The Impact of the Constructive Solution on the Formation of the Portal in the Architecture of Armenian Churches of 4th-7th Centuries

The article refers to the issues of decorative elements in architecture. The aim of the paper was to reveal the interaction peculiarities of the constructive and artistic solutions of the formation of the portals of the Armenian churches of 4th-7th centuries. The analysis of the process of formation allowed for carrying out the typological classification of the portals from the point of view of the transformation and development of the lintel construction. The classification showed that the portal created as a decoration of the entrance, as a result of the evolution of compositional-structural components was transformed into a unified constructive-artistic element, which has become the main type used in the later periods of the Armenian medieval architecture. The revealed features of the interaction of decorative and structural elements can be useful in the field of heritage studies and in the development of further works on the formation of decorative elements.

Działalność architekta Friedricha Fischera (1879–1944) w Gdańsku i Sopocie

The person of the architect Friedrich Fischer has been somewhat forgotten, even though he played a meaningful role in the beginnings of the existence of the Free City of Gdańsk as its first conservator and the first head of the Ground Construction Office. Before and during WW I Fischer worked privately as an architect, mostly in the Gdańsk and Sopot area, and among chosen projects one located in Wrzeszcz, in Uphagena Street, as well as the architect’s own house at 30 Stefana Żeromskiego Street in Sopot can be named. Fischer was also a scholar who obtained a doctorate in 1910 and prepared a postdoctoral thesis, as well as a lecturer at the Department of Architecture at the Technical University (until April 1925). In 1918, he became involved in building administration, carrying out projects for the Housing Estate Office, of which he was the head. He created designs of the street now known as Hallera Street in Wrzeszcz and plans of green areas on former fortification grounds. He also initiated works on the plan of Great Gdańsk, eventually known as the ‘Althoff plan’. In 1923–1925, he was the head of the Ground Construction Office. From this period his designs of the first version of the school in Pestalozziego Street in Wrzeszcz and the unrealised fair building in Gdańsk are known. He designed the completed housing estates in today’s Zbyszka z Bogdańca and Dubois Streets in Gdańsk - -Wrzeszcz as well as several churches for the Catholic community of the Free City of Gdańsk: St Anthony’s Church in Gdańsk -Brzeźno, the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Głęboka Street in Gdańsk - Knipawa, and the Church of Christ the King in the small town of Piekło, in the former Wielkie Żuławy District. Fischer was active as Conservator of Architectural Monuments for four years. During this period the function of Conservator of Historical Monuments was merged with the function of the head of the Ground Construction Office. During his service as conservator the preservation of the historical form of the city became a priority The model of proceedings in the Free City area established by Fischer constituted an important point of reference in the following years. He was also involved in the preparation of the Preservation of Historical Monuments Act proclaimed in 1923. In March 1925, Fischer moved to Hannover, where he became associate professor specialising in medieval architecture. He remained in that city and at its university until his death.

Church of St. George in Senno: a Monument from the Core of Style

Статья посвящена малоизвестному памятнику средневековой архитектуры Псковской земли, это церковь святого Георгия в Сенно. Здесь расположена каменная церковь с характерными для псковской архитектурной школы формами, а также башнеобразная каменная звонница примерно того же времени. Самое сложное в этом памятнике - отсутствие заметных форм, не позволяющее точно определить дату постройки. Здесь все формы общие для всей школы. Такие памятники в статье предложено считать принадлежащими к ядру регионального стиля, а само это ядро определять как состояние покоя и неизменности внутри стиля. The article is devoted to a little-known monument of medieval architecture of the Pskov land, this is the Church of St. George in Senno. There is a stone church with forms characteristic of the Pskov architectural school, as well as a tower-like stone belfry of about the same time. The most difficult thing about this monument is the lack of noticeable forms, which does not allow us to accurately determine the date of construction. Here all forms are common for the whole school. It is proposed to consider such monuments in the article as belonging to the core of the regional style, and to define this core as a state of calm and immutability within the style.

Building materials in the medieval architecture of the archaeological site of Deraheyb (Sudan)

The material for the article was samples of light gray rock with lighter and darker inclusions taken during the study of architectural structures of the archaeological site Deraheib (Sudan), which has been investigated since 2017 by the Nubian Archaeological and Anthropological Mission of the Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of the Lomonosov Moscow State University (NAAM). This rock was used for making floor in Building 3 (Mosque) and as a bonding material in the walls of the Northern Fortress. Decorative architectural elements carved from the same rock were found during the study of the interior rooms of the Northern Fortress. Samples of this rock were taken into Russia by agreement with the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) of the Republic of Sudan. The prepared thin sections were examined at the Research Institute and the Museum of Anthropology of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. Results. The analysis of thin sections showed that highly altered volcanic-metamorphic rocks, metamorphosed tuffs of acidic or alkaline composition, widespread in this region of Sudan, served as the material for pouring floors and for the making of a binder in the architectural structures of Deraheib, as well as for decorative architectural elements. Discussion. The conducted research indicates that the architects who erected buildings in Deraheib in the medieval period used locally available material, since it was very difficult to deliver building materials from the Nile Valley, taken into account the location of the monument almost in the center of the Nubian Desert. The tuff deposits at the site allowed the architects to build durable structures using local materials. The results of the study will allow to elaborate more accurate recommendations for the restoration of medieval architectural monuments of Deraheib.

PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE. USING BLACK AND WHITE ANALOGIC PHOTOGRAPHS FOR RECONSTRUCTING THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE LOST ROOD SCREEN AT SANTA CROCE, FLORENCE

In this research paper photogrammetric techniques have been successfully applied to historic black and white analogic photographs to convey previously inaccessible architectural and archaeological information. The chosen case study for this paper is the Franciscan Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. A photogrammetric algorithm has been implemented over a series of b/w negatives portraying the archaeological excavations carried out in the years 1967–1969, after the traumatic flood of the river Arno in 1966 that severely damaged the city centre of Florence and, particularly, the Santa Croce monumental site. The final aim of this operation is to provide solid evidence for the virtual reconstruction of the lost rood screen of the basilica of Santa Croce, the current subject of the PhD research of one of the Authors (Giovanni Pescarmona) at the University of Florence. The foundations that were uncovered during the archaeological excavation in the ‘60s are one of the most important hints towards a convincing retro-planning of the structure. Using advanced photogrammetric techniques, and combining them with LIDAR scanning, it is possible to uncover new datasets that were previously inaccessible for scholars, opening new paths of research. This interdisciplinary approach, combining traditional art-historical research methods and state-of-the-art computational tools, tries to bridge the gap between areas of research that still do not communicate enough with each other, defining new frameworks in the field of Digital Art History.

Die Capella Speciosa in Klosterneuburg 2. Teil: Vergleichende Studien zur Pfalzkapelle Herzog Leopolds VI. von Österreich

The Capella Speciosa has to be seen as an exportation of the type of Gothic architecture that characterised the architecture of the royal court in France at the time. As the work of French architects, the chapel occupies a unique position within the medieval architecture of Austria. The close similarities to the choir chapels of the cathedral at Reims and the details found in the cathedral at Auxerre enable a precise dating. If we trace the development of chapels in France, we see that there was a distinct intensification of architectural narratives at that time. The veneration of relics in private devotion went from being a mere testament to scholasticism to being a mystical experience. The Capella Speciosa thus has to be understood in the same way as the French Saintes-Chapelles. Its refined structures, like the walkway in which relics were displayed, the exquisite nature of the building materials and the quality of the architectural sculptures combined to facilitate a more spiritual form of veneration within an all-encompassing work of art. For Duke Leopold VI, the Capella Speciosa was not only a magnificent shrine in which to house his collection of relics but was also a place in which he experienced a mystical beatific vision. In the second part of this book, French works of architecture built near the royal court in Hungary are presented, in which High Gothic forms can be discerned from as early as around 1220. Is there a connection between these central European works of architecture? What historical circumstances led to them being built? What do we know about the people who commissioned the buildings and the master builders? What do the connections between the structural elements and the details reveal? And what does the mysterious figure of Villard de Honnecort and his momentous journey to Hungary have to do with all of this? Tibor Rostás explores the subject in nine chapters, taking a variety of approaches. The appendix to the book contains a summary of the results of research into red marble.

Openness as a feature of the cultural code of Russian architecture: from ancient Russia to the Russian avant-garde

The article describes the cultural feature of the national character of the Russian people - openness. The manifestation of this feature in Russian medieval architecture is considered, and the influence and development of this feature in the architecture of the Russian avant-garde is traced. The author reached conclusion about the continuity and development of openness in Russian medieval architecture and the architecture of the Russian avant-garde.