Features of the wooden buildings of Chita in the pre-revolutionary period

Abstract

The article reflects the intermediate results of a study conducted within the framework of the scientific project "Architects and engineers of the eastern outskirts of Russia (second half of the 19th - early 20th century)". Within the framework of this publication, the authors raise the question of the need to study and comprehend the unique layer of regional architecture - the preserved wooden buildings of the capital of the Trans-Baikal Territory, the city of Chita. Based on data from field surveys, the study of scientific literature and Internet resources, as well as data obtained in the course of work in the State Archives of the Trans-Baikal Territory, a systematic picture of the historical evolution of the wooden building of the city from the moment it was founded to the events of the October Revolution and the Civil War is presented for the first time. Particular attention is paid to the problems of developing the planning structure of the city and the ratio of wooden and stone buildings at different stages of its development. The features of the space-planning organization of buildings and structures of various typologies, the transformation of methods of decorative design of street facades and their dependence on the location of objects in the structure of the urban fabric are considered. Data are given on the creative and professional activities of a number of architects, engineers and other masters of architectural and construction art who worked in Chita in the period under review and who had a significant impact on the formation and development of the city's wooden buildings, as well as the spread of various architectural styles.