 Critics noted disjunction of functional concrete and steel structure and elaborate Russian Revival styling that consumed 40 million bricks.While upper floor galleries benefited from Shukhov's skylights, lower level suffered from inadequate ventilation, and, as a result, demand for shop space in the building did not meet the expectations.In 1895 Pomerantsev was appointed chief architect of the 1896 All-Russian Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, an event heralded as the guiding light for the upcoming 20th century.