Architecture Observations Heritage Society

Nizhny Novgorod packhouses named best creative space by two awards

Not for nothing did I admire the Nizhny Novgorod Pakgauzy: by the end of the year they had won two prestigious awards at once.

The first: Creative Space at the Russian Creative Awards, where they outstripped both Sevkabel Port and the Oktava cluster. The second: the Snob "Made in Russia" award, which the Pakgauzy also received as the best creative space, and among their rivals were such landmark Moscow venues as GES-2 and the Khudozhestvenny cinema.

A fine example of something done genuinely for people, not on a signal from above or for the sake of a report, and praised accordingly by the public and the expert community alike. And the people of Nizhny Novgorod acquire a facility unique in Russia, whose full potential has yet to be unlocked.

A good case of working with a historical and cultural site: it not only gains a second life but also demonstrates a careful attitude to heritage, as other awards confirm, for instance the "Golden Trezzini" precisely for restoration/reconstruction, or victory in the Innovative Public Interior competition in the categories "Best Cultural Venue" and "Choice of the Year".

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Blessing of Animals on 4 October, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi

On 4 October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is regarded as the patron of animals and of nature, animals are blessed in churches all over the world. Stories of his sermon to the birds and of the wolf of Gubbio are associated with the name of Francis,

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Signs of violent death found on skulls from burials beside the royal tombs at Abydos

Guests at a costume party in a Moscow theatre in the early 20th century

Professor Mie Oba proposes Japan as ASEAN's third partner alongside the US and China

Blessing of Animals on 4 October, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi