Alex Bykov is currently one of the leading Ukrainian experts on architecture of the post-war modern period. He focuses on the legacy of Soviet urbanism, the latest Ukrainian official and DIY architecture, with special attention to sacred architecture. He was among the first scholars to identify, popularize and preserve the heritage of Soviet Modernism in Ukraine.
Alex Bykov received his master's degree from the Kyiv National University of Civil Engineering and Architecture in 2008 and has been running his own architectural studio since 2012. He is a co-founder and member of the activist group "Savekyivmodernism", which fights against the demolition of modernist buildings in Kiev. In 2019, in collaboration with Yevgenia Gubkina, he published the book "Soviet Modernism, Brutalism, Postmodernism. Buildings and structures in Ukraine 1955-1991".
Alex Bykov ve třech přednáškách přiblíží výzkum, kterému se věnuje od roku 2010. Prezentace doplní archivními materiály, vlastními fotografiemi a videi.
In three lectures Alex Bykov will present the research he has been doing since 2010. He will supplement the presentations with archival materials, his own photographs and videos.
Lecture 25. 4.
The Search for Modernism - Part 1: History
In recent years, international teams of scholars have regularly visited Soviet modernist architecture to admire the distinctiveness of its forms and the contemporary urban context that surrounds it. Even at the time of their creation, these buildings attracted the attention of experts, while the general public failed to accept their originality. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, modernist buildings and their authors were forgotten. Alex Bykov will present a sequence of research processes, from the first interest from the early 1950s to the present.
Photography by of Alex Bykov: https://campuscvut-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/vylitrom_cvut_cz/EilenUvVk1hDvltj077wxWgB64KD7X5ULnddHVTZgFAjEQ?e=mWIGbR
Lecture 2. 5.
The Search for Modernism - Part 2: Personality
Alex Bykov undertook the research mainly because of the lack of information. His main source of knowledge was personal acquaintance and conversations with architects active between 1955 and 1991. Alex worked not only as a journalist, but became their close friend, lived with them in the last days of their lives, scanned and systematized their archives. Many of these interviews were published in architectural journals and presented in exhibitions. Alex Bykov will tell the stories of iconic Kiev architects, focusing on their professional careers and the ambiguous fates of their projects.
Photography by Alex Bykov: https://campuscvut-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/vylitrom_cvut_cz/EhtuwkJMM1dBqdXr3es046MBO0GRCPBO87jZjqrodTsIbg?e=DsXd47
Lecture 9. 5.
Architecture. Society. Time
V historických oblastech a na okrajích ukrajinských měst probíhá nekontrolovaná urbanizace. Zároveň se postsovětský městský krajinný odpad dostal na vrchol světového vizuálního mainstreamu. V souvislosti s urbanistickým vývojem posledních 30 let na Ukrajině se objevuje řada otázek: Co je to městská komunita a jaký má vliv na rozvoj města? Kdo je architekt a jaká je jeho role v rychle se měnící tváři města? Kdo je developer a proč často jedná v rozporu se zákonem? Ve své závěrečné přednášce se Alex Bykov zaměří na moderní lidovou i oficiální architekturu a její odraz ve veřejném, politickém a kulturním každodenním životě.
Uncontrolled urbanisation is taking place in historic areas and on the outskirts of Ukrainian cities. At the same time, post-Soviet urban landscape wasteland has risen to the top of the global visual mainstream. A number of questions arise in relation to the urban development of the last 30 years in Ukraine: What is an urban community and what is its influence on urban development? Who is the architect and what is his or her role in the rapidly changing face of the city? Who is a developer and why does he often act in violation of the law? In his final lecture, Alex Bykov will focus on modern vernacular and official architecture and its reflection in public, political and cultural everyday life.
Photography, by Alex Bykov: https://campuscvut-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/vylitrom_cvut_cz/EjCIuAhdAZtAvYW75ghzdwwBSa70cKXYTH3FeuqqPpHnsw?e=t0URRn
or alternatively: https://wetransfer.com/downloads/a725c537f892541e968c33d10948ea7520220421091045/178e0fe9cc829d241dfe69d27ffd2cb020220421091059/b0b143