ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT STATE AND DESIGN PROPOSALS FOR THE RESTORATION OF VISUAL CONNECTIONS ON THE AXIS OF THE GRAND CASCADE OF THE NIKITSKY BOTANICAL GARDEN

Abstract

Nikitsky Botanical Garden is one of the oldest botanical institutions in Russia. For more than two centuries of history, the appearance of the garden has repeatedly changed. A significant amount of work on the development of the territory dates back to the post-war period. In the late 40s, a staircase with a cascade of pools was erected, the structure of the axis of which is built on the principle of an enfilade with adjacent spatial elements that create a through expressive perspective. The appearance of the cascade changed in the following years. The conducted historical analysis and visual full-scale surveys of the Lower Park of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden along the axis of the Cascade Staircase showed the loss of the integrity of the visual connection between the spatial elements. The article proposes the concept of restoring visual connections. The territory of the object was divided according to the compositional principle into six zones. The space includes a number of viewpoints from which an overview of various parts of the landscape is revealed, consisting of viewing platforms, vegetation, water objects and other elements connected by stairs. It is possible to restore the connections between the viewpoints of the garden and the landscapes perceived from them on this object using the methods of arboristics and arboplasty. This will significantly improve the aesthetic appearance of the space, restore its integrity and a certain solemnity inherent in the formation.