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Urban Studies
Reference:

Study of ordinary buildings: revisiting the need to detail the requirements for the urban environment conservation in the historical centre of St. Petersburg

Marushina Natalia Vladimirovna

ORCID: 0000-0001-9923-6918

Senior Research Associate, Likhachev Russian Research Institute for Cultural and Natural Heritage; Head of the Historical and Cultural Research Department, Scientific Research & Project Institute "Spetsrestavratsia"

191023, Russia, St. Petersburg, Bank lane, 3, office 3

rvm_0307@mail.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 
Nazarova Anna YUr'evna

PhD in Architecture

Head of Department of Urban Planning Research, Scientific Research & Project Institute "Spetsrestavratsia"

191023, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Bank lane, 3, office 3

zoloto-reyna@yandex.ru

DOI:

10.7256/2310-8673.2024.4.70101

EDN:

UKYAGQ

Received:

11-03-2024


Published:

03-01-2025


Abstract: Following article represents the publication of the results of the study carried out by NIiPI Spetsrestavratsiya as part of the preparation of the unified protection zones project for cultural heritage properties located on the territory of Saint Petersburg. The object of the study was the ordinary buildings created before 1957 (mainly in the historically formed central districts of Saint Petersburg), their particularities, which can be considered as a basis for detailing the existing requirements aimed at preserving the architectural and urban environment of St. Petersburg and maintaining its integrity. Ordinary buildings were considered as a sum of historically interconnected elements, united by structural, functional, historical and cultural relationships. In the course of the study, a system of categories was proposed, which was determined both by the state of individual buildings and their role in the urban environment, and by the importance of the environment itself as an independent object of protection. The six categories of buildings identified during the work differ by their historical (including memorial), architectural and urban significance. When assessing the urban environment, the state of conservation the environment itself was taken into account (historical blocks frontage lines, historical parcellation plan, volumetric and spatial parameters of the development, type of organization of the street front and inner-block spaces, historical landscaping), as well as the compliance of each of the analyzed buildings with historical urban environment characteristics. Thus, the analysis was carried out from the point of view of the value, integrity and authenticity of each building and from the point of view of its participation in maintaining the valuable qualities of the environment. As a result of the study a summary list of more than nine thousand valuable buildings, forming historical urban fabric of Saint Petersburg, and its graphic equivalent in GIS format were drawn up.


Keywords:

ordinary building, historical urban environment, historical urban landscape, value categories, historical and architectural value, urban environment conservation, Saint Petersburg, protection zones, historical settlement, inventory of historical development

This article is automatically translated.

Introduction

Researchers have been turning to the study of ordinary urban development for many years, highlighting various aspects of the value of historical buildings and their importance in shaping the architectural and urban environment. Special attention in the works of specialists is paid to the principles of studying and preserving, methods of maintaining the integrity and authenticity of the historical urban environment itself and its constituent elements [1-6]. An equally important role is given to considering the prospects for the development and regeneration of historical urban areas [7-11], as well as determining the criteria according to which individual development sites can be recognized as valuable [12-17]. Simultaneously with the study of the heritage of cities, the processes of forming systems for the protection of monuments and their historically formed environment are underway. And thus, historical cities simultaneously turn out to be both an object of constant scientific reflection and a platform for testing theoretical positions.

The importance of St. Petersburg as a unique phenomenon in the history of architecture and urban planning has been studied in detail and substantiated both by general works [18-20] and by works devoted to specific characteristics of its architectural and urban environment [21-31].

The analysis of the historical building blocks of St. Petersburg, related, in particular, to the need to introduce regulatory regulation in the historical center of the city, has been carried out repeatedly over more than half a century since the beginning of the system of protection of valuable architectural and urban environment.

In the late 1960s – the beginning. In the 1970s, under the leadership of the head of the State Inspectorate for the Protection of Monuments of Leningrad (hereinafter – GIOP) B. A. A historical and architectural inventory of the historical buildings was carried out by Rozadeev. Its results largely determined the territorial coverage of the integrated protection zone, approved by the decision of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council in 1988 [32, 33]. An extensive set of information compiled by GIOP staff included information on the development of buildings based on archival sources (including hand-drawn graphical diagrams of blocks), materials of a field survey and photographic records [34].

Another significant stage in the comprehensive study of the historical and architectural environment of St. Petersburg is associated with the name of the great architectural historian B. M. Kirikov: on his initiative, based on the identification and careful analysis of archival materials, the specialists of the Museum of the History of St. Petersburg significantly clarified and supplemented information about the years of construction of ordinary historical buildings. XIX – the beginning . XX century. and the architects who participated in their creation [35].

The work on differentiation of protection zones and land use regimes based on an analysis of the degree of preservation of the historical environment was carried out by the staff of Architectural Workshop of N. F. Nikitin LLC as part of the development of a project for the protection of cultural heritage sites in St. Petersburg, which formed the basis of the Law of St. Petersburg‑Dated 19.01.2009, No. 820-7 "On the Boundaries of zones of protection of cultural heritage objects on the territory of St. Petersburg and Land Use Regimes within the Boundaries of these Zones and on Amendments to the Law of St. Petersburg "On the General Plan of St. Petersburg and the Boundaries of zones of protection of cultural Heritage objects on the Territory of St. Petersburg" (hereinafter - the Law of St. Petersburg-St. Petersburg No. 820-7). One of the tasks solved within the framework of this work was a continuous survey of the inner-city territories with the compilation of a list of valuable historical environment of the quarters and updating the list of sections of the unformed environment.

Further changes in the composition of protection zones, as well as in the content of land use regimes and requirements for urban planning regulations were associated with local adjustments due to the need to establish new sections of protection zones or clarify the parameters of acceptable transformations of the historical and urban environment. However, law enforcement practice and work experience related to the preservation and reconstruction of ordinary buildings posed the task of differentiating and detailing the restrictions established by regional legislation.

In 2018, as part of the work to substantiate the project of the united zones for the protection of cultural heritage objects (developed by NIiPI Specrestavratsiya LLC), a classification of historical buildings (built before 1917) located within the boundaries of the unified zone for the regulation of buildings and economic activities of category 1 (OPHR–1) was proposed. The main evaluation criteria were the architectural value of historical buildings and their urban significance, which were considered in connection with the integrity and authenticity of both the objects themselves and their surroundings.

Thus, the study conducted by the specialists of NIiPI Specrestavratsiya LLC in 2022 (team of authors: T. S. Kovalevskaya, N. I. Lebedeva, N. V. Marushina, D. A. Mishagina, A. Y. Nazarova, I. L. Pasechnik, E. M. Shcherbakova), can be considered as the next stage of studying the residential development of St. Petersburg‑St. Petersburg, which is based on materials from previous works and is primarily related to updating information about the state of the historical and urban environment in the historically developed central districts of St. Petersburg. At the same time, the classification of environmental buildings proposed in the study is not limited to considering exclusively historical buildings built before 1917 inclusive, but also takes into account objects erected at a later date, but at the same time involved in maintaining the valuable qualities of the historical and urban environment.

Methods

When preparing the list of objects of valuable environmental development, a comprehensive study of buildings, structures and structures located within the boundaries of the united protection zone of the historically established central districts of St. Petersburg (within the unified protection zone (UZ) and the unified zones of regulation of development and economic activity of categories 1, 2, 3 (OZRZ-1, OZRZ-2, OZRZ-3) in Admiralteysky, Vasileostrovsky, Petrogradsky and Central districts). Considering that the mentioned zones also cover part of the territories of districts located outside the central part of the city, the boundaries of the study included the development of a number of neighborhoods in Vyborgsky, Kalininsky, Kirovsky, Krasnogvardeysky, Moskovsky, Nevsky, Primorsky, Frunzensky districts of St. Petersburg. Thus, in the course of the work, 1,309 blocks were surveyed, within which 20,376 buildings, structures, and structures are located.

The study included a number of stages and was conducted in several directions. As part of historical, archival and bibliographic research, the dates of construction and major alterations were determined, information about the architects, and information about the true appearance of the environmental buildings was revealed. The primary source of information was the materials of the historical and architectural inventory of land development, carried out under the supervision of B. A. Rozadeev [34]. In the collections of the Central State Historical Archive of St. Petersburg (TSGIA SPb) [36, 37] and the Central State Archive of Film and Photographic Documents of St. Petersburg (TSGAKFFD SPb) [38], materials containing information about the design and implemented architectural solutions of historical buildings, as well as about changes in their appearance caused by perestroika, were identified. The archive of topographic surveys of the area carried out in the period from 1932 to 2012 served as the basis for determining the time intervals during which changes in the number of floors and configuration of buildings were recorded. In the absence of archival and bibliographic information, these data became the basis for conclusions about the time of construction, the degree of preservation and transformation of objects.

The assignment of a building object to historical buildings in accordance with the Law of St. Petersburg No. 820-7 is based on information about the date of construction. In this regard, data from technical passports of buildings and information from the GBU "City Department of Inventory and Valuation of Immovable and Movable Property" (hereinafter – GUION) have become one of the mainstays in determining the time of creation of building sites, and for some categories of buildings they often played a significant role in establishing their "historicity".

Reference publications and publications of various years devoted to the architecture of St. Petersburg have become an important source of information [35, 39-46].

As part of the field study, data on the original appearance of the buildings, their current condition, as well as the degree of preservation of their historical surroundings were compared.

Based on the materials of archival and bibliographic surveys and a field survey, a typological analysis of building sites was performed, which made it possible to identify several categories of buildings belonging to different periods of development in St. Petersburg, differing in the degree of preservation, as well as corresponding to or supporting environmental characteristics. All information obtained during the survey and analysis is presented in summary tables, divided by region.

The result of the study was the development of a diagram showing all identified environmental development sites.

Fig. 1. Boundaries of the research area

Results and discussion

In accordance with GOST R 59124-2020, which regulates the composition and content of projects for protection zones [47], historical buildings are understood to mean all buildings that appeared before the development of large-panel housing and the transition to residential areas and neighborhoods, i.e. until the mid-50s of the XX century.

At the same time, the Law of St. Petersburg No. 820-7 offers a differentiated approach to the definition of historical buildings, depending on the area of their location. Thus, in the protection zones of cultural heritage sites located in the historically established central districts and the Nevsky district of St. Petersburg, objects built before 1917 (inclusive) are recognized as historical. In the zones of protection of cultural heritage sites located outside the historically established central districts of St. Petersburg (with the exception of the Nevsky district) – until 1957 (inclusive).

In addition, the Law of St. Petersburg No. 820-7 uses the concept of "restored historical building", which refers to a building, structure, or structure built on the site of a lost historical building with the restoration of its exterior.

Taking into account the above, the study considered buildings, structures and structures built before 1957, as well as restored historical buildings, as objects that can be included in the list of valuable environmental buildings.

The value and integrity of the historical and urban environment of St. Petersburg is primarily due to the high degree of preservation of historical buildings. The principles of continuous development also worked to maintain integrity, when the addition and completeness of the environment were ensured by the inclusion of objects that were late in the year of construction, but corresponded in their architectural qualities to historical patterns or supported environmental characteristics.

At the same time, due to the peculiarities of the development and transformation of the environment, in the structure of buildings formed on the territory of the historically formed central districts of St. Petersburg, objects of very different historical and architectural significance inevitably coexist, as well as objects whose connection with the environment is currently either lost or significantly disrupted. The latter can include buildings of a utilitarian nature, most often located on the inner-city territory of residential areas (glaciers, laundries, sheds, etc.), as well as those industrial facilities that initially had no architectural value and were significantly reconstructed during operation.

One of the determining factors in the process of building analysis was also the differences in environmental sites in different districts of St. Petersburg. The typological uniformity and characteristics of the environment are determined both by historical and stylistic features and periods of building formation, as well as by the purpose of territories and the tasks of their use.

The location of the building site in the structure of the urban environment also played an important role in determining the category of value. In this regard, the research objects are divided into groups depending on their location within the street front or the inner-city area, as well as in the structure of residential or industrial zones.

The allocation of industrial development quarters into a separate group is due to the fact that significant areas of industrial enterprises are occupied by peripheral zones of historically established central districts. In these zones, the blocks are large and irregularly configured, and their dimensions differ from those typical of existing residential areas. In addition, the environment of industrial enterprises was formed largely spontaneously, there are practically no preserved areas of the historical environment that were not affected by the late transformations. The construction of industrial enterprises, which took shape over various historical periods up to the Con. XX century, is characterized by disorganization and diversity. At the same time, fragments of the authentic historical environment of industrial enterprises, representing undoubted historical, urban planning and architectural value, have also been preserved in the building structure of St. Petersburg.

Thus, summarizing the proposed approaches to the classification of environmental buildings, it is possible to identify the key principles of differentiation of objects, which determine their differences and which for this reason formed the basis of the system of categories.:

– historical / non-historical object;

– an object that maintains the characteristics of the environment / has lost its connection with the environment;

– an object located in the structure of a residential / industrial area;

– an object forming a street front / inner-city area;

– an object that has preserved or lost its authentic historical appearance;

– an object that does not have enough available information to be assigned to one of the categories.

For classification purposes, the following categories of historical, urban and architectural significance are identified:

1. The valuable historical environment of the quarters is compositionally organized inner-block spaces formed by historical buildings.

Fig. 2a-2e. 7th Sovetskaya St., 6, letter A

Fig. 2a. Situational plan

Fig. 2b. The courtyard plan // TsGIA SPb. F. 515. Op. 4. D. 5125. L. 19

Fig. 2b. Front facade

Fig. 2. The front facade. Fixation drawing // TsGIA SPb. F. 515. Op. 4. D. 5125. L 36-37

Fig. 2d. Courtyard facade

Fig. 2e. Courtyard facade. The fixation drawing. Section // TsGIA SPb. F.515. Op. 4. D. 5125. L. 32-35

2. Historical environmental objects – objects built before 1917 (inclusive) that define or support the characteristics of the historical and urban environment. The overwhelming majority of historical buildings subject to protection in accordance with the Law of St. Petersburg No. 820-7 belong to this category.

Fig. 3a-3g. English ave., 52, letter A

Fig. 3a. Situational plan

Fig. 3b. The courtyard plan // TsGIA SPb. F 515. Op 4. D 3135. L. 3

Fig. 3b. Front facade

Fig. 3. Front facade. Fixation drawing // TsGIA SPb. Fund 515. Inventory 4. Case 3135. L. 4-6

3. Historical objects – objects built before 1917 (inclusive), but whose environmental qualities have been lost either due to the transformation of the historical environment of such objects, or due to a significant distortion of the original appearance or a change in the nature of their use.

Fig. 4a-4b. 31 Mytninskaya St., litera G

Fig. 4a. Situational plan

Fig. 4b. General view

Fig. 4b. Drawing // TsGIA SPb. F. 513. Op. 102. D. 9146. L. 35-36

4. Non–historical environmental objects - objects built in the period from 1918 to 1957 (inclusive) and maintaining the characteristics of the historical environment, as well as restored historical objects. This category includes buildings that have an expressive architectural and artistic solution and support the characteristics of this area of the historical and urban environment, as well as buildings built after 1957 to recreate the appearance of a lost historical building.

Fig. 5a-5g. Mayakovsky St., 9/16, letter A

Fig. 5a. Putyatin's House // In: St. Petersburg unrecognizable in F.F. Bagants' watercolors. St. Petersburg: GMI SPb, "Kriga", 2005

Fig. 5b. Facade on Nadezhdinskaya St. (Mayakovsky St.). TsGIA SPb. F. 515. Op. 4. D. 3647. L. 32-33

Fig. 5c. The school building, erected in the early 1950s on the site of the lost mansion

Fig. 5. Front facades on Mayakovsky St. and Zhukovsky St.

"Complex" objects formed by varying volumes are divided into two subcategories. These include buildings that are historical in year of construction (determined on the basis of archival data), but later significantly rebuilt, reconstructed, "overgrown" with extensions and additional buildings, which led to a significant distortion of their original appearance. The division of such facilities is determined by the year of construction indicated in the technical inventory documents (GUION information):

5-1. Historical environmental objects (with the inclusion of non–historical structures) - objects whose date of construction before 1917 was established based on the results of the study and confirmed by the data of the GUION.

Fig. 6a-6g. Kronverksky ave., 13/2, letter A

Fig. 6a. Facade. Plan. TSGIA. F. 513. Op. 102. D. 7958. L. 55. 1904

Fig. 6b. General view // In: Markov V. The Petersburg side. The history of the Petrogradsky district in old photographs, documents and postcards. 2016. 1911-1914

Fig. 6b. Building superstructure // In: Petrogradsky district at the construction site. Collection edited by G. Paltsev, L., 1932.

Fig. 6g. Front facade

5-2. Non–historical environmental objects (with the inclusion of historical structures) - buildings constructed in accordance with information from archival sources in the period before 1917, but according to the GUION, related to the period after 1917.

6. Objects requiring additional study are objects whose appearance makes it possible to cast doubt on the dating of the GUION, and additional research is required to accurately determine the category (at the moment, archival materials on this object have not been identified, there is no access to the territory and the possibility of visual inspection). At the same time, there is a possibility of historical structures in the structure of buildings built in accordance with the GUION data after 1917. The purpose of assigning objects to this category is to indicate the need for additional research.

Fig. 7. The scheme of valuable environmental buildings. A fragment. Central district of Saint Petersburg‑St. Petersburg

In the course of the research, the team of authors also faced a number of problems that influenced both the formation of the category system as a whole and the assignment of individual objects to specific categories. Such problems include:

– the lack of archival documents and photographs, which made it impossible to confirm assumptions about the degree of reconstruction or about the original architectural advantages and expressive appearance of the building site;

– lack of access and, as a result, the inability to conduct a full-scale survey and photographing, assessing the current state of the facility.

– inclusion of multi-time buildings in one letter;

– inaccuracy in the dating of the GUION (often the objects of modern development are dated to the year related to the construction of the historical object that existed on this site and has already been lost).

Conclusions

1. In accordance with the principles outlined above, all quarters and all buildings within the boundaries of the protection zones of the historically established central regions (OHZ, OHRZ-1, OHRZ-2 and OHRZ-3) were surveyed.

2. The homogeneity of the historical architectural and urban planning environment of St. Petersburg makes it possible to consider all built-up objects as elements of a historically formed system. This, in turn, requires more detailed regulation based not only on the location of the facility within the boundaries of protection zones of one type or another, but also on its own characteristics and its role in maintaining the integrity of the environment.

3. The proposed system of categories is determined by the state of preservation and the role of individual objects, as well as the importance of the environment itself as an independent object of protection. Thus, the analysis was carried out from the point of view of the historical and architectural value of each object and from the point of view of its participation in maintaining the valuable qualities of the environment.

4. Within the territory of the survey, both blocks have been identified, the buildings of which are fully formed by objects of cultural heritage of federal and regional significance, as well as blocks in which there is no historical or environmental development.

5. The most extensive category consists of historical environmental objects located in the front and on the inner-city territories in the structure of residential and industrial zones.

6. The objects forming the valuable historical environment of the quarters are localized within the Admiralteysky, Vasileostrovsky, Petrogradsky and Central districts.

7. The share of non-historical environmental objects in the structure of the historical and urban environment is quite large. This indicates the implementation of the principles of continuous development on the territory of the historical center of St. Petersburg.

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The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The article is devoted to an acute problem for St. Petersburg at the present time. At the end of 2023, the KGIOP of St. Petersburg developed a draft amendment to the law of St. Petersburg No. 820-7. The assignment of a building object to historical buildings in accordance with this Law is carried out based on information about the date of construction. The draft amendments imply the rejection of "historicity" and the transition to the category of "valuable environmental development". It provides for the ranking of historical buildings into three categories of "value" with the allocation of so-called "non-environmental" objects that are removed from protection regardless of their year of construction. This draft of changes is controversial in nature, has caused a huge public outcry, since society sees in this the possibility of destroying the "non-environmental" (actually "environmental") the development of St. Petersburg under the pretext of "scientific justification" for the lack of its historical and urban value. The authors of the reviewed article rightly point out that research on determining the criteria according to which individual objects of historical development can be recognized as valuable/non-valuable has been conducted for a long time, and some experience has been accumulated, both theoretical and practical. The stages of this research process have been revealed for more than half a century, starting from the late 1960s to the present time, with the results and features of each stage highlighted. It is concluded that "law enforcement practice and work experience related to the preservation and reconstruction of ordinary buildings posed the task of differentiating and detailing the restrictions established by regional legislation." The analysis made it possible to make the statement that the current content of the main theoretical theses reflected in the work of 2022 LLC NIiPI Specialproektrestavratsiya consists in updating information about the state of the historical and urban environment in the central districts of St. Petersburg. And the main criteria for the classification of historical buildings are, as before, the architectural value of historical buildings and their urban significance. The scientific turnover also includes buildings built in a later period, before 1957, but at the same time involved in maintaining the valuable qualities of the environment. The subject of this study is the key principles of a more reasonable differentiation of historical buildings (up to 1957, as well as restored objects) according to its environmental value and role, and the resulting justifications for the system of categories and consequences for the preservation/reconstruction/ demolition of certain objects. For this purpose, a detailed analysis is proposed for a number of factors (typological differences in environmental areas, location, neighborhoods of spontaneous industrial development, and some others) The conclusion has a certain novelty that "the value and integrity of the historical and urban environment of St. Petersburg is primarily due to the high degree of preservation of historical buildings. The principles of continuous development also worked to maintain integrity.", aimed at matching the architectural qualities of historical samples or supporting environmental characteristics. The thesis is formulated about the existence, relatively speaking, of "not valuable" historical buildings, the connection with the environment of which is lost or severely disrupted, or has a purely utilitarian character in residential buildings, or industrial facilities that do not have architectural value initially. Six categories of historical, urban planning and architectural significance are identified for classification: valuable historical environment of neighborhoods; - historical environmental objects; - historical objects; - non-historical environmental objects; - historical environmental objects (including non-historical structures); - objects that require additional study. Archival and up-to-date materials are provided for examples of all six categories. The conclusions correspond to the conducted research. It is especially worth paying attention to the seventh conclusion about a rather high proportion of non-historical environmental objects (objects built in the period from 1918 to 1957), which indicates the implementation of the principles of continuous development on the territory of the historical center of St. Petersburg. The article is written clearly, with all the necessary sections for scientific research, in clear language, with point-based conclusions confirming the validity and foundation of research with archival and field materials, a large bibliographic list, mastered and critically involved in the course of the work. The remark concerns the disclosure of the content of the OZRZ-1 (2, 3) as a single zone of regulation of development and economic activity of category 1 (2, 3). In fact, it seems that this should not be a category, but a regulatory area that has closed borders. Therefore, the OZRS- 1, 2, 3 do not reflect categorization, but various regulatory areas of the territory that are not related to each other. The article will be of great theoretical and practical interest to specialists and urban defenders working on the justification of the allocation of environmental and non-environmental objects, which entails changes in the requirements for urban planning regulations. The draft amendments to the Law of St. Petersburg No. 820-7 are under approval. Perhaps the publication of this article is somewhat late.