At the table, from left to right: PhD of Architecture, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation, Head of the Department of Scientific and Methodological Work of the All-Russian Center for the Preservation of Wooden Architecture named after V. S. Rakhmanov of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve Tatiana Nezvitskaya; PhD of Architecture, Professor, Head of the Department of Fundamentals of Architectural Design of the Penza State University of Architecture and Construction Elena Lapshina; Tatiana Chernyaeva
The All-Russian scientific and practical conference "Current Issues of the History and Theory of Architecture" has been held at SPbGASU annually since 2016. The main areas of discussion include: history and theory of architecture, architectural and urban heritage, urban planning, design of the architectural environment, architecture.
The results of the conferences are published as proceedings, which, in turn, are highly appreciated by the professional community. Thus, in 2021, the series of collections were awarded a silver badge at the international architectural festival "Zodchestvo" in the competition "Best Printed Publication on Architecture and Architects", in the period from 2021 to 2024 - with diplomas of the Union of Architects of Russia at the all-Russian festival "Architectural Heritage" in Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Tyumen and at the festival "Zodchestvo".
This year the conference once again brought together both young and leading scientists, teachers, research fellows, industry representatives, and students. Two days of the conference presented reports from more than eighty speakers from St Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Penza, Vladikavkaz, Vladivostok, Ekaterinburg, Sevastopol, Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod, Kursk, Saratov, and other cities.
In her welcoming speech, the deputy chairperson of the conference organizing committee, PhD of Architecture, Head of the SPbGASU Department of History and Theory of Architecture Tatiana Zhukova emphasized that every year the conference takes place in a warm and friendly atmosphere, and the broad discussion of the topics raised proves its relevance.
"At the conference, we consider the problems of the evolution of the urban environment, conduct an overview of the problems of modern construction in the context of historical cities and analyze promising trends in the reconstruction and renovation of the historical urban environment. In addition, we bring up for discussion the concepts of educational processes in higher institutions and science in the field of history and theory of architecture. All these issues help to form a comprehensive approach to understanding the place of monuments of urban development, architecture, history and culture in the modern world. This is precisely the goal of our conference," explained Tatiana Zhukova.
Tatiana Chernyaeva, Chairperson of the Russian Association of Restorers, full-time deputy chairperson of the Leningrad Regional Branch of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, and acting director of the International Restoration Center, noted: “The mission of our association is to be a platform for interaction between all links in the restoration system. We started our work by uniting design and manufacturing companies. There are currently eight sections, including digital technologies, professional training of restoration personnel, research and design organizations, and intersectoral interaction. The association also includes representatives of St Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (SPbGASU): Professor, DSc in Architecture Sergey Vladimirovich Sementsov, and Associate Professor, PhD of Architecture Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Akulova. Over twenty years of work, we have managed to achieve the necessary interaction between the organizations that are members of the association, and, consequently, to achieve efficiency. The Association is a non-profit organization and does not carry out restoration work or control, but we hold various events, seminars at the all-Russian and international level, congresses, exhibitions, expeditions, actively interact with educational institutions, as well as government bodies, being part of various commissions, including on regulatory policy. The authorities began to hear us, and this is important. However, this experience has shown that it is possible to make changes to the legislation indefinitely, but until we change our own approaches to the matter, it will be difficult to develop. Because often it is possible to work well within the framework of existing legislative measures. Moreover, we are actively developing international cooperation,” noted Tatiana Chernyaeva.
The industry faces situations that require amendments to legislation, and here it is possible to glean useful information from international experience, emphasized Zoya Yurkova, PhD of Architecture and chief specialist of LenStroyUpravlenie LLC. She raised problematic issues of regulations as applied to cultural heritage sites.
Yulia Kondratieva, PhD of Architecture, Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture and the Department of History of Architecture and Preservation of Architectural Heritage of the St Petersburg Academy of Arts named after I. E. Repin, raised the issues of the environmental approach in architecture, when the appearance of urban areas is lost due to chaotic development, billboards and other structures.
How to preserve history and create a modern environment? All speakers supported their proposals with the results of their own scientific and practical research. The conference arose a lively discussion among the participants.
