Published on: 2026-07-13
Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering –
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Participants of the international scientific and educational summer school on restoration. Gas holder (Parusinka, Ivangorod)
Training specialists capable of preserving historic buildings and structures is impossible without immersion in real cultural heritage sites. During the summer period, St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (SPbGASU) hosts an international scientific and educational summer school on restoration, which brings together third- and fourth-year students from SPbGASU, the St. Petersburg Architectural and Construction College (SPASK), as well as students from other regions. Currently, students from Kazan are participating in the School. The head of the summer school on restoration from SPbGASU is the head of the Department of Architectural and Urban Heritage at SPbGASU, Candidate of Architecture, Associate Professor. Nadezhda Akulova.
On July 10, future restorers and architects visited the Ivangorod Fortress (15th – 18th centuries) and the historical industrial complex Parusinka from the 19th century — one of the most valuable industrial heritage sites of Northwestern Russia. Practical lessons at such sites allow students to see how engineering knowledge is applied in the survey, design, and preservation of architectural monuments.
Opening the session at the Ivangorod fortress, the head of the GKU LO “Directorate for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage Sites” Oleg Stepanov he drew particular attention of the students to the existing shortage of engineers and technologists specializing in restoration:
“There are very few like this now!” said the head of the organization responsible for technical supervision of repair and restoration work carried out in the Leningrad Region and, in particular, at the Ivangorod Fortress. He assured the audience that competent restoration engineers will always be in demand both in construction and design companies, as well as in government bodies responsible for organizing restoration work and overseeing its implementation.
Finally, Oleg Stepanov advised future specialists not to be afraid to defend their professionally argued point of view, whether before management or the client.
One of the key points of the route was the Gas Holder in Parusinka (Ivanogorod district) — a unique engineering structure that recently received a positive conclusion necessary to begin restoration work. For students, this became an opportunity to get acquainted with a promising site that in the coming years will become an example of comprehensive restoration of industrial heritage. The Gas Holder has an unusual but interesting future: there are plans to create a glassblowing production-museum inside it.
“Last year we did a diploma project with our student by Alexey Volkov according to the concept of the entire Parusinka, conceptually designing all functional zones of the district, and Gasholder was exactly one of those cores around which the urban planning landscape was formed. Alexey was responsible for this project received the “Golden Trezzini” in 2025.
Gazgolder is both the center of the district and the core of its development. Despite the legal complexities associated with the different subordination of Parusinka’s facilities, in the future it will be a unique object for the restoration industry.
Restoration symposiums, various festivals — Gazgolder will become the heart of the creative community. The restoration and opening of this space will give a powerful boost to the development of the area, as its potential is enormous. Both nature, architecture, and location contribute to this. Of course, people need to come here for at least a day or two. For this, it is necessary to develop infrastructure — accommodation, public catering, services for visitors,” noted Nadezhda Akulova.
The program in Ivangorod concluded with an exclusive guided tour of the Parusinka district, led by a senior researcher from the Ivangorod Museum Natalya Smola. The participants learned about the history of the industrial complex of Baron Alexander Ludwigovich Stieglitz, the features of the development of textile production at his factories in the 19th–20th centuries, and saw a new art object, the unveiling of which will take place on August 1, the birthday of the Leningrad region — a mural on the wall of the Flax-Jute factory dedicated to the history of this enterprise.
For future restorers, such field trips are not just excursions but a full part of the educational process. Working directly on cultural heritage sites allows them to become familiar with the features of historical structures, study the specifics of restoration work, discuss professional issues with industry experts and museum staff, and also gain practical experience that cannot be obtained solely in the classroom.
Ahead is the next stage of the international scientific and educational summer school on restoration — with colleagues from Rostov-on-Don.
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