Contemporary sacral architecture as a symbol of architectural identity and a public space in a winter city

Abstract

In this study, we examine a contemporary church building as a powerful symbol of cultural and architectural identity of a city. The city space organized around and inside a religious building is considered as an important public space from the perspective of civilizational culture. During the study, a comparative analysis of European and Russian contemporary sacral construction was carried out with the purpose of forecasting the development of the present Orthodox architecture, taking into account possible trends, styles and directions. A field survey of 150 contemporary churches in Austria was carried out. Their evolutionary development over the past 120 years was examined both empirically and using scientific literature. In addition, a number of Russian churches, including restored or renovated historical buildings as well as new facilities built after the collapse of the USSR, were studied. As a result, an assessment and explanation of the inevitable appearance of modern trends in the Orthodox Church architecture is given. Historicisms, existing in the Orthodox architecture of our time, are assumed to be related to the forced 70-year pause in the development of Orthodox architecture, rather than to the greater conservatism of the Orthodox religion. Any architecture, even its conservative religious type, responds to events occurring in a society and to arising new cultural and functional needs. As a result, due to a competent interaction of architects and customers, the existing architectural style starts to change gradually in terms of its spatial organization, form, composition, general appearance of the inner and outer space, thus giving rise to new symbols of cultural and architectural identity. With the addition of new functions, a church remains to be a unique public building, forming public urban spaces both in and around itself.