METAMORPHOSES OF THE LIFE CYCLE OF AN APARTMENT BUILDING AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ART NOUVEAU ARCHITECTURAL STYLE

Abstract

Agieieva G. Metamorphoses of the Life Cycle of an Apartment Building as a Representative of the Art Nouveau Architectural Style In this article, the author continues to focus on the specific features of compositional solutions of principal façades of apartment buildings, as well as on the processes of preservation and restoration of original architectural, structural, engineering, and artistic-decorative solutions.

Purpose. The aim of the study is to present the results of research into the practice of preserving and restoring artistic metalwork on the façades of an apartment building representing the Art Nouveau architectural style (26/26 Saksahanskoho Street, Kyiv).

Methodology. The source base includes:

− legislative and regulatory acts in the fields of cultural heritage protection,

urban planning, construction, and housing and communal services; the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine;

− scientific and reference publications;

− materials of field studies, historical-archival and anthropological-sociological research; design and operational documentation;

− available analytical, technical, graphic, and photographic materials.

The following methods were applied: source studies; comparative and critical analysis; and a systemic approach to examining the components of the architectural composition of façades, which contribute to shaping the urban environment.

Results. The study highlights the features of individual stages in the life cycle of an apartment building constructed in 1911 and their impact on changes in its original architectural, structural, engineering, and artistic-decorative solutions. Special attention is paid to the lost elements of decorative design of large-scale principal façades, particularly balcony railings with stylized floral patterns. It has been established that:

− selective and comprehensive major repairs were primarily aimed at restoring the building’s functional performance and ensuring its reliability and safety; lost balcony railings were replaced with simple metal lattice structures;

− the façade restoration planned in 1995, including the reconstruction of lost elements, was only partially implemented;

− during subsequent use, a number of balcony railings with different decorative designs and fabrication techniques appeared on the façades. Three balconies feature railings whose decorative pattern replicates designs recorded in archival photographs.

This:

− did not result in a total architectural transformation of the building or the spread of «parasitic» design (glazing, extensions, integration with interior spaces, etc.);

− demonstrated the residents’ intention to contribute to restoring the integrity of the original compositional solutions.

Scientific novelty. The detailed analysis of archival photographs of balcony railings (3) made it possible to identify:

− the main components of stylized floral patterns (4);

− basic fragments (4) and their combinatorial variations (4) used in forming frontal and lateral sections of railings for balconies with rectangular and trapezoidal slab plans.

Practical relevance. The proposed approach to the formation of frontal and lateral sections serves as the basis for design proposals for the restoration of balcony railings on the principal façades of an Art Nouveau apartment building.