ARCHITECTURE OF SAINT PETERSBURG HOSPITALS: FROM PETROVSKY BAROQUE TO HI-TECH. PART IV. BRICK STYLE

Abstract

This work continues a research project dedicated to the hospital architecture of St. Petersburg from a historical perspective: from Peter the Great’s baroque on to high-tech. The fourth article in the series deals with the period of the brick style in architecture, which is characterized by the use of the aesthetic qualities of durable and cheap brick instead of traditional plaster. Buildings with brick cladding were erected in a shorter time, were more durable in the Russian climate, were cheaper and were beneficial for regions where the delivery of natural stones was associated with large financial costs. Thanks to these qualities, the brick style has become widespread in the architecture of St. Petersburg. It has gained particular popularity in the construction of industrial buildings. The rapid growth of the city’s enterprises entailed the need to organize medical care for factory workers and, as a result, gave impetus to the development of factory medicine. Examples of factory medical institutions belonging to the brick style are the hospital of the Obukhovsky plant, the infirmary of the Okhtinsky gunpowder plant, and the hospital at the Aleksandrovsky plant of the Nikolaev railway. The artistic and architectural-compositional features of the brick style are also examined on the example of the Volkovskaya merchant almshouse, the Exchange Merchants Hospital in memory of Alexander II, the Evgenievskaya Community of Sisters of Charity of the Red Cross, and the Alexander Women’s Shelter. The construction of these buildings is associated with another characteristic trend of the era — the development of the charitable movement. Construction was carried out through the active attraction of funds from the enterprises themselves, class and religious organizations and private donations. Despite its rationality, the brick style developed in the general mainstream of the architecture of the eclectic period, using the distinctive features of historical styles. Characteristic features of this time are the gradual spread of a decentralized system of hospital construction, which was based on the desire to disperse patients and a clearer planning separation of hospital departments, which helped reduce nosocomial infections; the use of new ventilation systems, room lighting and other technical innovations.