Wood as a Material of Traditional Manor Building: Problems of Restoration, Conservation and Reconstruction

Abstract

In the article, the co-authors analyze the reconstruction and restoration of pieces of wooden architecture, primarily, manors and parks of the 18th and 19th centuries, located in the south-west of the Russian capital. The co-authors are convinced that the application of timber as the construction and finishing material is the key feature of these wooden monuments, or former mansions of the Russian feudal nobility; park pavilions, country houses owned by famous businessmen and artists in the days of the industrial revolution, in the late 19th – early 20th century. Wood is the source of numerous problems that accompany preservation, and in some cases, reconstruction and restoration of these construction facilities. Problems consist in the choice of materials used to reproduce missing fragments of buildings and the assessment of authenticity of a facility or its elements in case of its complete or partial destruction. The co-authors employed such methods, as the analysis of architectural history sources and comparative historical research. The co-authors offer expert reviews made by contemporary Russian restorers and civil activists, willing to have architectural monuments preserved and manors and parks restored. The project is theoretically and practically relevant, as it generalizes information on pieces of wooden architecture and their restoration in the Russian Federation.