Authors

Lisitsyna Alexandra V.
A window to Europe: synthesis of "the western" and "the eastern" in the architecture of Alexandria in the first half of the 20th century

Architecton: Proceedings of Higher Education №1 (85) March, 2024

The article deals with the architectural environment of Alexandria that existed during the period of European presence in Egypt. The historical prerequisites that led to the cultural dialog between the West and the East in the architectural space of the city are outlined. The main elements of the planning structure and the built environments of the main streets and squares are analyzed. The prevailing styles are identified on the example of some significant works (mansions, tenement houses, public buildings, mosques). Support is provided for the claim that Alexandria was included in the general cultural context of the Mediterranean and maintained close ties with the Arabic artistic traditions. Alexandria’s architecture of the first half of the 20th century is positioned as a significant layer of the country's cultural heritage.

Lisitsyna Alexandra V.
THE HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE MID-SIZED AND SMALL TOWNS IN THE NIZHNY-NOVGOROD REGION OF THE RIVER VOLGA AS A CULTURAL HERITAGE PHENOMENON

Architecton: Proceedings of Higher Education №1 (45) March, 2014

The purpose of the study is to show that the historical and architectural environment of the mid-sized and small towns in the Nizhny Novgorod region of the river Volga is a special phenomenon of the Russian cultural heritage. It presents a high social, historical and aesthetic value and is worthy of careful preservation and revival. We have examined two groups of factors that determine the formation and evolution of the historical and architectural environment – the historical context (factors of time) and regional conditions (factors of place). The authors have described the general properties of the historical and architectural environment inherent in most of the mid-sized and small Russian towns (compositional, spatial, environmental, aesthetic, socio-cultural aspects). Twenty historic towns have been chosen for the study, and these are differentiated as being "internal", "external" and "bordering" in relation to Nizhny Novgorod, the largest non-capital city of the European part of Russia. We have identified the features of the historical and architectural environment of each of the towns that determine their architectural peculiarity and make them deserving of conservation and development.

Lisitsyna Alexandra V.
DECORATION IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE EARLY 20th CENTURY STONE MANSIONS IN THE BOLSHOYE MURASHKINO VILLAGE OF NIZHNIY NOVGOROD PROVINCE

Architecton: Proceedings of Higher Education №4 (40) December, 2012

In the early 20th century, the village of Bolshoye Murashkino in Knyagininsky District was among the industrially developed non-urban settlements of Nizhniy Novgorod province. The main business of its residents was the production of sheepskin and fur. That business was going through a period of vigorous technological growth at that time. One of the consequences of that growth was extensive construction of personal stone residences by major village industrialists. Whilst being faithful to tradition in the spatial composition and internal layout and engineering design solutions, the architecture of those residential buildings was, at the same time, strikingly unique. Whilst developing within mainstream provincial eclecticism, it demonstrated a wide spectrum of stylistic directions. That variety was reached through detailed attention to the decor of the facades, which featured unique artistic richness. Even today there are around twenty houses dating back to the early 20th century still remaining in Bolshoye Murashkino. V.V.Presnyakov’s house is an exclusively elegant sample of late eclecticism with elements of decorative modernism. The principles and forms of the modernist style are consistently realized in the appearance of the twin residences – the houses of S.S.Panyshev and G.I.Dementyev. The house of V.I.Monevykh with its neoclassicist forms is unique not only for Bolshoye Murashkino but also for the architecture of the Nizhniy Novgorod region as a whole. Considering the broad business connections of the Murashkino furriers, we should look for examples of houses that inspired them not in the architecture of Nizhny Novgorod but in Moscow and, possibly, in European architecture. One of the reasons why the residents of the village decorated their houses was adherence to religious ceremonialism and the fact that many of them were the so-called Old Believers, who in the early 20th century made up the most active and advanced group of Russian business people. As is well-known, it was Old Believers who commissioned buildings in "new" styles such as Neo-Russian and neoclassicism. The early 20th century houses became a prominent page in the architectural annals of Bolshoye Murashkino as a unique phenomenon of provincial architecture.