ZODCHESTVO2022
"REFLECTION"
"ZODCHESTVO 2022": REFLECTION OF ERAS
"ZODCHESTVO 2022": REFLECTION OF ERAS
For the first time, the business program of the International Architecture Festival 'Zodchestvo' had a section on church architecture. There were the most interesting speeches and discussions. As it turned out, there was only time to slightly touch upon the following important issues: temple consciousness, the logic of constructing semantic and functional matrices of churches and complexes, their integration into the environment, creative search, the sincerity of the artist in working on interiors, the temple as space and space as a temple, fractal structures, sacred geometry, the present urgent context, social processes, and the meaning of the image of the temple in them. Three hours flew by in an instant, which suggests that there is a need for such symposiums and that such work will continue. Many thanks to all the contributors (Dmitry Borunov, archpriest Andrei Yurevich, Kirill Yakovlev, Mikhail Mamoshin, deacon Roman Muraviev, Valentin Borisenko, Anna Verdi, and Dmitry Ostroumov), as well as to all guests!
SECTION: CHURCH ARCHITECTURE
ALL CONTEST PROJECTS
ALL CONTEST PROJECTS
SYMPOSIUM "CHURCHES AND SACRED SPACES. MODERN SOLUTIONS AND TRADITION"
SYMPOSIUM "CHURCHES AND SACRED SPACES. MODERN SOLUTIONS AND TRADITION"
Symposium is organized by the Expert Council on Church Architecture of the Union of Architects of Russia, the Guild of Church Builders and the Prohram Studio.
A temple always reflects a culture that synthesizes art and spirituality expressed in the language of a symbol. This environment preserves centuries-old traditions, cultural codes, and established images of religious art. At the same time, this environment is in constant interaction with a person, and it has to speak to him or her in an understandable language. A temple is not only the house of God but also a sacred space, partly recreational. Like a tuning fork, it tunes up the consciousness and feelings, purifying the human soul and feeding it with goodness, love, and inspiration. Architects and artists bring the best fruits of their creativity to the making of such a space. A place of worship becomes an image of the culture of a particular place or time. It absorbs the key semantic paradigms of people's religious beliefs. Over time, the image of the temple also dictates values and images of eternity and spirit to future generations. This is where matter and spirit come together.
Today, many religious buildings are being designed, but do they speak to a person in an understandable language? Do they create a comfortable environment that nourishes the soul? Can a person simply come there to sit and think, to come to a more conscious, elevated state? Do they work as true social complexes with all the necessary functional areas? Is their image interesting, being the fruit of genuine art, or is it just a set of visual quotes from the past? What is the general direction of the development of church architecture? These and other related issues were discussed during the symposium as part of the festival’s business program.
Welcoming address to the participants of the symposium by Archpriest Leonid Kalinin, Head of the Expert Council on Church Art, Architecture, and Restoration and member of the Patriarchal Council for Culture
To the participants of the symposium "Churches and sacred spaces. Modern solutions and tradition"
The art of the Church is organically connected with the Liturgy and Divine beauty. It glorifies God in the world of people and aspires towards the Creator. An architectural image, an icon, or a fresco, while externally limited by canons, reveals the Beauty of the Divine, heavenly World. It opens a window from there into our earthly world.
Christian religious art, in a broader sense, painfully seeks answers to the eternal questions of life and death, searches for an image. Sometimes it is on the outskirts of Heavenly Jerusalem, sometimes it is desperately far from it.
Today, many architects and artists are trying to create "new Church art." But, as a rule, not being practicing Christians who have passed through the crucible of repentance, they stand, as it were, in front of a transparent wall. It is the insoluble mystery of the essence of the Church, created by God Himself as an eternal living organism.
Sometimes their creative search is a manifestation of their bright individuality. Sometimes it is a talented approach to the Truth, enriching the artistic culture of the world. But the Church does not seek, having within itself the fullness of knowledge of the Truth. It gives people the Word and the Image. It breathes the Spirit of Conciliarity, where each of its members is a part of the whole, and creativity is an act of community. But just as Andrei Rublev, who is difficult to suspect of being “constrained” by the canons, is far from a simple artisan, so in the Church one and the same unchanging truth can be expressed in completely different ways, just as one can play a melody by Johann Sebastian Bach on a whistle or on a pipe organ.
The present exhibition is the All-Russian Creative Laboratory. The names of the organizers and the artists are not only known but sometimes famous in Russia and abroad.
Let the creativity of these wonderful masters and the works of the organizers help the visitors to think about the eternal Truths of God, to find their own self-determination in the current troubled world, and not to get lost in the search for the path to Heavenly Jerusalem!
Head of the Expert Council on Church Art, Architecture, and Restoration of the Russian Orthodox Church. Honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts.
Archpriest Leonid Kalinin
September 29, 2022
The art of the Church is organically connected with the Liturgy and Divine beauty. It glorifies God in the world of people and aspires towards the Creator. An architectural image, an icon, or a fresco, while externally limited by canons, reveals the Beauty of the Divine, heavenly World. It opens a window from there into our earthly world.
Christian religious art, in a broader sense, painfully seeks answers to the eternal questions of life and death, searches for an image. Sometimes it is on the outskirts of Heavenly Jerusalem, sometimes it is desperately far from it.
Today, many architects and artists are trying to create "new Church art." But, as a rule, not being practicing Christians who have passed through the crucible of repentance, they stand, as it were, in front of a transparent wall. It is the insoluble mystery of the essence of the Church, created by God Himself as an eternal living organism.
Sometimes their creative search is a manifestation of their bright individuality. Sometimes it is a talented approach to the Truth, enriching the artistic culture of the world. But the Church does not seek, having within itself the fullness of knowledge of the Truth. It gives people the Word and the Image. It breathes the Spirit of Conciliarity, where each of its members is a part of the whole, and creativity is an act of community. But just as Andrei Rublev, who is difficult to suspect of being “constrained” by the canons, is far from a simple artisan, so in the Church one and the same unchanging truth can be expressed in completely different ways, just as one can play a melody by Johann Sebastian Bach on a whistle or on a pipe organ.
The present exhibition is the All-Russian Creative Laboratory. The names of the organizers and the artists are not only known but sometimes famous in Russia and abroad.
Let the creativity of these wonderful masters and the works of the organizers help the visitors to think about the eternal Truths of God, to find their own self-determination in the current troubled world, and not to get lost in the search for the path to Heavenly Jerusalem!
Head of the Expert Council on Church Art, Architecture, and Restoration of the Russian Orthodox Church. Honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts.
Archpriest Leonid Kalinin
September 29, 2022
Archpriest Andrei Yurevich
Chief Architect of the Financial and Economic Bureau of the Russian Orthodox Church. Member of the Expert Council on Church Art, Architecture, and Restoration of the Russian Orthodox Church. Member of the Union of Architects of Russia and the Guild of Church Builders.
Opening speech
Mikhail Mamoshin
Honored Architect of Russia. Member of the Russian Academy of Arts. Member of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences. Member of the International Academy of Architecture. Head of the Mamoshin Architectural Studio. Vice-President of the St. Petersburg Union of Architects. Chairman of the Council for Church Architecture of the Union of Architects of Russia. Chairman of the Council for Church Architecture of the St. Petersburg Union of Architects.
“Modern interpretation of tradition and canon”
Dmitry Ostroumov
Architect, Master of Theology, head of the Prohram Studio. Member of the Unions of Architects of Russia and Belarus. Member of the Guild of Church Builders and the Council on Church Architecture of the Union of Architects of Russia.
“Community, Church, temple, society. Integration of sacred spaces into the urban environment”
Kirill Yakovlev
Founder and head of the Tektonika Architectural Studio. Professor at the International Academy of Architecture in Moscow. Advisor to the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences. Associate Professor at the Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design. Deputy Chairman of the Council for Church Architecture of Saint Petersburg Union of Architects. Member of the Board of the Saint Petersburg Union of Architects. Member of the Council for Church Architecture of the Union of Architects of Russia. Member of the Commission on Architecture and Art of the Saint Petersburg Diocese.
“Small architectural forms in the church space”
Dmitry Borunov
Architect. Diocesan architect of the Saint Petersburg Metropolitan Archdiocese. Member of the board of the Saint Petersburg Union of Architects. Professor at the International Academy of Architecture in Moscow. Member of the Council for Church Architecture of the Union of Architects of Russia.
“Temple consciousness and the modern world”
Deacon Roman Muraviev
General Director of ARCHON LLC. Senior lecturer at the Saint Petersburg State University, Faculties of Art and Urban Geography. Member of the Union of Architects of Russia. Head of Protocol of the Saint Petersburg Interdepartmental Commission on Church Architecture. Secretary of the Commission on Architecture and Art of the Saint Petersburg Diocese. Member of the Council for Church Architecture of the Union of Architects of Russia.
“Planning structure of a modern church in dense urban areas”
Anna Verdi
Muralist, member of the Guild of Church Builders.
“Timeless Space”
Valentin Borisenko
Muralist, head of the mosaic workshop. Member of the Guild of Church Builders.
“Artistic decoration of modern churches. Practical experience”
Installation “The Image of the Light”
Developed by the Guild of Church Builders, in particular Andrey Anisimov Studio and Prohram Studio.
Head of the project: Andrey Anisimov
Author of the concept, supervisor: Dmitry Ostroumov
The installation was presented at the Zodchestvo festival from September 28 to 30, 2022.
Head of the project: Andrey Anisimov
Author of the concept, supervisor: Dmitry Ostroumov
The installation was presented at the Zodchestvo festival from September 28 to 30, 2022.
- Andrey AnisimovHonored Architect of the Russian Federation. Full Member of the International Academy of Architecture and the Academy of Architectural Heritage. Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Arts. Advisor to the Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences. Member of the Union of Architects of Russia. Member of the Council on Architecture of the Union of Architects of Russia. Member of the Board of the Union of Moscow Architects. Full member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society. Co-founder of the Guild of Architects and Engineers. Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of the Guild of Church Builders.
- Dmitry OstroumovArchitect, Master of Theology, head of the Prohram Studio. Member of the Unions of Architects of Russia and Belarus. Member of the Guild of Church Builders and the Council on Church Architecture of the Union of Architects of Russia
Architecture has always been a sacred craft. It contains and reflects the highest archetypes of the universe, culture, and the life of society. The architects have always tried to reflect the principles of the world order and philosophical categories. This gave rise to sacred architecture. The temple, combining heavenly existence and the realities of human culture, became its symbol. For centuries, many philosophers and mystics have searched for the philosopher's stone. But alchemical exploration and mystical traditions are meaningless if they do not lead to the Gold that reflects the Truth and reveals it. “Where is the good of a street if it does not lead to the church?” This cornerstone is already present in the sacramental basis of the temple building.
In this installation, salt bricks on a white platform symbolize matter that needs to be cultivated and transformed through creativity. They are presented in the form of steps rising upward. The rest of the space is occupied by models of churches on a mirror base. In this mirror, one can see both one's reflection and the reflection of the sky. One can also see a reflection of the surrounding space, that is, of culture. In fact, this is what any church should convey in its architecture. On the steps, there is a temple, an image of the highest Light. Rather, it is an archetype of a temple, expressed in the usual form. Any temple is a complex symbol. Its main components are the symbol of Man, the symbol of the Cosmos and the symbol of the Church. Also, there is the presence of God as the Absolute that transforms everything.
There are some key materials used for the installation. These are salt, yellow gold (sulphur), mirror (mercury), and gold on the dome, as the highest metaphysical world. Thus, the Christian temple is presented as an authentic philosopher's stone, which the mystics were looking for. Here it is found, and it is Christ. Salt means matter, the body. The upper level, the foundation, the basis, means the soul, symbolized by yellow gold or sulfur. The temple itself symbolizes the spirit and is covered by a mirror surface, or mercury. It is crowned with a golden tholobate, a dome, and a cross. This symbolizes Divinity, or the highest metaphysical world, the true ontology.
Our projects always strive for the highest ideal, a single archetype of a temple created by God Himself. But they have different forms of expression and composition. The rhythm, accents, dominants, interweaving spaces, and architectonics vary, too. This is because the visible world around us is the sphere where this highest ideal manifests itself and expresses itself through the creativity of the architect.
In this installation, salt bricks on a white platform symbolize matter that needs to be cultivated and transformed through creativity. They are presented in the form of steps rising upward. The rest of the space is occupied by models of churches on a mirror base. In this mirror, one can see both one's reflection and the reflection of the sky. One can also see a reflection of the surrounding space, that is, of culture. In fact, this is what any church should convey in its architecture. On the steps, there is a temple, an image of the highest Light. Rather, it is an archetype of a temple, expressed in the usual form. Any temple is a complex symbol. Its main components are the symbol of Man, the symbol of the Cosmos and the symbol of the Church. Also, there is the presence of God as the Absolute that transforms everything.
There are some key materials used for the installation. These are salt, yellow gold (sulphur), mirror (mercury), and gold on the dome, as the highest metaphysical world. Thus, the Christian temple is presented as an authentic philosopher's stone, which the mystics were looking for. Here it is found, and it is Christ. Salt means matter, the body. The upper level, the foundation, the basis, means the soul, symbolized by yellow gold or sulfur. The temple itself symbolizes the spirit and is covered by a mirror surface, or mercury. It is crowned with a golden tholobate, a dome, and a cross. This symbolizes Divinity, or the highest metaphysical world, the true ontology.
Our projects always strive for the highest ideal, a single archetype of a temple created by God Himself. But they have different forms of expression and composition. The rhythm, accents, dominants, interweaving spaces, and architectonics vary, too. This is because the visible world around us is the sphere where this highest ideal manifests itself and expresses itself through the creativity of the architect.
Address:
Moscow, Exhibition Hall "Gostiny Dvor", Ilyinka street, 4
