Liudmila Titova
Moscow Architectural Institute (State Academy), Russia
Powerful red brick housing manufactories — a memorable integral part of the historic part of almost any city of Russia. In the second half of the 19th century a number of preconditions for active development of the industry was established. This period, marking the country’s transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy, was given the name — “industrial revolution”. Indeed, textile, food and metallurgical industries began to evolve rapidly across the country. Every factory developed thanks to the work of generations of dynasties of local businessmen — industrialists, such as the Morozovs, Demidovs, Alekseevs, Ryabushinskys, Prokhorovs, Strogonovs and many others.
At the beginning of the 21st century these factories did not meet industrial demands for technological equipment and the volume of production any more. After the withdrawal of the remaining industries large areas in the city center became appealing for developers. As a result former factories underwent a conversion.
The industrial heritage of the end of the 19th — beginning of the 20th centuries has a lot of particular features. One of them lies in the fact that manufactures were multifunctional complexes. Buildings of industrial and social functions were built in accordance with the relief, technical process and the life of workers, creating a unique architectural ensemble. As a rule, courtyards on the territory of factory, which were used for different purposes, including working and social life, were formed. Unfortunately, many of the objects that have undergone conversion of destructive or commercial character are now deprived of such spaces. In modern practice, undeveloped area of industrial heritage is often given to a overground parking, although there are some very good examples of public use of such spaces in the world.
In this report, the author carries out analysis of configuration and potential of internal areas of manufactories as well as of foreign and domestic projects of their use in order to systematize ways of transformation of former industrial areas in public and residential spaces.