Complex mechanisms in wooden architecture: mill models at "The Birth of Scale" exposition
A significant part of "The Birth of Scale" exposition at the National Centre RUSSIA is dedicated to models of wooden architecture. As tour guides emphasise, Russian wooden architecture remains a pinnacle of traditional design. It is appreciated around the world for its originality and authenticity.
"Our exposition features not only models of well-known churches and temples, but also mills. The golden age of Russian wooden architecture spanned from the 15th to the 18th centuries," noted Dmitry Lesnykh, senior tour guide at the National Centre RUSSIA.
Among the objects at "The Birth of Scale" are models of a 19th-century windmill from the village of Shchyolkovo in the Kirillovsky district of the Volgograd region, a 17th-century post windmill from the village of Pogoreloye in the Arkhangelsk region, and another 19th-century windmill from the village of Vyazentsy, also in the Arkhangelsk region.
These mills were technological structures, each one a complex mechanism despite its apparent simplicity. Northern post windmills were able to rotate around their axis to align with the wind. The core of the construction was a stationary post set into the ground, around which was built a "ryazh" — a special log structure that provided stability to the entire building.
"The Birth of Scale" exposition at the National Centre RUSSIA showcases completed architectural projects as well as ideas that remain only as concepts. The exposition consists of both the National Centre RUSSIA's own objects and those provided by museums and private collectors across the country.
Watch the series of educational lectures of the National Centre RUSSIA by art historian Yelizaveta Likhacheva and learn more about Russian architecture.
Partners of "The Birth of Scale" exposition include DOM.RF, the Ministry of Construction of Russia, Gazprom, the State Research Museum of Architecture named after A. V. Shchusev, the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art, the Yakov Chernikhov Architectural Foundation, and the HSE Art and Design School.
The history of Russian architecture, bold concepts, and Soviet urban planning projects realised across the globe were presented to delegations of the exposition on May 31.
The lecture "Russian Architecture in the Global Context" took place at the National Centre RUSSIA on May 30.
