Viktor Filippovich Bykov (May 10, 1953, Urgut, Uzbek SSR — January 1, 2023, Nizhny Novgorod) was an architect, Honored Architect of the Russian Federation, and chief architect of Nizhny Novgorod from 2011 to 2018. He was a representative of the Architectural School of the 1990s) at its best period — the 1980s–1990s.[3]
Education and early career
Bykov graduated from the architecture faculty of the Tajik Polytechnic Institute in Dushanbe and worked there in his specialty for four years. In 1980 he moved to Gorky and took a job at the design institute "Gorkygrazhdanproekt" (later — NizhegorodgrazhdanNIIproekt").[3] That same year he joined the Union of Architects of Russia.[2] At the institute a fellowship of like-minded architects was taking shape, with a careful attitude toward the city and the profession; for Bykov this environment became the starting point of his professional growth.[3]
In the 1980s Bykov worked in collaboration with Evgeny Nikolaevich Pestov, Alexander Kharitonov, and Andrei Sazonov. Among his notable early works was the House of Actor (Nizhny Novgorod): a building conceived in the early 1970s as a giant folded wall, it had been frozen after the 1980 Olympics; Bykov proposed a solution with an applied facade, theatrical and fitting within the historical context. The project was completed in 1988, and the building became one of the city's first examples of contextual architecture.[3] Another joint work of that period was the Olympic Reserve School (1989): a reworking of a standard dormitory design into a unified complex with a natural "cour d'honneur."[3]
Creative Workshop
In 1991 Bykov founded his own Architect's Creative Workshop (TMA).[1] The workshop ranked among the top ten in Russia and became silver laureate of the "Zodchestvo-2001" festival.[3] In 2003 it won an international competition in Bulgaria for the design of the "Etazhi" shopping center on Belinsky Street.[1]
Among the workshop's best-known projects are: a quarter of low-rise houses on Molodyozhny Prospekt in the Avtozavodsky district, the administrative center building of Sberbank on Varvarskaya Street, the "Etazhi" and "Fantastika" shopping centers, and the "Lobachevsky Plaza" business center.[2] Bykov's works repeatedly received the Nizhny Novgorod Prize in the field of fine art.[1]
From 1994 Bykov taught at the Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (NNGASU).[2] In 1997 he joined the board of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the Union of Architects of Russia.[2]
As chief architect
In 2011 Bykov was appointed head of the city's chief architect administration of the Nizhny Novgorod city government and held the post until 2018.[1][2] During this period, under his leadership, projects were developed for the reconstruction of Rozhdestvenskaya, the improvement of Nizhne-Volzhskaya Embankment, and the renovation of Ilyinskaya Street.[2]
In May 2013, congratulating Bykov on his anniversary, the head of the city administration Oleg Kondrashov presented him with the administration's Certificate of Honor "for many years of conscientious work, high professionalism, and a significant personal contribution to the urban development and preservation of the architectural appearance of Nizhny Novgorod."[2]
In memoriam
Viktor Bykov died on January 1, 2023. His passing was reported by Zoya Ryurikova, head of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the Union of Architects of Russia. The farewell took place on January 3 at the House of the Architect, building 2.[1] An obituary on the professional portal archi.ru was written by architect Anna Gelfond, who described Bykov as "a vivid representative of the Nizhny Novgorod architectural school at its best period."[3]
Sources
- archi.ru — In Memory of Viktor Bykov (archive)
- NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — "Viktor Bykov is a vivid example of how a creative spirit in one's work can serve the good of Nizhny Novgorod," (archive)
- Vzglyad-NN — Viktor Bykov, former chief architect of Nizhny Novgorod, has passed away (archive)