Baku is growing and developing day by day. In the context of this development, some buildings are “aging” and ending their life.
The number of buildings older than 100 years in the centre of Baku is not small. Moreover, many buildings built in the early and mid-20th century have become unusable.
“Mysterious building”
One of the threatened buildings is located at 200 Dilara Aliyeva Street, Nasimi district. The building has become so unusable that local residents call it a “mysterious building” because of the sounds coming from it.
Emergency shelters in the Sabail region
The building located at 5 Yuzbey Mursalov Street in Sabail region is also in a state of disrepair. Built a century ago in 1910, this building has deep cracks. Although the official authorities have ruled the building unfit for operation, residents continue to live in it.
The dormitory located at Seyran Mammadov 3, Badamdar settlement, Sabail region, is also in a poor condition. According to information, the building was a dormitory of a ship repair plant. Official bodies have confirmed that the dormitory provided to the employees of this plant is not in working condition.
Danger in the city centre.
Another unusable building is located at 13 Brothers Mardanov Street in the Sabail district of the capital. The walls of the 3-storey building, built in the last century, have been eroded and cracks have appeared on the balconies. Due to the dangerous situation, residents have abandoned many of the apartments in the building.
Building of the publishing house “Azerbaijan”
The Azerbaijan publishing house on Matbuat Avenue is one of the buildings that have become obsolete. This building was built in the middle of the last century. Although the building has been in continuous operation until today, it has never been completely renovated. Therefore, the building is currently in an unusable condition.
“kendchilar” hospital
One of the buildings in the centre of Baku that is not in a working condition is the building of the former municipal clinical hospital No. 4, known among the population as the “Kendchilar” hospital. The building, located at 61 Fuzuli Street in the Nasimi district of the capital, built in 1911-1912, served as the municipal hospital No. 4 after the Soviet occupation. Since the hospital was moved in 2018, the building has been unused for 6 years.
Hotel “Nakhchivan”
The building of the Nakhchivan hotel, one of the first buildings of the famous Hyatt Regency complex, is also in a state of disrepair. This building was severely damaged in the earthquake in 2001. During that period and in the following 23 years, the building was renovated several times. Due to this reconstruction, the load on the building has increased. The increased loads add weight to the building.
To do?
The well-known architect, member of the International Academy of Turkic-speaking countries, Jahid Hasanov, in his statement to Bizim.media stressed the importance of taking various measures depending on the purpose of the buildings:
“For example, although the “Kandchilar” hospital, located in the city center, is in a poor condition, the building is protected as a historical monument. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to create conditions for privatization of such a building by entrepreneurs and to restore the building and reuse it as a hotel or shopping center. It has become important to demolish old dormitory-type buildings, including buildings of no historical significance, and build new buildings in their place, in accordance with the standards of the architecture of our city.”
Real estate expert Ramil Gasimzade also stressed the importance of demolishing unusable buildings:
“These buildings not only pose a serious danger to people’s lives, but also harm the overall appearance of our city. For example, the building of the Azerbaijan publishing house has become unusable because it has not been repaired for many years. It is impossible to make this building usable by repairing it.
The situation in the Nakhchivan hotel building, where thousands of people pass through every day, is not encouraging. I recalled that in our country there is an interesting experience, such as the construction of the Hilton hotel on the site of the old Azerbaijan hotel and the JW Marriott Absheron hotel on the site of the Absheron hotel. Similarly, it would be more appropriate to demolish the Nakhchivan hotel and build a new building in its place.
