Review: The subject of this research is the formation of large city planning ensembles in socialist cities during Great Leap Forward of the People’s Republic of China. The object of this research is architecture in the style of Stalin Empire 1950s – 1960s. The author examines the influence of Soviet architecture upon the emergence of Chinese styles, such as “Style 1959” and Communist Art Deco). Special attention is dedicated to stylistic peculiarities of the new architectural objects and Chinese interpretation of the Stalin Empire. In this context, both Chinese and Soviet architects contributed to determination of the architectural trend “Su-style”. The main conclusion lies in the statement that architecture of the Stalin Empire with the elements of classicism became the national style in socialist China. Chinese architects synthesized the new normative aesthetics and discovered new stylistic and imagery resources in architecture. The transition towards holistic Chinese “socialist culture” has not been completed and currently continues.  The author’s special contribution is the research of socialist architecture of Harbin as a continuity of Russian traditions of the early XX century. The novelty of this work is defined by the first ever analysis of stylistic peculiarities of Harbin’s architecture that were built by the projects of Soviet architects.

Keywords: Palace of Soviet-Chinese Friendship, prototypes, architectural image, SU style, building, architecture, style, industrialization, ensemble, complex

Review: The subject of this research is formation of the environment of rehabilitation centers for drug addicts and alcoholics, which can contribute to their recovery. The object of this research is the architectural environment, which is defined as a semantic field, themed for determining behavior of an individual or a particular group of people group of people. Such environment convinces people to lead drug-free and alcohol-free life. The author examines such aspects as the modern social problems related to mass isolation and loneliness. For many people, the urban environment becomes aggressive and uncomfortable. The desire of an individual to delve into the virtual space is understandable. The pandemic really aggravated this problem. The online mode of life (work, leisure, entertainment, communication, education) is conditioned by stressful situations, negative emotions, prolonged depression, and leads to misuse of psychotropic substances, drugs and alcohol. Special attention is given to the need for solution of social problems with the help of architecture and design – formation of in the urbanized environment of special space that would produce a positive impact, restore vital energy and capabilities of a person. The pandemic indicated rapid increase in the number of people who found escape from stress in alcohol and drugs. The main conclusion consists in create of such environment in the rehabilitation centers that would motivate the patients to fully recover. The author’s special contribution consists in on-site examination of the environment of rehabilitation centers and identification of problematic situations. This served as the foundation for determining the characteristics of environmental solutions. The novelty lies in determination of the semantic architectural environment of rehabilitation centers based on the drawings pf alcohol and drug addicts (environment-revival, environment-code, environment-motivation). There is currently no analogues to such environment.

Keywords: rehabilitation, treatment, semantics, design, architecture, addiction, alcoholism, motivation, Wednesday, concept

Review: This article is dedicated to the assessment of socioeconomic and house construction situation, as well as investments of local authorities and household sector in the development of housing facilities and infrastructure in Volga Federal District. The situation is described on the example of three regions different in the level of socioeconomic development – the Republic of Tatarstan, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and Kirov Oblast. Analysis is conducted on such parameters as housing quantity, possibility of residential mortgage, strategies for improvement housing conditions, and planned investment volume in housing on the part of population, etc. The research is based on the analysis of the official statistical data on socioeconomic situation, as well as housing and utilities policy in the regions of Volga Federal District; survey that involved population of three cities – Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov (total of 1560 respondents); and expert interview with 25 realtors from the indicated cities. The acquired results allow determining three clusters of the regions in accordance with socioeconomic indexes and characteristics of housing policy: regions-leaders, regions-drivers", and regions-anchors. A more detailed comparative characteristics of the official statistics in three regions – the Republic of Tatarstan, Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov regions, confirmed the results of clusterization. The population polling of the cities of Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov complemented the picture with specific details on citizens’ perception of their living conditions and readiness to improve them. Interview with the realtors revealed the typical trends in development of house construction and residential property market in the aforementioned cities.

Keywords: the socio-economic situation, mortgage, housing loans, improvement of housing, housing arrangement, housing policy, housing construction, residential Investment, Volga Federal district, region