Authenticity. The latest volume of Pragmatika for February

/ Architecture /

Authentic (αύθεντικός) — original, genuine. An authentic person is open and not afraid to be himself. An authentic city is honest and does not hide its roots. What is authentic architecture? 

Is it possible to use the word "historical" here as a synonym, or is the concept of authenticity much broader? And if we talk about design, what is it, authentic Ukrainian design?

"The desire for authenticity reflects the gap between what we experience in this space and our sense of self, which is an important part of the modern mentality," wrote Sharon Zukin in her book "Naked City", which is called one of the most important books of a modern urbanist. For Zukin, authenticity is a metaphor for the city's soul. What is sometimes called genius loci. Zukin studied how gentrification and corporations destroy the historical industrial and ethnic ghettos of New York, and wondered whether it is possible to preserve the soul of the city under such conditions, or whether changes should be perceived not as mutations, but as an evolutionary process.

Answering one of the PRAGMATIKA questions. MEDIA, chief architect and co-founder of the archimatika company Dmitry Vasiliev said: "If you want to clearly formulate what can be called Ukrainian authenticity, then... the answer must be sought among the local context — conditions, technologies, limitations." We decided to dedicate the February volume of our publication to the search for authenticity. Today we do not have ready answers. But maybe we will find them in the process? Get involved.