First-Year Students Majoring In Restoration Learn About The Reconstruction Of A Ruined Site

SPbGASU first-year students majoring in restoration visited the "Slepushkin House" restoration site as part of a career-guidance field trip. Located in Ust-Izhora, near St Petersburg, the house is associated with the name of the peasant poet Fedor Slepushkin—a contemporary of Pushkin—and is currently being reconstructed following its near-total destruction.

The visit was organized by Polina Zimina, an Assistant at the SPbGASU Department of Architectural and Engineering Constructions (AEC), while the tour was led by Natalia Titorenko, deputy head of the Nevskaya Zastava Museum—the institution now responsible for managing the building.

The students were able to see for themselves what a cultural heritage site looks like when it has fallen into a deplorable state. The excursion went beyond a standard site visit: the students climbed onto the scaffolding, examining the architectural monument at every level—from the foundation to the roof. Natalia Titorenko provided a detailed explanation of the specific challenges and nuances involved in the conservation of ruined structures. The students learned that a restorer must exercise an extraordinary degree of sensitivity toward time and history.

The Slepushkin House is a unique site where the memory of a place enters into a dialogue with the present day. The project "History on the Surface" has taken shape directly on the building’s restoration scaffolding: artist Sasha Braulov has transformed the protective mesh into a canvas, creating a series of original embroideries. This unique project demonstrates that even in a dilapidated state, a historic landmark can become a focal point that draws in both local residents and visitors to the area.

For the first-year students, this trip served as one of their initial steps toward a meaningful and responsible profession. We hope that, in a few years, some of them will return to the Slepushkin House—this time as young professionals, equipped with a solid theoretical foundation, confident practical skills, and a broad perspective on their craft.