Traditional motifs in the late 19th and early 20th century architecture of Norway, Finland and Ukraine as instruments of national identity

Abstract

The work consists from theoretical research, which key problem is a comparative analysis of using of "traditional motifs" in the architecture at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in eastern and northern Europe (on the example of Ukraine, Norway and Finland), as a means of national identity in the struggle for independence and building of national states; and the practical part, which is implemented as a conceptual project of Ukrainian cultural center in Norway.

A key hypothesis of theoretical part of the work is that the architects from different countries and regions that do not have close contacts between them, in similar socioeconomic conditions (the struggle for independence on a background of construction boom and economic growth at boundary of centuries) used the same strategies (focus on the "invented" tradition) to achieve similar goals.

The main aim of the practical part of the work is to study the possibilities of using traditional motifs in modern architectural design and perspective ways of their realization.