Almaty · Archive · Architecture
A view of the New Square in Alma-Ata: now from the south-east, then from the south-west. Today a park stands where the vast empty space once lay. The granite tribunes, imitating the mausoleum in Moscow, appeared before the building of the Central Committee, which was not supposed
NB! · Almaty · Architecture
The side wings of the Almaty akimat, now and then. The six-storey and two-storey pavilions are linked to one another by passages. In plan, the whole complex is quadrangular, with inner courtyards. The buildings are based on a corridor system
Almaty · Archive · Architecture
Before the riots and after. This is how the building of the Communist Party Central Committee, later the Presidential Palace and now the akimat of Almaty, looks inside. The circular assembly hall seats 600. The palace itself consists of 5 separate buildings. When it was being built, it went through
Almaty · Architecture · Observations · Society
The burnt-out akimat building of Almaty, that is, the city hall or municipal administration, formerly, before the capital was moved to Astana, the Presidential Palace. Originally it was built in 1975-1980 as the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR. At the
Almaty · Architecture · Society
Almaty is a city of extraordinary architectural interest. Take the centre, for a start. Not everyone will grasp this, perhaps, but historically the city has had four different centres in the most traditional sense of the word. This became possible because its plan is not radial-concentric, like Moscow'
Almaty · Architecture · Society
One of the centres of the tragic events in Kazakhstan has been the republic's former capital, the city of Alma-Ata. The footage from the world news agencies illustrating the destructive nature of the disorders shows Republic Square. It is the very place where the December uprising of
NB! · Architecture · Faith · Observations · Rome · Humour
The world's most exclusive car park can be seen in a satellite image of the Vatican. The lower part of the Belvedere Courtyard, one of the most celebrated and significant palaces of the Renaissance, is used as a parking lot. Every age has its own hallmarks
Architecture · Faith · Art · Nature · Rome
A rabbit on the wall of the Franciscan College of St Isidore in Rome. What is the little fellow doing here, apart from nibbling his cabbage? In the Middle Ages the rabbit was associated with the Immaculate Conception. Notions of the physiology of these animals pointed to purity. It is
NB! · Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Paris
NB! · Architecture · Faith · Monarchies · Moscow
Architecture · Art · Museums · Observations · Heritage · Paris
I have a great many complaints about the municipal improvement of Paris; my heart aches at the antics of the luckless Anne Hidalgo. Versailles, by contrast, as a near and respected province, has been very fortunate, both in the status quo of its historic precincts and in the preservation of
Architecture · Moscow · Museums · Observations
It will be interesting to see it realised, but they say that building the "Cogwheel", the new Garage Museum pavilion in Gorky Park, will take 5 years. What interests me most is whether the cladding will be sheet metal, glass or some material of the Alucobond kind. For