Good time Hive! I have been absent for a while, but now I want to tell another architectural story. These buildings have long been sentenced to slow resolution, and their judge is time and human indifference. Each of these houses could be an architectural landmark, but became what can be called a shadow of history. During one of my business trips, I noticed the street of a large city, which was dotted with old wooden houses. Let me give an analogy. A long journey starts with a small step, a big river starts with a small mouth, and a big city starts with a small settlement. Each of these "fading" wooden houses was part and parcel of a big city.
Each of these wooden houses is part of the ancient street of the city. Now there is a busy highway in this place, but earlier rural life was in full swing here. Each of the houses has a unique façade. But wooden houses of the last century are not just wooden houses. Everyone wanted to have a unique home that would be different from the rest. It's amazing, but every house on this street is unique. No matter how it seems at first glance.
Despite the general similarity, each of these houses has its own unique features. First of all, they are distinguished by unique platbands around the windows. This is probably the biggest difference. Platbands in old wooden houses are an art. They are like snowflakes or fingerprints - unique and inimitable. I don’t know who is responsible for the nilichniks, but they are beautifully preserved to this day. By the way, these houses are more than 100 years old.
Each of these residential buildings belongs to the style of wooden architecture. I like the fact that despite the deplorable state, we can see what the traditions of wooden carving were. It's like we're transported into the past. By the way, very rare specimens still amaze with their excellent condition and the presence of many elements of wooden decor. But alas, there are few such houses. Perhaps for this reason they attract the eyes of travelers like me.
Visually, all the external decoration of these houses looks like some kind of competition between the homeowners of the past. Whoever has a more beautiful façade is considered a successful person. Maybe it was. May be. But in addition to the trim around the window, I would single out an equally important element of decor - wall patterns or small fenders. They are like icicles in winter that hang from the edge of the roof but do not fall. This is an excellent solution for wooden architecture. I noticed that most often the wall patterns are identical to the trim around the window.
But what do we see now? These are beautiful wooden houses in a unique style. But why are they abandoned? Do not know. Probably their content is an expensive pleasure. The old generation is leaving us, and the younger generation is striving to live in the modern part of the city. Thus, we lose part of the ancient wooden architecture. However, there are examples when they try to give a second life to these wooden houses. But I don't think it's a pretty picture. Most likely it is a symbiosis of brick and wood. Unfortunate symbiosis. But you just take a look.
Either way, hope remains. I would like to believe that in the future these houses will not be replaced by faceless brick buildings. I would like to believe that the ancient wooden architecture will not be destroyed by time and inaction of people. Sometimes I feel like an "architectural archaeologist", but you know, I like to share something unusual.
Do you like this wooden architecture? I am interested to know your opinion on the topic of wooden housing construction. I wish you all the best in these troubled times!
All photos taken by me during my trip. Thank you for your attention!