Fireplaces in public interiors: typological and stylistic features

Barsukova Natalia Ivanovna ORCID: 0000-0001-9222-4885 Doctor of Art History Professor, Department of Drawing and Painting, National Institute of Design, Moscow 115054, Russian Federation, Moscow, Academician Tupolev Embankment str., 15, p. 29 bars_natali@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Zhemchuzhnova Oksana Alekseevna Postgraduate student, Department of Drawing and Painting, National Institute of Design 115054, Russia, Moskovskaya oblast', g. Moscow, ul. Dubininskaya, 17, of. str.2 rokcana21@yandex.ru

In modern design practice, there has been an increase in interest in fireplaces as objects of the environment. This makes us pay more attention to the problems of their artistic and technical design. The problems of fireplace design have always been more in the applied plane than in the theoretical one, so they have not been the object of careful study. The features of the design design and the existence of fireplaces in modern interiors, their design features have not yet been studied, the history of the appearance of tiled fireplaces in Russia has not been studied. The problem of the study of fireplaces in public interiors has also not been raised before. The variety of fireplaces currently requires their classification from the standpoint of design, since there are no uniform generally accepted standards that would help designers and architects to organize all the characteristics of decorative elements of fireplaces. To date, such a classification has not been developed.

In this article, for the first time, the significance and features of the location of fireplaces as decorative objects in a public interior are investigated, their stylistic characteristics are revealed in connection with the typological features of the interior itself. The purpose of the article is to analyze and find out what compositional techniques are used in the design and decoration of fireplaces in public interiors.  

At the same time, the public interior is viewed from the classical position as a room for providing social, household, cultural and communal services to the population. As you know, public interiors include various buildings and structures, the premises of which were originally designed for healthcare and cultural institutions; social security and education; financial institutions and utilities; consumer services, trade and catering; communications and transport. From the modern perspective of design practice, a public interior is perceived as an integral object, thanks to an integrated approach to the development of a design concept.

The architectural and artistic organization and the formation of the environment of public interiors were considered in Russian science from various positions ^[1-4]. A comprehensive analysis of the aesthetics of the interior was made and the development of a scientific methodology justifying the choice of artistic means and technological techniques in the design of a public building ^[2]. The structural and semantic features that distinguish the three-dimensional solutions of restaurant interiors from other public spaces are systematized ^[3]. It is revealed that the interior of restaurant establishments can be considered a space of mass culture and visual communication ^[3]. The domestic experience of public interiors has been studied from the point of view of stylization and it has been proved that interest in the use of historical heritage periodically arose in different epochs and found various embodiments in public interiors ^[1].

As you know, the purpose of public buildings dictates the choice of original architectural, artistic, constructive and decorative means of building their interior space. The requirements for the interior of public buildings are reflected in the general principles of their design. The dimensions of the building, its tectonic variant, and the figurative structure determine the parameters of the halls, rooms, lobbies and the main volume for which a specific structure is created. The ratio of all internal spaces will be maximally subordinated to the purpose of the building and the functional processes that took place in them. All this makes it necessary to diversify the interior decoration, to use the details of individual execution inherent in regional peculiarities and national traditions. In this case, it is possible to create a memorable public space only under the condition of a creative approach and the search for original expressive means.

One of these approaches to creating a unique space is the location of a fireplace in one of the rooms of a public building. This ensures the functional purpose of the premises and at the same time artistically decorates the interiors. As a decorative item, a fireplace can have a variety of shapes and sizes, various design features, correspond to the general style of the room and be created from any material.

The fireplace is a metaphor for the "hearth", the personification of home, comfort – therefore, it is quite natural that more attention was paid to the issues of its location, role and tradition in the residential interior in the literature ^[5-7]. In a residential interior, the main room is usually chosen for a fireplace – these are the living rooms of cottages and country houses. Firstly, it is a front room where the whole family gathers, relatives and friends are invited, and secondly, it is the largest room where it is very easy to place a hearth of almost any size. Since the appearance of new types of fuels, such as smokeless liquid biological fuel, and also taking into account the creation of electric fireplaces with a real "picture" of a burning tree, interest in fireplaces as objects of design activity has increased.

T. Yu. Burova refers the fireplace to the elements of the interior and notes that there are no standards for designing decorative elements in the interior ^[8]. Our research is based on the position of the researcher and the practice of designing and manufacturing tiled fireplaces by the famous ceramic artist Yu. M. Novikov (1946-2018) that a fireplace is a complex functional and artistic object of the interior, which, in addition to decorative, performs an applied function ^[9]. Yu.Novikov in his work formed the methodology of design design and an integrated approach to interior ceramics, which is a tiled fireplace. He proved with his unique tiled fireplaces that they should be created in parallel with the execution of the project of the entire interior or building – it is impossible to install a fireplace in the finished interior, since the design project of the author's fireplace should be linked to the architectural concept of the building. Yu. Novikov believed that fireplaces are a design task lying at the junction of architectural design, art and the construction that the fireplace is an essential dominant decorative and applied object of the interior ^[10]. Considering his great contribution to the development of tiled fireplaces in public and private interiors, the article for the first time analyzes his projects and provides archival photos of fireplaces for public interiors of the artist, made by him in different years.

In the process of researching a large number of historical and modern examples in foreign and domestic design practice, it was revealed that the interiors designed to accommodate fireplaces have some similarities among themselves: the presence of a fireplace in the interior determines its name – the fireplace room. As a rule, its purpose is the widest, but the main thing is that fireplace halls are similar in function to residential living rooms – in public interiors they are reception halls, recreational halls for recreation or for cultural leisure.

 The study showed that a full–fledged fireplace in a modern interior can be made in any style - from Gothic portals as tall as a man, classic marble or tiled fireplaces to metal structures in the high-tech or techno style. As a rule, durable and expensive materials are used, depending on the general style: marble, tiles, wood with carved decorative and sculptural compositions. High-quality natural materials give the interiors respectability. Ceramic tiles, bricks and natural stone are not used at all. 

In foreign culture, the fireplace and the hearth preceding it, as functional objects, have been known since the ancient period, namely, the first mentions date back to the I century BC. In the European public interior, along with the functional, the fireplace also played an artistic role – it was a means of decorating and heating the premises of city halls, courts, exchanges, theaters, libraries, and even front doors. It was also installed in the palace reception rooms , such as in the castle of the XVII century . Maison Laffite in the suburbs of Paris (France). Having appeared in Russia, fireplaces were rather the personification of luxury and existed rather in addition to reliable tiled stoves that give constant warmth and comfort.

Nowadays, when there is central heating everywhere, the applied function of fireplaces in the public interior has noticeably weakened, if not disappeared altogether. Modern buildings have huge reserves for increasing their thermal efficiency, and the possibilities of unconventional energy to optimize heat flows in buildings are often used. Nevertheless, in modern design practice, along with electric, gas and biofuel fireplaces, classic wood-burning fireplaces continue to be used. And if in residential premises a fireplace serves for heating and is a symbol of coziness, hearth, comfort, then in public interiors the decorative role of fireplaces has come to the fore, artistic solutions of which can be divided into several types:

1. Fireplace as an original design means of aestheticizing the interiors of public buildings.

2. Fireplace as a means of giving public interiors solemnity and grandeur.

3. Fireplace as a status interior item.

4. Fireplace as one of the accent elements of the interior.

In a broader sense, a fireplace in a public interior can also play the role of a certain cultural code of a historical epoch or an artistic style ^[11]. Based on all of the above, the task of researching the design of fireplaces in public interiors according to the proposed classification seems relevant. The article presents the results of a study of fireplaces made in different styles and from different materials, but necessarily installed in public interiors. A typological approach was applied to them and they are all divided into the following groups:

1. Executive class interiors – embassies, government residences.

2. Interiors of sanatorium and wellness facilities: rest homes, sanatoriums, boarding houses, spa complexes and wellness centers.

3. Museum environment, exhibition halls and galleries.

4. Libraries.

5. Interiors of restaurant establishments: canteens, cafes, restaurants, banquet halls.

6. Interiors of gaming establishments – casinos.

Since the functional purpose of fireplaces in public interiors is leveled, and the main purpose is decorative properties, it is often resorted to imitation of a fireplace. This is either a non–working fireplace without a chimney, or just a niche with the necessary accessories and exterior decoration – the fire is not lit, but a variety of design can be used, visually similar to a living flame.

The design features of the examples below were also in the field of view of our study.

Fireplaces in executive class interiors. To the interiors of the executive class, we refer to the apartments and government residences. The official residence of the president or the diplomatic corps is a kind of symbol of the country. That is why reception halls in many embassies are distinguished by their grandeur, presentation and necessarily include a fireplace. These majestic objects demonstrate the status of the interior, which is actually a representative of this country abroad. Using the example of studying the interiors of world embassies in Moscow, we can conclude that most often fireplaces are made in solemn styles: Renaissance, Empire, Gothic. The materials from which they are made are usually marble or other natural stone with artistic carvings and sculptures, wood. Historical fireplaces are located in the embassies of Australia, Norway, Greece, Italy, in the residence of the British Ambassador.

The exception is the embassies located in the historical mansions of Moscow, built at the beginning of the XX century (arch. Shechtel) and conditioned by the leading style of that time Art Nouveau (Modern). These are the residences of the Ambassador of Uruguay and the Embassy of Australia. The Adam and Eve fireplace, also made in the Art Nouveau style, is located in one of the most striking examples of Moscow Art Nouveau - the former mansion of A. I. Derozhinskaya. The fireplace is located in the living room of the first floor, which causes distant allusions to the style of a Doric temple, where the altar is occupied by a portal of a large-scale hearth, enlarged relative to the entire space and doorways, which makes it the dominant of the entire room. The fireplace is made of white marble and has a wooden edging. The uniqueness of the decor lies in the sculptural composition, which is saturated with symbolism, fashionable at that time – the portal of the fireplace is framed by two marble figures looking in opposite directions: the male faces the hall, and the female – with her back (Fig. 1).

Fig.1 Adam and Eve fireplace in the Australian Embassy in Moscow (A. I. Derozhinskaya's mansion).Fig. 2. The fireplace room of the Russian Embassy in Washington (author of the fireplace Yu. M. Novikov).

Photo from the archive of the Yuri Novikov Ceramics Museum (Sochi).Modern examples of the design and placement of fireplaces in the interiors of the executive class include a tiled fireplace in the Embassy of the USSR (Russia) in Washington, designed and made by the famous ceramic artist Yu.

Novikov in the 80s of the XX century (Fig. 2). The decoration and decoration of the interiors of administrative and representative buildings (architect M. V. Posokhin) took place since 1985. The fireplace room is a solemn and at the same time chamber room, which is used for negotiations, diplomatic receptions with seating and small press conferences. It serves as a venue for protocol events, including not only receptions and press conferences, but also seminars, working meetings.

The interior is distinguished by restraint and elegance – an exquisite fireplace is installed near the central wall and is made in the Petrovsky style, similar to the tiled stoves of the beginning of the XVIII century. Yu. Novikov previously participated in the reconstruction of the tiled stoves of the Great Peterhof Palace, restored the methodology of making tiles of the Petrovsky style and was invited to create a tiled fireplace in the same style ^[10]. The Russian tradition of decorating stoves with tiles has also passed into the design of fireplaces, the artist was the author of the original project and the performer of painted tiles. Tiled fireplaces with hand-painted underglaze were designed and executed by him in his personal creative workshop in Moscow. It should be noted that the style of tiled fireplaces was created from scratch, there were no traditions in the Russian history of making tiled fireplaces. Here he actually creates a new style – a ceremonial tiled fireplace with a mirror in a tiled frame, using such details as a crown, vases, half columns, an unusual portal configuration. The proportions and dimensions are calculated. The color scheme is a combination of green and brown.

The choice of Russian traditions of making tiles for the fireplace is not accidental, the general concept of the hall is based on associations with Russia: the images, symbols, and all the main materials used in the construction are of Russian origin. The central place in the hall is occupied by a polished table made of Russian carved oak with inlays of Karelian birch. On the walls opposite there are two tapestries made in Ivanovo. The peculiarity of the artistic solution of the fireplace hall is the contrast of the architectural wealth of more aristocratic European Russia (St. Petersburg) and ancient native Russian lands (the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl of the Vladimir region). The overall artistic ensemble is complemented by a parquet floor with inlay. The tiled fireplace in the Petrovsky style here is a representative of St. Petersburg culture.

Fireplaces in the interiors of sanatorium facilities. The group of sanatorium and wellness facilities includes rest homes, sanatoriums, boarding houses, spa complexes and wellness centers. Sanatoriums, hotels, boarding houses and rest houses, although they belong to the category of guest houses, i.e. to housing, actually perform the functions of public buildings, they provide lobbies, consumer service points, retail premises, restaurants and cafes. Modern guest and wellness complexes are often the decoration of the city, and the decoration of their interiors is particularly important. Therefore, as a rule, famous artists have always been involved in the design of communication zones, and here you can see works of art and folk art.

      Fig. 3. The government sanatorium "White Nights", Sestroretsk (Yu.

Novikov), year. 1991 Photo Yu. Novikov.Fig. 4. Government sanatorium "Reshma", Kineshma (Yu.

Novikov), 1986.Government sanatoriums often combine the functions of wellness and work areas, they are ready to receive delegations and, as a rule, representative spaces in the form of fireplace halls are also planned in them.

Therefore, their interiors are also distinguished by grandeur and status. In these examples, the use of the traditions of tile art in fireplaces is also a means of cultural identification – since the 80s of the last century, interest in the Russian traditions of tile art has increased.

The fireplace room of the sanatorium "White Nights" in Sestroretsk, Leningrad region is located on the top floor, the chimney could not be made, so it is not heated. The fireplace divides the space of the elongated hall into two zones – a concert hall and a small bar (Fig. 3). The hall is decorated with majolica dishes in the same style and elements of painting as the fireplace. The fireplace is two–tone - deep blue and brown. The handwork, design and manufacture also belongs to Yu. Novikov. Another tiled fireplace was made by the artist in the government sanatorium "Reshma" in Kineshma on the Volga (Fig. 4). The green color of the pigment for the painting was chosen, and the paintings themselves were made on the theme "The Golden Ring of Russia". The fireplace is complemented by three vases on the mantelpiece. In general, the style of the fireplace appeals to the Moscow or Yaroslavl tradition of tile art.

Studying the examples of fireplace halls in modern hotels, we can conclude that such small cozy halls with fireplaces, combining the functions of cultural leisure and recreation, are still common today. Given the modern style of their interiors, they often use ready-made fireplaces from the manufacturer in the style of Hugge, resembling bourgeois stoves.

Fireplaces in museums, exhibition halls and galleries. Analysis of such interiors has shown that this type of fireplaces exists as a rule in historical premises – palaces, manors, castles, converted into exhibition halls and museums. As a rule, these are historical and everyday museums where the fireplace is located in the natural environment of existence, such as in the halls of the Kuskovo Estate Museum (Moscow), the Green Dining Room of the Great Catherine Palace, St. Petersburg (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5. The green dining room of the Great Catherine Palace (Tsarskoye Selo).

Fig. 6. The museum with the legacy of Leonardo da Vinci in the castle of Clos-Luce in Amboise (Loire Valley, France).An organic combination of a fireplace in a historical interior and an exhibition exposition was achieved in the Museum with the legacy of Leonardo da Vinci in the Clos-Luce Castle in Amboise (France).

The exhibition is dedicated to the legacy of Leonardo da Vinci, includes his authentic things, paintings, tools, palettes, brushes. The fireplace is a cooking hearth with a large portal and perfectly connects to the new interior function (Fig. 6).

Fireplaces in libraries. Libraries are widespread objects of culture and education. The storage system of the available information units is designed to best ensure functional processes, prompt search for the materials needed by the reader. The optimal mode is provided by a rational spatial and technical solution. Increasing attention is being paid to automating the delivery and search of books, the use of more compact media and digitalization. High hygienic requirements include noise reduction and air exchange. The interior design of reading rooms meets not only their functional purpose, but is distinguished by its rigor and beauty.

A small-format tiled fireplace in the children's library (Moscow) for a small reading room was made by Yu. 7). The fireplace gives the room sophistication, uniqueness and a sense of home comfort, which is very important for a children's library. Metaphorically, the fireplace in this room is associated with a common way – to read a book by the fireplace. Cobalt pigment is used, the blue-white combination gives brightness and freshness to the interior, the fireplace mirror visually enlarges the room.

Fireplaces in the interiors of restaurant establishments. The interiors of restaurant establishments include cafes, restaurants, banquet halls and canteens. First of all, in restaurants and banquet halls, it is planned to place dance floors, a bandstand, jukeboxes, tape recorders. When planning, the system of service by waiters or by visitors themselves is taken into account, such as in cafes and canteens.

Recently, restaurant halls are often arranged in historical reconstructed or modernized buildings. Much attention is paid to the thematic design: in some cases, works of folk art, utensils, furniture made of tree trunks are used – everything that creates authenticity and originality of the situation. For example, to convey the historical era of the noble house of the XIX century and to create the aesthetic value of the interior of the restaurant "Cafe Pushkin" (Moscow), a fireplace was made. This is an institution that revived the Russian noble cuisine of the past centuries. There is a banquet hall in the fireplace room of the restaurant. The interior of the hall is made in the historical style of that time, classicism and is an aristocratic island of old Moscow. The fireplace is made of white marble also in the classicism style, placed on the central axis of the interior, contributes to its symmetry and is its dominant.

Another example from modern practice demonstrates a new trend – the creation of a fireplace according to modules and historical analogues without an individual project as a certain set of tiles. The complex "Peasant estate "Island" is located in the Moscow region in a picturesque place and consists of several authentic wooden buildings: a windmill, huts, baths, mansions, a cheese factory, a pottery house. In the center of the estate there is a refectory, for which a fireplace-oven in the Russian national style was ordered. But in our opinion, this is a pseudo-Russian style, where it was not possible to achieve harmony between a sense of proportion and taste. The color scheme of the fireplace is not harmonized, does not correspond to the color palette of the interior and is far from the typical color combinations inherent in Russian tile art.

Fig. 7. Children's Library, Moscow, Yu. Novikov, 1988 (Photo by the author).Fig. 8. Banquet hall in the restaurant "Cafe Pushkin", built in the Baroque style, Moscow.

    Fig. 9. Fireplace in pseudo-Russian style in the refectory of the complex "Peasant estate "Island" (Sphere-art), Moscow region, Leninsky district, the village of Ostrov, 2021.

The sports-modern style in the 24-hour lobby bar "Rixos Lounge" of the youth branded hotel "Rixos Krasnaya Polyana Sochi" was to create a central fireplace (Fig. 10).

The hotel is part of the Gorki-Gorod architectural complex at an altitude of 960 meters, built for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games in a mountainous area for lovers of skiing or winter recreation. That is why the presence of a fireplace in the compositional space of an open bar should have become a symbol of warmth.

Fig. 10. Fireplace in the lobby bar in the five-star hotel "Rixos Krasnaya Polyana Sochi".  Photo by N. I. Barsukova.The lobby bar is designed for a short rest or waiting, here you can also make an appointment without going up to the room with a guest.

The modern design of furniture, lamps and the interior as a whole assumed a fireplace in the appropriate style. The circular biofuel fireplace is made of steel in the high-tech style, which also echoes the youth modern theme. Environmental friendliness, durability and aesthetic appeal of fireplace design are indicators that can be achieved through the birth of traditions and the use of new design technologies.

Fireplaces in the interiors of gaming establishments. The Russian Russian tradition of decorating stoves with tiles has also passed into the design of fireplaces, but modern practice uses tiles mainly as a decorative or stylistic element of the interior – tiles in the Petrovsky style, in the style of Russian Art Nouveau, painted or watered, etc. In many cases, tiles are completely replaced by ceramic tiles, since fireplaces in public interiors do not fulfill their direct purpose, but serve to give them solemnity, pomp, conviviality or status, as for example in the interiors of gaming establishments.

One of such illustrative cases is a fireplace in the VIP gaming zone of the Sochi Casino (Fig. 11). It is installed in a narrow corridor, against the wall separating two gaming halls, behind closed doors, in a place that would seem completely unsuitable for such a large object. It has an unexpected effect on visitors when the doors open and the Baroque fireplace with columns and arches becomes part of the ceremonial common space. This is a fake fireplace, it is not heated and ceramic tiles with underglaze painting imitate tiles. The style of the painting is eclectic, built on a free combination of elements of the Dutch style of the XVII century, Gzhel folk ornamental motifs with monochrome subjects of Russian landscapes.

Fig. 11. a), b). Fireplace in the gaming hall of the Imperial Club "Casino Sochi" (firm "Fireplace-ceramic"), Krasnaya Polyana resort. Photo by N. I. Barsukova.As a result of the study, it was noticed that several compositional principles of the arrangement of fireplaces in public interiors are in demand:

- on the central wall of the room to create a visual dominant of the interior;

- in partitions or decorative walls, when it is necessary to create a separation of space;

- corner fireplace allows you to create a multi-faceted space;

- in the center of the hall to create a high efficiency (efficiency) – in this case, the interior space is formed around the fireplace and its heat spreads to the maximum area.

Conclusion. Unlike residential, public interior is a more complex mechanism associated with various functional processes. Its scale is usually larger than residential, and the configuration of the space is more complicated, it can be stretched in length, width or height. But regardless of these characteristics and, in general, of the type of interior, the fireplace is a key element of the interior, a dominant that performs an organizing role – decorative and stylistic. Stylistically, they can be divided into traditional, made in national or classical traditions, such as tiled fireplaces in the style of Petrovsky Baroque, in the style of classicism or Empire, in the Art Nouveau style and in modern stylistics using metal in the high-tech style. National traditions and cultural identity are strong, especially through Russian tile art. A great contribution to the development of stylistic and architectonic properties of tiled fireplaces was made by the ceramic artist, designer Yu. Novikov. Its fireplaces for public interiors are made in the Petrovsky or Baroque style and are designed as a rule with the inclusion of a mirror, which gives the fireplace even more solemnity and conviviality, visually expands the interior space. Thus, modern fireplaces in a public interior do not perform the function of heating, but serve to create a decorative dominant, an object for creating grandeur, status, solemnity or create associations with cultural traditions.