[4] In 1974, construction began of a two-story market building on Baumansky street under the direction of architect Lev Gilburda.

The roof, in the shape of a bowl with a diameter of 90 metres, was designed by the engineer Nodar Vakhtangovich Kancheli, an employee of the "Mosproekt-3" institute.

In 1997, as part of the 850 year anniversary of Moscow, the market was altered to increase the number of stalls, this included a redevelopment of the mezzanine.

The technical committee for the investigation of the causes of the collapse of the Bassmany market stated that the alterations to the mezzanine may have resulted in additional load being placed on the supporting structure.

[7] In 2002, the post of director of Bessmany market was occupied by Mark Mishiev, the founder and owner of the business was the Moscow Property Department.

A year later, the Moscow government took the decision to build a commercial and office space with a hotel and underground garage.

[8] At this time the market had not been renovated since it was first constructed, the cables which supported the ceilings were covered in rust and the structures concrete had been deformed by moisture.

The architect had already been blamed for causing death by carelessness in 2004, after the collapse of a waterpark he designed called "Transvaal park" which killed 28 people.

Subsequently, experts excluded the possibility that the collapse of the market was due to mistakes in the design and suspicion was removed from Kancheli.

The insulation in the roof, in the opinion of experts, was: "in places in a waterlogged state and some of the shell bearing elements had corrosive wear of up to 50%".

After the wreckage of the collapse had been cleared away from the area of the former market, the press announced various projects for the site – a museum of modern art, a library, or a shopping centre.