Interesting facts in world architecture. Who's gone crazy? Bird's Nest Stadium, Beijing

The construction of a new society could not but affect the culture of the country in general and architecture in particular. Soviet architecture went through several stages of development, it knew its ups and downs, but in any case it became a definite event in world architecture. In the USSR there were several architects of the highest level, and today in the open spaces you can see several masterpieces of world scale. Let's talk about how the styles of Soviet architecture took shape and how it developed.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the new government of the country actively began to change all spheres of life. For some time, no one cared about architecture, but very soon it became clear that it, too, should perform an ideological function, like all other art. In the 20s, architects were not directly tasked with creating a new space, but the creators themselves keenly felt that the time had come for new forms and began to search for the expression of ideas of change. But later Soviet architecture was called upon to serve the ideas of socialism. All art in the USSR had to prove the only correct path of development - socialist. This determined the main features of Soviet architecture, which was always supposed to be ideological first and beautiful last. If at first the creators still managed to combine utility, idea and beauty, then gradually aesthetics gave way to utilitarianism, and this led to a decline in the potential of great architecture.

Historical sketch

The development of Soviet architecture went through several stages. The origin of this phenomenon is associated with the period of the 20s and early 30s, when there was an active search for new forms and classical techniques of architecture were rethought. At this time, two main avant-garde trends in Soviet architecture were emerging: constructivism and rationalism. At the end of the 30s, it became clear that the avant-garde was not on the same path with ideological Soviet culture. A new architecture begins to take shape, the purpose of which is to glorify the greatness and achievements of the socialist idea. The implementation of the ideas of this period was prevented by the Second World War, after which a new period in architecture began. It is associated not only with the restoration of destroyed cities, but also with the creation of a new space that would support a person’s sense of pride in their country. It is on this ideological basis that his craving for scale is formed. The beginning of the 60s exacerbated the problem of residential architecture. People lived in inhumane conditions, and this could no longer be attributed to post-war reconstruction. It is necessary to solve the problem of building mass housing. This problem was solved by maximizing the cost of projects. This turned into a tragedy for Soviet architecture. which chose not the best path of development and followed the French in their functional standard construction.

All creative attempts by architects were considered redundant and harmful. What made creators engage in “paper architecture,” that is, create projects without hope of implementation. In the 80s, Soviet architects were acutely aware of the impending crisis. At this time, a typical, faceless project dominates. Architecture turns from art into simple drawing skill. It began to emerge from this crisis very slowly only towards the end of the 90s, but this is already the post-Soviet period.

At the end of the Civil War, the question arose about the restoration of Moscow. By this time, two new trends had emerged in the country's architecture: constructivism and rationalism. They were created which were formed within the framework of Russian and European traditions, but saw the need to create a new architecture that would meet new realities. At that time, the creators were fascinated by the idea of ​​​​creating a new society and forming a new, harmonious person.

Constructivists led by the Vesnin brothers, Konstantin Melnikov, and Moisei Ginzburg believed that the composition of a building should correspond to its function. They abandoned historical continuity and gave the main role to simple structures with a minimum of decor. Thanks to them, the architecture of the Soviet avant-garde was enriched with such structures as the round house of K. Melnikov in Moscow, the building of the Izvestia newspaper, the ZIL Palace of Culture and many others. The direction was very favorably received by architects and its branches appeared in Leningrad, Kharkov, Gorky, Sverdlovsk. In many cities of the former USSR, today you can admire constructivist buildings.

The second avant-garde direction, rationalism, led by N. Ladovsky and V. Krinsky, received less implementation than constructivism. They saw the main thing in their work as taking into account the psychology of human perception of a building. In the early 30s, the avant-garde was recognized as ideologically alien to Soviet art and quickly ceased to exist. Later, rationalism was “rehabilitated” and its ideas were actively used in architecture in the 60s.

Architecture of the 30-40s

In the mid-30s, Soviet architecture entered a new period. The new government is facing the need for massive reconstruction of residential buildings and the construction of new types of structures, for example, a site for holding an agricultural exhibition. Traditional techniques and methods come to the fore. The traditionalists are led by an excellent architect of the old school, neoclassicist I. Zholtovsky. Retrospective in his views, he returns to Russian practice the love of columns, pilasters, arches, etc. During this period, the influence of constructivism was still strong, but the bias towards the classics became more and more obvious. Before the outbreak of World War II, the country, especially Moscow, experienced a construction boom. The VDNKh complex, the State Library named after. Lenin, several Moscow metro stations are being built. The ensemble of Dzerzhinsky Square is being built in Kharkov. The Government House appears in Yerevan. New cities appear on the map of the USSR, the plans of which embody the ideas of new architecture. These are Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Magnitogorsk, Khabarovsk. Before the war, about 170 million square meters were built in the country. m of housing. A new, imperial style of the USSR is gradually taking shape.

Stalin Empire style

After World War II, the history of Soviet architecture entered a new stage. It took a lot of resources to restore the destroyed settlements. In the mid-40s, the second “great style” in architecture after constructivism took shape in the USSR - the Stalinist Empire style. It combined several directions: classicism, baroque, art deco, empire style. He was characterized by scope, pomp and majesty. Buildings in this style were intended to demonstrate victory and the scale of Soviet achievements. Moscow's high-rise buildings have become the symbol of this style: Moscow State University, the Ukraine Hotel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others. Stalin's Empire style became the dominant style for 150 years and changed the face of the country. Stalinist architecture appeared in almost all cities of the country.

Mass residential architecture

In the post-war period, the problem of housing became acute. But in the 50s, the management could not solve it, since it was necessary to restore the production infrastructure. But in the 60s it was no longer possible to postpone solving this problem. Just at this time the end of the Stalinist era came and N. Khrushchev called for reducing the cost of residential construction as much as possible. He also initiated the fight against “artistic excesses”; it was recommended to take the quarters of French functionalism as a model. This is how the famous Cheryomushki appeared as an example of a new living environment. The block had to have all social infrastructure facilities, and the buildings had to provide a minimum area for each resident.

Architecture of the 60-80s

Since the late 60s, mass production of standard housing began. In all cities and towns of the USSR, houses made of enlarged concrete parts are appearing. Construction is proceeding quickly, people are getting apartments. But it is difficult to apply the word “architecture” to this development, since the buildings were absolutely faceless and identical. Thus, the architecture of a Soviet district according to a standard design in any city was like two peas in a pod similar to other populated areas. This is precisely what film director E. Ryazanov laughed at in the film “The Irony of Fate.” Mass construction and the fight against architectural excesses led to the fact that by the 80s the phenomenon of Soviet architecture had become nothing. Of course, there were individual creators and buildings worthy of attention, but overall architecture was in a deep crisis. It is interesting that living architectural creativity at that time moved from capitals to provinces and union republics.

"Paper" architecture

In the 80s, when the official architecture of the Soviet period was plunged into crisis, this unusual phenomenon appeared. Young architects at that time could not count not only on the implementation of their ideas, but even on their recognition. Therefore, they created projects on paper, often sent them to various foreign competitions and won prizes. A whole generation of good architects is emerging in this area. The founders of the movement are A. Brodsky, I. Utkin, M. Belov, Yu. Avvakumov. The architects developed their own style of presenting ideas. Since they were confident that the projects would not be implemented, they focused on the visual presentation of the concept. Basically, these architects were inspired by the ideas of antiquity, although they often created futuristic projects.

The best architects of the USSR

Soviet architecture in the first half of its history developed thanks to the creativity of architects who studied and were formed back in imperial times. After this generation has passed, there is a short period of calm. But soon a new galaxy of architects is emerging, bringing new ideas and new tasks. Experts include K. Melnikov, V. Tatlin, and A. Shchusev among the best architects of the USSR. These constructivists constitute the real pride of our country in world architecture. Also among the best in Russian architecture are N. Ladovsky, I. Rerberg, the Vesnin brothers, A. Krasovsky. A great contribution to the formation of the image of many Soviet cities was made by I.V. Zholtovsky, V.N. Semenov, N. Dokuchaev, B. Iofan, V. Krinsky. During Soviet times, architects were formed who had the opportunity to transform the post-Soviet space after perestroika. Among them it is worth mentioning I. Utkin, A. Brodsky, Yu. Grigoryan.

Architecture is full of interesting objects and facts. Thus, the round house of K. Melnikov is one of the best monuments of constructivism in the world. The outstanding world architect Le Corbusier came to Moscow three times to be inspired by new ideas. In the 30s, the largest project of Soviet architecture was created - the Palace of the Soviets, the height of which was supposed to be about 400 m, 100 floors. To implement it, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was blown up, but the plan was not realized.

Some interesting architecture facts

I would like to start my story with a discussion of pendulums, or rather gigantic pendulums. Giant pendulums take place not only in huge tower clocks. For example, Taibei 101 in Taiwan, which is also one of the tallest buildings in the world, is equipped with a giant pendulum. The pendulum in this building is shaped like a ball suspended on steel cables. The ball is also made of steel and weighs 660 tons. This design helps dampen vibrations that can occur in a building due to hurricanes and earthquakes; the design reduces the likelihood of their destruction and is called an inertial vibration damper.

Skyscraper Taipei in Taiwan

Also an interesting fact of world architecture can be considered an incident that occurred in 1693 in Sicily. It was a natural disaster, in that case an earthquake, that brought a new unique sound to the Baroque style. Many Sicilian palaces, cities and temples were destroyed due to the eruption of Mount Etna. And the masters of architecture were faced with the task of making changes to their appearance.

Another striking example is the well-known Eiffel Tower. This architectural structure was based on the structure of the human bone. This architectural solution came to the minds of the craftsmen after Professor von Mayer discovered that the head of the femur is entirely covered with small bones connected in a network and arranged strictly in a geometric order; this happened in the mid-nineteenth century. It is the specific arrangement of small bones that prevents the femur from breaking under the weight of the human body. Twenty years later, such a femur turned into one of the masterpieces of world architecture. First of all, the creation of the tower was intended for the World Exhibition in Paris, and it was supposed to serve as a simple entrance arch, after which it was supposed to be completely dismantled. But someone suggested that this giant steel structure could well serve as a very powerful radio antenna, and they did not dismantle the tower.

Do you like to watch the popular reality show “House 2”? On the website http://dom2hd.su you will find new episodes and announcements of the following programs. Watch the video and take part in the discussions.

Guide Maupassant, the famous French writer, hated this steel structure all his life, although he dined every day in the tower's restaurant. This habit, as he explained, is due to the fact that this was the only place where the Eiffel Tower itself was not visible.

Another work of architecture is the Leaning Tower of Pisa, popularly known as the Leaning Tower. In fact, the tower does not fall, its angle of inclination is four degrees, but is not the most effective. The record-holder ten-meter tower in the city of Seizhong in China has the most effective inclination angle in the world. Its tilt angle reaches twelve degrees. However, under such conditions, despite any global cataclysms, it continues to stand. The world history of painting contains no less bizarre mysteries.

Many could have time to get acquainted with a large number of attractions in Germany, some of which include a variety of amusement parks. However, it is precisely its uniqueness that distinguishes the Waldwipfelweg park, located among the trees of the Bavarian forest, as if hidden from the attention of ignorant eyes.

Ancient city of Palmyra survived only due to the fact that it was abandoned by residents and abandoned back in the 7th century, after the invasion of Arab warriors. The impressive remains of the ancient city were safely hidden under the sand, what was outside became building material for the housing of the local inhabitants. Particularly valuable exhibits were taken to big cities and transferred to famous museums.

The Quarter of Champions showed a truly champion graph of sales of square meters. Already in the first days, more than 50 percent of the apartments were sold. The original names of the houses in the champion residential complex are associated with the cities of the Summer Olympic Games, which were recently held in Brazil. Each residential building bears the name of the city in which athletes from Belarus won medals. The first house to open the Champions Quarter was named "Rio de Janeiro".

Many people dream of their own home. Some people are attracted to the high-tech style with an abundance of glass and metal, but there will always be residents who will prefer a house made of wood. Modern 1st wooden house: interesting facts, we will consider the pros and cons in this article.

Every home needs a door. And not only him: how can he get to the temple, library, store, garage and other premises without it? Just like buildings and other structures, doors can be different: modest and pompous, expensive and made from budget materials, made in a classic, strict style and showing a non-standard creative approach of the designer (or owner)...

And there are those that are the hallmark of the city, millions know about them (and such examples are found both among the entrance and among the interior rooms). The most famous doors: 5 facts read about them here.

Builders have always been needed - from ancient times to the present day, every person needs housing, so this profession will never cease to be in demand. In our time, when technology and computer modeling make it possible to carry out the most grandiose buildings, we can only wonder how hundreds of years ago people managed to build unimaginable architectural masterpieces?

What secrets were known to the architects of the past? Let's consider interesting facts about construction.

Since ancient times, man has been concerned with the issue of building a basic roof over his head. We tried to build the first residential huts from everything: the remains of eaten animals (skin, bones), collected branches, logs, stones and much more that came across. Gradually, man, going through the path of evolution, came to the conclusion that he has a considerable amount of such building material as wood. It later turned out to be the most common raw material for selection, easy to process, reliable in operation, and also a relatively cheap material.

Over the past few decades, the construction of cottages, or, in simpler everyday language, country houses, has become especially popular among all segments of the population of our vast planet. Literally every self-respecting family most fervently dreams of this happiness.

The largest pyramid that tourists strive for is, of course, the Pyramid of Cheops. According to ancient legend, Cheops' nephew and his architect Hemiun built this great structure, embodying all the power and traditions of time in one stone structure.

Interesting facts about architectural structures from around the world that you didn't know.

1. The ancient Incas considered bridges to be sacred structures. Anyone who damaged the bridge was sentenced to death. The rope bridges spanning vast distances over deep gorges make a very impressive impression. They were made from herbs woven together. The thickness of such a “cable” was approximately the size of a human arm. Their length reached fifty meters and were distinguished by significant strength. Currently, one such bridge has been preserved.

2. The bridge, built in Lima, Peru around 1610, is famous for the fact that bird eggs were used to hold the stones together. There is information that it took about 10 thousand eggs to build the bridge. This building still stands today.

3. Trajan's Column, erected in 113 AD in honor of the victory of the Roman Emperor Trajan against the Dacian tribes. A continuous stone ribbon 218 meters long bends around the column's trunk 23 times.
It depicts more than 2,500 people, hundreds of boats, horses, many different vehicles and various weapons. The height of the column is 38 meters. It is hollow inside and has a spiral staircase. made of gilded bronze

4. More than 10 million bricks were used in the construction of the Empire State Building.

5. Japanese farmers, after harvesting the rice and threshing it, mixed the remains with it and made bricks from it to build houses. Such houses are known in Japan as "rice skin houses".

6. Many houses in rural Nepal are made from cow dung mixed with mud, sand and clay.

7. Escorial, a famous palace in the suburbs of Madrid, built in the form of a lattice. This was done because St. Lawrence, in whose honor this palace was built, suffered martyrdom: he was roasted on a grill.

8. The base of the Cheops pyramid in Egypt can cover ten football fields. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, 400 thousand people built this pyramid for twenty years.

9. In the middle of the 16th century, the informal ruler of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, forbade ordinary people from having weapons. All the swords were collected and melted down. More than 50 thousand artisans created a statue of Buddha from this metal. It took six years. Ten years after its construction, it was destroyed by an earthquake. Currently, the largest Buddha sculpture is a 120-meter statue 50 km away. from Tokyo.
10. John Hancock Tower in Boston.

Damn tower. No one is bothered by the fact that a month after construction, the huge anti-glare glass that covered the windows began to burst and crumble. And those that did not fall out also behaved strangely: they made some sounds, burst, crackled. Eventually the company had to replace all the windows. Subsequently, wind tunnel studies showed that the designers' miscalculations were to blame. Under the influence of the wind, the tower seemed to “twist”, and the windows, of course, could not withstand the load. The owners had to invest a lot more money to bring this project to fruition.