Ruin as Text

Abstract

This article deals with research of a ruin as a special type of architectural text. The key aspects of interpretation of a ruin are reviewed, such as the viewer role, distancing from an object, time and context. Relationship and interaction of ruin text and literary text are revealed, as they work as the sources of information for research and design work. Reading a ruin as palimpsest allows the architect to find out the new ways of dealing with the problem of historical environment authenticity, restoration necessity and degree of intervention into the ruined architecture.
Analysis of ruined architectural text and literary text cooperative work is made on the example of ruined country estates in Bezverhovo (former Sidimi) village in Prymorsky region. It is one of the few preserved (still in ruins) pieces of Far Eastern countryside architecture. At the same time we can find a considerable number of mentions of Gek, Briner and Yankovsky families’
estates in local fiction and memoirs of the time.