Lockdown blues - only outdoors teaching allowed. Ouseburn November 2020.

Welcome to my page!

Architecture is a necessity. We simply need shelter, not just for physical safety and comfort, we need the manifestation of ideas, hopes and beliefs in form of buildings. The major part of our memories relate to specific spaces and places, to architecture. Our hopes and worries are mirrored and reflected in architecture. We can read the ‘zeitgeist’ in our buildings; vices and virtues of our time, and times past.

My admiration is particularly with the manually drafted architecture before the digital era. The time where draftsman-ship and craftsmanship were valued. Unfortunately, manual labour and manual skill are apparently less important in our mechanised and IT depended society. Thankfully through teaching I can still introduce students to the wholeness of a generalist profession, to the joy and satisfaction for crafted design.

Since I have entered architectural education in 2009 my focus is on a contextual and wholistic approach, to provide future architects and designers not just with required skills and knowledge, but with a healthy criticality, a responsible and ethical attitude.

Over the past few years my interest and focus were on identity studies and memory studies in context with architecture.  I conducted studies on the perception of the identity of international students when arriving at university, also studies on minorities with migratory background like my ancestors.

Furthermore, I enjoy supporting international understanding and cultural exchange. My private interest is on the cultural and architectural development in the soviet era and more generally on Russian history and culture. I maintain contacts to a range of architecture schools and universities within the Russian Federation.