Theory and History of Architecture, Restoration and Reconstruction of Historical and Architectural Heritage

Scientific Herald of the Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. Construction and Architecture

THEORY AND HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE, RESTORATION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE

UDC 711.581-168

South Western State University D. Sc. in Architecture, Honoured Member of RAASN V. V. Aleksashina Russia, Kursk, tel.: (4712)50-48-00 Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering D. Sc. in Engineering, Prof., Academician of RAASN Ye. M. Chernyshov Russia, Voronezh, tel.: (473)271-53-21, e-mail: [email protected] D. Sc. in Engineering, Assoc. Prof. of Dept. of Gas Supply and Oil Business S. V. Chujkin Russia, Voronezh, tel.: (473)236-94-90, e-mail: [email protected] Student of Dept. of Architecture A. A. Mel'nikova

V. V. Aleksashina, Ye. М. Chernyshov, S. V. Chuykin, А. А. Melnikova

THE CONCEPT OF REDEVELOPMENT OF THE HISTORICAL CENTRE OF THE VILLAGE KANTEMIROVKA, VORONEZH REGION1

Statement of the problem. The modern city is a constantly developing complex organism, the evolution of which depends on many factors. The purpose of this article is the proposal of the concept of complex redevelopment of the historical centre of the village of Kantemirovka, Voronezh region, including the preservation of historic urban development with the use of existing land for the construction of a modern public facilities.

Results. During detailed architectural analysis and research of the current situation basic planning and architectural shortcomings of the historical centre of the village Kantemirovka and the concept of its redevelopment were identified.

Conclusions. The concept of redevelopment of the «Life Line» arranges the layout of the village. The proposed activities contribute to the improvement of the functional and compositional quali- ties of the system of residential development, eliminate the deficiencies within the building community center, as well as promote the expansion of production and increase the level of their accom- plishment.

Keywords: redevelopment, historic center, planning structure, framework, town planning, historically developed building

© Aleksashina V. V., Chernyshov Ye. М., Chuykin S. V., Melnikova А. А., 2015 1 The concept is developed by the “Krasnaya tochka” studio as part of the competition “Redevelopment of Public Spaces is a a Sign of Change”.

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Introduction

Modern cities and towns are constantly evolving structures changes in which affect the current major construction. There are various approaches and concepts surrounding architectural solutions in the redevelopment of urban spaces. Each approach should have social and economic considerations at its heart and incorporate the major stages which are processing the input information, structuring it and making designing decisions [1].

Choosing the optimum way of developing historical and urban construction systems is central to the problem and would incorporate the current demands and historic and cultural elements to benefit the entire system [2].

The above stages become central for the redevelopment of scarcely populated cities and towns where there should be measures in place to make it possible for them to transform into more community-friendly places as well as a platform for new technology. There are a lot of theories regarding ways to address this but most of them are purely theoretical and do not have practical evidence to support them. Therefore the major factor contributing to the choice of redevelopment solutions for towns is the preservation and conservation of unique historic sites and their authenticity.

An analysis prior to the follow-up redevelopment of a historic and cultural site is underpinned by such factors as experience, expertise, etc. which are hard to make formal. The paper [2] points out that a combination of all the levels of a historic and cultural environment is a complex system of mutually interacting elements making it necessary apart from the above to employ scientific approaches for addressing restoration and redevelopment of urban settlements. A point is also made that research of a historic and cultural environment prior to a project is significantly affected not only by the evaluation of the esthetic characteristics but also of their quantitative and qualitative properties. As an example, a concept with Fig. 1 displaying its major stages and hierarchy can be used.

The redevelopment of historic settlements is recommended to embrace traditions of folk architecture and keep a structure connected with the natural environment. Another crucial thing about architectural planning and spacial solution for the settlement under redevelopment is preserving, merging and harmonizing individual pieces of architecture with newly emerging ones.

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Redevelopment concept of a public centre

Analysis of historical causes of Principles and methods of arrang- Concept model for improving redevelopment of towns ing public spaces in a town’s areas a town

Identification of the mutually connected factors, designing methods and development of the concept for improving a settlement

Determination of an individual Identification of the factors and Working out the principles under- image and functional properties criteria influencing the im- lying architectural and aesthetic provement of a city improvement

System and factor analysis, Analysis and research Comparative analysis of the dy- urban analytical research of the relevant data namics of the urban architectural network methods

Concept for the redevelopment of a public space as part of the settlement structure

Fig. 1. Renovation concept for a public space

The objective of the paper is to develop a concept project for a complex redevelopment of the historic centre of Kantemirovka, Voronezh region, in compliance with the requirements for preserving, redeveloping and modernizing the old architecture using the current area to design new public architecture. It should be noted that the major task facing town settlements is to bridge the gap between architectural planning structure and new urban construction requirements emerging as the society evolves.

1. Analysis of the existing architecture and major assumptions of the redevelopment concept. Urban planning redevelopment involves engaging in activities to change a previous urban planning system or its components in an attempt to keep up with the demand for improving and developing the system. Redevelopment means preserving a considerable part of the old elements while making significant overall changes. There are two types of redevelopment activities as part of urban planning: redeveloping a city (the entire planning structure) and redeveloping a historic part of the city space (individual places of the central area) [5].

At the first stage, as the practical concept behind redeveloping the settlement is brainstormed, it is crucial that there is enough information about the spatial and time planning of the historic architecture of Kantemirovka. According to [2], a longer interaction span is analyzed, the

90 Issue 2 (26), 2015 ISSN 2075-0811 clearer insight there is into the dynamics of their development and significance for modern practical planning. A choice of a particular redevelopment option and development of small settlements and their functional areas should be supported by an in-depth analysis of the region or its individual part which encompasses economic, construction, environment, spatial and other factors.

In order to preserve the historic urban environment, it should be maintained, renewed and adapted to meet the challenges posed by new lifestyles. This includes the redevelopment, maintenance, modernization, improvement and new construction.

Within the central historic area there is a heavily used space which is a business and services hub. This area is made up of the existing public area elements. This area largely integrates the urban demands. The cultural and recreational areas of the public area house the cultural and leisure hub of the district. This part is a major sightseeing destination of the area.

Hidden redevelopment seems a viable option, which is the transformation and functional enhancement of the inner areas while preserving the historic vibe of the streets and squares. Any architectural planning activities in the central historic area should be committed to preserving the existing urban environment.

In order to address this, historic archive and bibliographical research of the redevelopment areas was conducted according to which Kantemirovka district is the largest and most re- mote from the region capital city in the South. Two thirds of the population reside in the countryside area. The district is bordered by Rostov region of Russia and Lugansk region of Ukraine. The centre of the district is the town of Kantemirovka which lies 279 km south of Voronezh. The population of the town was estimated at 12.7 thousand people in 2009.

The town’s early history is connected with Dmitriy Kantemir, one of Peter the Great’s contemporaries. All of the estates he was granted were made into an extensive area that following his death was owned by his older brother Konstantin Kantemir. In 1742 he founded a settlement in Voronezh land which was long named Konstantinovka (later Kantemirovka). The settlement was strategically located on the route from Kalitva to Belovodsk. Wealthy military men engaged in cattle-breeding, trade, wine-making, ox transportation of government-owned salt, but the major activity was agriculture. During the World War II, the Soviet soldiers fought courageously to defend the railway station

91 Scientific Herald of the Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. Construction and Architecture from the fascist invasion. Kantemirovka reached its current status in 1973. In the town to- day there are industrial enterprises for building material manufacture, railway maintenance, butter-making plant. There are also public and social institutions. The most im- portant structural planning factor lending the dynamics to Kantemirovka’s master plan is the railway, which is the main means of external travel. The town’s industries were centered around the railway which is the major freight transportation means. The analysis of the current condition of the historic centre of Kantemirovka indicated the major problems which essentially are the following: old buildings are not structured (Fig. 2a), World War II burials are not maintained (Fig. 2b), Svyato-Troitsky Cathedral is in need of restoration (Fig. 2c), no pedestrian areas (Fig. 2d), no pavement surfacing (Fig. 2e), the promenade area is not improved (Fig. 2f), insufficient planting (Fig. 2g), improvement needed for the court entrance (Fig. 2h), path network is not structured (Fig. 2i). The detailed photo analysis of the area is in Fig. 2.

The entire area of the central part of the town is designed to preserve the historic environment: new construction is constrained to preserve and support the traditional planning, num- ber of storeys is limited. It would be reasonable to employ complex redevelopment including improving functional use of the facilities, organizing transport and pedestrian traffic, redeveloping and maintaining heritage buildings, redeveloping all the historic, cultural and architectural monuments, new construction, demolition of old buildings and clearing backyards, improving and designing green spaces, improving the aesthetic appeal, advertisements, lighting.

Along with historic retrospectives, administrative and cultural significance, perspective development, social and cultural institutions are to be considered. A concept therefore emerged which proposes bringing together all the town’s major centres to make up a system of the integration of the urban environment which is one of the main indications of the urban planning development these days. The expected outcome is to design a comprehensive system of the public centre integrating a variety of functions into a multi-functional area to enhance the experience of the town without compromising the development of the historic construction. That is why the concept of the redevelopment of the historic centre can be named “Life Line”.

Considering the planning structure, Kantemirovka is a system of connected parts and elements. The characteristics of the planning structure are central to its major networks and configuration of transport connections between the town’s areas.

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а) b)

c) d)

e) f)

g) h)

i) Fig. 2. Photoanalysis of the area

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Transport infrastructure is central to the planning structure and in many ways is crucial to its development. The transport infrastructure of the town and the surrounding areas is key to its space planning. The town’s public centre is transformed into “a system of the town’s centre”.

The town’s social life is centered around cultural and domestic institutions. The structure of a town’s public centre depends on its area, administrative significance, its demographic and economic role [6]. Such towns tend to have a public centre that is generally easy to navigate. It is a central hub of daily social life (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3. Concentration of significant hubs of the public centre

The key space element of a town is its public centre that largely serves as an administrative and social hub. Public centres can be multi-functional or specialized. The public centre of Kantemirovka is multi-functional. The social position of a town is also key to the structure of its public centre.

There are compact, linear and scattered schemes of centres. The public centre of Kantemirovka is the most simple type of a compact centre, i.e. a pedestrian area lining it. Compact centres are common for towns as well as the centres of districts and small residential areas. The development of this centre causes new construction to increase and the area to break down into functional zones [7]. Parking areas can only be located immediately outside the centre or below the pedestrian area. There can also be parking spaces in backyards. What is typical of compact centres is the integration of area and space, simple configuration and visual connectivity [5].

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The major pressure is the integration of all the above to deliver functional and structural sustainability. There is an environmental approach where a town is a certain space and time living area. The way all these mechanisms interplay to create physical living environments and social dynamics are also crucial to the concept [6].

The major idea behind the concept “Life Line” is designing environments conducive to the integration of social processes and boost future developments. Life is stationary, it has always been there. Life Line does not specify how long your life will be, it only determines the quali- ty of it. It is only the indication of energy and resilience. Life Line in philosophy has a prima- ry special meaning: a life line is a palm line that shows a person’s life journey, their life and turning points and moments (Fig. 4). The life line has a certain place on the palm and unlike other lines, has a unique starting point, point of origin.

Fig. 4. Concept of the project “Life Line”

A life line is where it all starts. Coming together, they form a planning structure. Pedestrian areas are the major arteries of the town. Being the public centre and heart of the town, Victory

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Park and Lenin Square are central to historic and spiritual experience of the town’s residents. Victory Park is home to the old Troitsk Cathedral, monuments to World War II soldiers and Heroes’ Avenue. The major routes, pedestrian areas as arteries encompass the “heart” of the town and its public centre is where all the major hubs are.

2. Suggested redevelopment measures of the historic centre of Kantemirovka. Functional zoning of the town is the distribution and comprehension positioning of all the areas of the town areas to meet the transport and walking networks, health and safety, architectural, crea- tive and economic requirements [6]. The major areas of rural areas are residential, industrial, storehouse and public utilities zone, external transportation areas.

Since a town is only a component of a landscape, public area construction tends to be in con- nection with the nature. Therefore a solution for the centre of the town seems to be a unity of architecture and nature. It is necessary that construction and open spaces of the centre are connected with the landscape and proportionate to it. The position of the public space depends on architectural and planning, functional and compositional connections with the major structural elements of a town [5].

The redevelopment of public spaces of towns like Kantemirovka involves reorganization of areas, pedestrian paths, arranging the construction of the public space, redevelopment of Svyato-Troitsky Cathedral, landscape improvement, transforming the public centre and including them into the business structure (Fig. 5, 6). Old construction site opposite Heroes’ Avenue is set to house a two-storeyed shopping centre. The ground floor will accommodate a grocery store and convenience shops, on the first floor there will be different organizations and social institutions.

A detailed analysis of weather conditions of the area was performed. All-season decorative confer bushes (pyramidal white cedar, topiars) are crucial for landscape improvement. They do not need constant care and are not fastidious. This choice is due to the fact that the amplitude of the average July and January temperatures is over 30 degrees. The annual rainforest is not over 500 mm, which in combination with the high sumemr temperatures is not sufficient. The snow is not evenly distributed. During the vegetation there are hot dry South-West winds blowing. Therefore, plants are at risk of drying out and freezing and decorative confers are perfect as they are susceptible to climate change, do not need care and provide a pleasant microclimate.

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Fig. 5. Master plan, project proposal: 1 is “Yubileyny” sporting complex; 2 is a recreational area; 3 is a leisure activity space; 4 is Svyato-Troitsky Cathedral; 5 is the monument to World War II soldiers; 6 is Heroes’ Avenue; 7 is Lenin Square; 8 is the administration headquarters; 9 is the hotel; 10 is “Svetlyachok” children’s park; 11 is a shopping centre; 12 is the district court

Fig. 6. Perspective view of the public centre “Victory Park”

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As part of greening and improving, it is suggested that there was a walking network, using pav- ing slabs for walkways, extension and enhancement of flowerbeds and lawns, more green spaces, a wide range of small architectural forms, designing fountains not only to boost the aesthetic appeal but also to contribute to the moisture balance of the area (Fig. 7—14).

Buildings are artificial ecosystems. This system is on one hand isolated but on the other hand it can be independent since it is not environmentally reproductive. The resilience of a system is shaped by its interactions with the environment. The environmental effects are very far- reaching. Their impacts on comfort of premises vary. Professionals revealed a special de- pendence of the ecology of premises on insulation and noise, greening and airing. A reduction in contamination levels as well as making an area more livable is overall conducive to redevelopment. It retains and attracts people, young and old.

Fig. 7. View of Svyato-Troitsky Cathedral

Fig. 8. View from Heroes’ Avenue

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Fig. 9. Perspective view of the leisure activity area

Fig. 10. Sculpture groups outside Svyato-Troitsky Cathedral

Fig. 11. Landscaping of the flowerbeds

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Fig. 12. Perspective view of the administrative headquarters

Fig. 13. Leisure activity area in the children’s park

Fig. 14. View of a bus stop and shopping centre

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Conclusions

A viable redevelopment concept is therefore central for effective transformation of a space system and preservation of esteemed pieces of architecture.

This paper sets forth a redevelopment concept “Life Line” where the emphasis is placed on technological, environmental, healthy and safety, aesthetic aspects as well as zoning, planning and road network as being central for the town’s future development.

In addition, the suggested measures are seen to contribute to a functional and compositional image of residential construction, to help to address current redevelopment flaws in the public space to make it in compliance with cultural and housing services guidelines as well as to ex- tend industrial areas and enhance them.

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