On August 18 and 19, 2016, an international architectural conference “Architectural heritage of the 20th century - from Avant-garde to Modernism” was held in St. Petersburg. The event was organized at the site of the Mikhailovsky (Engineering) Castle.
The main idea of the event is to increase interest in the architecture of the twentieth century, to update this heritage, to get acquainted with the works of outstanding architects. Many buildings of this period are in need of state protection and restoration. The conference will draw attention to these issues.
For two days, leading Russian and foreign architects, restorers, historians and culturologists, representatives of government, business and the general public discussed the diversity of architectural styles and updating the architectural heritage of the 20th century, preserving cultural identity, popularizing the profession of an architect and its social significance.
In addition, within the framework of the Conference, a meeting of the Bureau of the International Union of Architects, a world organization created under the auspices of UNESCO in 1948 and uniting creative unions of architects from more than 120 countries, was held.
One of the objectives of the conference was to draw attention to the architecture of 1917-1991. In this regard, within the framework of the conference in the garden in front of the northern façade of the Mikhailovsky Castle, an exhibition “From avant-garde to modernism” was held, dedicated to three architectural epochs of the 20th century (1917-1935, 1936-1955, 1956-1991).
Regional representative of the ETERNIT company Alexander Menzhulin made a presentation at the conference “EQUITONE fiber cement facade panels - experience of using modern materials in the preservation and regeneration of cultural heritage”.
In his speech, he told the audience in a fascinating way about the universal facade material EQUITON, methods of its manufacture, possibilities, and gave actual examples of its application on new and old objects in the historical environment of European cities.
