Branding Identity in Architecture: Christian Churches of Ancient Russia, Hindu Temples of India, and Company Offices of the 21st Century

The systemic understanding of creation of architectural and environmental facilities with the corporate identity of a particular brand is a relevant issue of the Russian modern architectural education. Further and advanced training programmes have been developed and implemented in two structural subdivisions of the Moscow Institute of Architecture (State Academy): the Faculty of Specialized Training (FST, MARCHI) and the Higher School of Environmental Design (HSED, MARCHI). Students learn the basics of creation of branding identity: understanding of target audiences and their preferences, the psychology of products or services offered, the brand’s mission, basics of symbolism and subconscious perception of colour and plastic elements by the audience, as well as the unified principles of construction of architectural and environmental spaces to visualize the ideology based on historic examples: the building of Hindu temples represents the energy body of the lying Purusha, and its structural parts represent mandalas in the form of ideal chakras; Christian churches and cathedrals of Ancient Russia (10-15th centuries) were built as the material shell around “The Life Giving Pillar” and represent in the plans geometric layouts of theological concepts of Trinity and Heaven on the Earth; architectural solutions of the 21st century (buildings of such major brands, as Adidas, Nike, Apple, Greenpeace, CocaCola) visualize the brand’s mission by using the shapes of the products and branded elements. That is, MARCHI’s educational programmes show the expanded historical perspective of creating spatial planning and colour solutions based on the customer’s philosophy, choosing building and finishing materials, creating branded elements for the decoration of facades and interiors. Keywords—brand identity; philosophy; branding; design; architecture; symbolism; Christian church; “The Life Giving Pillar”; the quadrature of circle; Hindu temple; Orthodox cathedral