural Heritage. The house of V. E. Bykov became a laureate of the "Moscow Restoration-2021" competition, and the restoration architect was awarded for scientific and methodological guidance.