Albert Kahn

Though he has been marginalized in most mainstream accounts of modern architecture, Albert Kahn (b. 1869–d. 1942) is increasingly considered one of the most important and consequential US architects of the 20th century. Kahn is known primarily for the technically innovative and rigorously functional factory buildings that his still-extant firm Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. (founded 1903) designed for automotive manufacturers, including the Ford Motor Company, but his firm was also responsible for hundreds of eclectically styled buildings for other purposes in Detroit, Michigan. Research and writing regarding Albert Kahn often requires considerable effort to disambiguation. Most importantly, Albert Kahn the man is far from a synecdoche for the firm he founded, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., which employed upward of several hundred people at its height and is still in operation under the simplified Kahn moniker today. Some mid-20th century historians and critics substituted the inaccurate and often derogatory moniker “Albert Kahn Inc.” as name for the firm to suggest its alienated and impersonal nature. Albert Kahn’s siblings are also worthy of attention in their own right. Frequently mentioned in the extant literature are brothers Julius (b. 1874–d. 1942) who was a trained engineer, inventor and co-founder of the highly successful Trussed Concrete Steel Company; Moritz (b. 1880–d. 1939), who was also an executive of the Kahn firm pivotal in its operations in the USSR between 1929 and 1932, and occasionally Louis (b. 1885–d. 1945), who was a manager and executive in the Kahn firm. Views of Albert Kahn have served as a barometer for the intellectual climate in architecture culture since the early 20th century, indexing the relative importance of aesthetics, ethics, and technics. Studies of Kahn and his firm have, until recently, primarily focused on their contributions to industrial architecture and the influence of their early factory buildings on architecture culture at large. These studies often describe the give-and-take between assembly lines and the streamlined, pragmatic design of the buildings that encompassed them. An upsurge of recent attention to Kahn’s work has been oriented away from issues of design toward larger histories. Some scholars have addressed the shift toward large, integrated offices within the profession, for which Albert Kahn Associates was a groundbreaking exemplar. Others have addressed the ways Kahn served the growth of global enterprise, revealing that his marginalization from architectural history has effaced the willful complicity of US architects in compounding capitalist power and solidifying its ideology. These topics remain rich veins for future researchers.

CINEMA CONCERT HALL "UKRAINE" IN KHARKIV. FEATURES OF CREATION AND MODERN STATE

Today, researchers' interest in the architecture of the USSR during the late 50s and early 70s of the 20th century is growing rapidly, since these years have left behind an outstanding architectural heritage. Many aspects of industrial architecture are being studied, one of which is the phenomenon of the emergence of atypical author's public buildings. The paper discusses the features of the creation and the current state of the Cinema and Concert Hall "Ukraine" – one of the unique objects of the early 1960s, built in Kharkiv. To achieve the goal, the authors formulated the following research objectives: to consider literary sources that provide general information about the CCH "Ukraine"; find and analyze authors' articles and publications written by a design team of architects, as well as experts in various fields; to classify and summarize the received material; analyze the current state of the structure. The article describes the design site in the city garden named after T. G. Shevchenko, on the site of which there was a summer open-air musical stage, in need of restoration due to the impossibility of its use. Presented is a group of architects who developed the project for the new building, and under whose leadership the construction was carried out. The author's concept of the design solution and the stages of its implementation are considered. The main purpose of the project was showing films, holding concerts of symphonic music, performing by pop groups and soloists, as well as organizing rallies and meetings. The features of space planning (composition, functional zoning) and architectural (interior, external design) solutions of the investigated object are revealed. An innovative, for that time, constructive solution of the structure was analyzed in detail and described – hanging cable-stayed structures of a saddle shape. A brief history of this constructive system is given. Particular attention is paid to the current state of the CCH "Ukraine", since on August 12, 2021, the facility was opened after a long reconstruction. Presented and described are the project proposals for reconstruction, made by the Ukrainian architectural bureau.

Transformation of the city of Split industrial heritage into a science center

Background: Split is a city in the Mediterranean, situated on Croatia’s coastline. Split’s northern coast has a long-stand-ing industrial function and harbors the city’s first electri-cal substation, designed by modernist architect Josip Maria Kodl. Objective: The goal of this work was to envision a science center in Split’s industrial zone in Dujmovača (the northern coast of the Split peninsula), comprising a science museum with a research and congress center. The programmatic and spatial analyses of the science center’s amenities and the proposal as a whole demonstrate the potential of this forgotten space in Split and breathe new life into Kodl’s ar-chitectural heritage. Methods: The proposed solution uses a dialogical narrative between a conservation, contextual, programmatic, and theoretical approach within a strict orthogonal structure, fostering the development of alternative associations and elaboration of architectural details.Results: The proposed solution constitutes a complex of multiple interconnected and flexible elements. This al-lows different parts of the Science Center to function inde-pendently of each other. This paper provides an analysis of design steps and methods, the proposal’s advantages and limitations, and the way the repurposing of industrial heri-tage was approached. Conclusion: The position of the Science Center in Dujmovača would provide one of the first impressions when entering Split on the future metro line. By reconcil-ing landscape and industrial architecture, the proposed building complex offers a framework for presenting various kinds of modifiable content, for both the pres-ent and the future.

Historical and Modern Bridges over the Elbe-Vltava Waterway

The Elbe-Vltava Waterway (EVW) consists of continuously navigable sections of the Vltava and Elbe rivers in the Czech Republic comprising a total length of over 300 km. Most of the length of this waterway was obtained by building a system of interconnected weir basins using the canalization method. Detailed plans for making this waterway navigable started in the early 19th century, and the construction of the structures was enabled by the Austro-Hungarian Water Act of 1869. So, most locks along this waterway constitute a part of industrial heritage. Among its main structures are weirs, hydroelectric power stations and locks designed by pre-eminent Czech architects of the 19th and early-20th centuries. Many of them are excellent examples of modernist industrial architecture. Since the beginning of construction of the weir system along the EVW, bridge construction also came into focus in order to provide transportation access to both banks of the Elbe and Vltava rivers in this historically heavily urbanised area of Bohemia. This article deals with the historical development of bridge constructions over the EVW, systematically categorising them as road, railway and pedestrian bridges. Focus is on the basic technical aspects of the bridge design and technical solution, but also on their historical value and the need for a sensitive approach to their modernisation. The goal of the research is to complete the current web application www.lvvc.cz devoted to the EVW structures with the architectonically and technically most interesting bridges, including their histories. The system has been designed as an expert system, making the archived historical documents, maps, plans and photographs available for use by government institutions as well as by the general public for education and for the protection of this technical cultural heritage. The research was conducted as part of project no. DG18P02OVV004 entitled “Documentation and presentation of technical cultural heritage along the Elbe-Vltava Waterway” within a support programme for applied research and experimental development of national and cultural identity, funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

Art in Post-Industrial Facilities—Strategies of Adaptive Reuse for Art Exhibition Function in Poland

Along with the socio-economic changes in Poland after 1989 and the beginning of the industrial restructuring process, many industrial architecture objects lost their original purpose. At present, sustainable processes of reusing the building stock left over from the industrial period are proceeding. One of the possibilities includes adaptation to culture-related goals, where such activities have an established tradition in the world. The aim of the article is to analyze the adaptive reuse of post-industrial facilities in Poland for the functions of art exhibitions, such as museums, galleries, and art centers. The study was based on descriptive qualitative and quantitative research, in the following stages: identification and analysis of adapted objects; developing a typology of adaptive reuse strategies; questionnaire research aimed at institutions located in adapted facilities. The analyses show that the leading group of adapted facilities constitute former power plants, which ensure favorable exhibition conditions. The main result is the recognition of five types of adaptive reuse strategies implemented in Poland, resulting from a diversified approach to the historic substance, such as: the method of extension of an object; placing an exhibition; the character of the exhibition space, along with the type of intervention in the interior of a historic building.

ARCHITECTURAL AND URBAN PLANNING EVOLUTION OF THE INDUSTRIAL AREA NEAR MOSKOVSKAYA ZASTAVA IN SAINT PETERSBURG

This paper discusses the urban planning history of an area in Saint Petersburg around the former Moskovskaya Zastava, a historical gateway that travelers passed through when approaching Saint Petersburg from the direction of Moscow. Specifically, authors are interested in the architecture of the carriage building plant. By the end of the 19th century, this part of the city had turned into an industrial area, which saw dense development from 1897 to 1917. The development of heavy industry and the expansion of domestic railways led to an emerging demand in new freight cars. In this regard, it was decided to expand the car building at the existing factories, as well as to organize the construction of new ones. A small factory in St. Petersburg, which produced phaetons, cartridge boxes and field kitchens, in 1897 was significantly expanded and transformed into the St. Petersburg railcar plant. The characteristic features of the architectural and town-planning techniques of the late 19th - early 20th centuries were embodied in the volumetric-spatial composition of the carriage-building plant complex. The strong romantic tendencies characteristic for the industrial architecture of St. Petersburg of this period were clearly traced in its composition. For the next one hundred years, this vast space did not see any transformations, constituting a complete, self-sufficient environment. The railcar plant, originally constructed at the very end of the 19th century, remained standing near Moscovskaya Zastava until the early 21st century. In 2013, the industrial area ceased its existence, and the former plant was given away for residential development.

Justification of technical solutions for facades of reconstructed industrial buildings in terms of energy saving and safety

Introduction. Reconstruction measures can restore production assets of an enterprise, ensure its economic efficiency, solve transportation and environmental problems. A relevant objective is to identify a set of the most important tasks of reconstruction of an industrial facility. Development of draft design proposals for the reconstruction of industrial buildings is complicated by the fact that a designer has to make a compositional link between “old” and “new” architecture, different in style and functionality, while focusing on the use of the most advanced effective materials and modern industrial structures. The article describes features of technical solutions for facades in the course of the reconstruction of industrial buildings aimed at the improvement of their energy efficiency and safety. Materials and methods. Reconstruction of industrial enterprises performs the function of transformation of industrial areas. Modern industrial architecture is focused on industrial tasks, such as the workplace protection from negative environmental effects (wind, rain, cold); arrangement of effective lighting in the workplaces; rational arrangement of workplaces, office equipment and production lines, auxiliary and service facilities, etc. Results. If there are social, historical, and architectural reasons to preserve a building, it is necessary to reconstruct and improve old industrial buildings and change their technical and economic characteristics. The reconstruction of a building means its modification aimed at changing its functionality in part or in full, taking into account the future prospects of the building. Conclusions. When restoring wornout elements of buildings that have historical significance, new elements are made in such a way that the appearance of a building remains unchanged or looks identical to its original historical appearance. Most industrial buildings, built before the law on energy performance of buildings was enacted, do not meet current regulatory requirements in terms of the thermal protection of the building enclosur.

Integration of Algorithm-Based Optimization into the Design Process of Industrial Buildings: A Case Study

Algorithm-based optimization is widely applied in many fields like industrial production, resulting in state-of-the-art workflows in the production process optimization. This project takes the cultural lag of conventional industrial architecture design as a motivation to investigate the implementation of algorithm-based optimization into traditional design processes. We argue that an enhanced way of architectural decision-making is possible. Current approaches use a translation of the whole design problem into a single, overly complicated optimization system. Contrary to that, this paper presents a novel workflow that defines precise design steps and applies optimizations only if suitable. Furthermore, this method can generate relevant results for factory planning design problems with contradicting factors, making it a promising approach for the complex challenges of i.e. resource-efficient building.

AWARENESS AS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE FACTORIES OF THE FUTURE

The article defines the Factory of the Future as a modern organizational concept of production and as a new type of industrial architecture. The concept of awareness as an important property of the architectural environment of the newest production facilities is disclosed. The main methods of its formation are listed and described. Examples of manufacturing facilities implementing awareness in its architecture are given. The conclusions about the positive impact of the awareness on the functioning of high-tech production facilities and Factories of the Future are made.