Architectural heritage is the material memory of humanity, recording the history, culture and identity of eras. Today, thousands of unique architectural monuments around the world are threatened with extinction due to wars, climate change, urbanization, and lack of funding for restoration. In circumstances where the physical preservation of a building is impossible or delayed, the complete recording of data about the object through photography, measurements, and 3D-scanning becomes a critical task. This article presents research materials on two historical sites (the Arsk Barracks Complex in Kazan, the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky, and the village of Bol'shiye Memi), which were under threat of complete disappearance and the only chance of preserving them was to record them and subsequently passportization.
For the first site of the former military town of Arsk Barracks a comprehensive analysis of the large-scale urban development project for the comprehensive reconstruction of the territory, implemented between 2019 and 2025, is presented. The above-mentioned facility is located in the Sovietsky district of Kazan and is bounded by key city thoroughfares – Nikolay Ershov, Patrice Lumumby, and Iskra streets. The transformation of this vast area from a closed, restricted-access facility into the modern, multifunctional residential complex «Art-City» is viewed not simply as a construction process, but as a complex socio-urban development phenomenon, where what were once suburban military barracks first found themselves within the urban structure, and later were absorbed by that structure. Only the timely preservation of these structures has allowed their appearance to be preserved to this day.
For the second site, the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky in the village of Bol'shiye Memi, a comprehensive study of the building is presented, with documentation of various periods of its existence, as well as a preliminary reconstruction project. The mentioned object is located in the Republic of Tatarstan, № 1, Molodezhnaya street, Bolshiye Memi village, Verkhneuslonsky municipal district. The church was built in 1892 in the eclectic style according to a prescribed project, which was later used to build several similar churches in the Kazan Governorate. At the time of the site inspection, the building was in an extremely dilapidated condition; part of the church had collapsed, and the remaining structures were in a pre-stressed state. All the structural elements were measured and recorded at the site, and two years later, after the site was inspected, the building finally collapsed. The surviving research materials allowed for a high-quality restoration project to be completed.
The relevance of the study is due to the growing interest in preserving the heritage of Tatarstan. The work provides a detailed analysis of the chronology and sequence of management decisions, investment agreements, and urban development approvals that formed the basis of the passportization projects. The relevance of the certification and prompt recording of deteriorating cultural heritage sites (CHS) is very high and important due to the irreversible nature of the loss of historical data and material culture objects. Timely registration and monitoring serve as the only legal and practical foundation for saving the monuments.
The main goal of this study is to develop conservation processes for endangered cultural heritage sites. This goal’s relevance is underscored by the importance of listing a monument in official registers to obtain state-protected status. Key objectives of the study include: capturing an accurate «cast» of the site at the current time to track the rate of its deterioration; compiling historical, architectural, and archival data into a single standardized document; performing precise measurements and drawings for future work on the possible reconstruction of the site; determining the scale of destruction to calculate the cost of emergency and/or restoration work; creating a transparent database for potential patrons, investors, or government programs; using the recorded data as evidence when holding owners accountable for improper maintenance; and developing new design solutions for the site, taking into account the site's history.