Metrological Analysis of the Siberian City Fabric using Krasnoyarsk as an Example

Designing in a historical city is a work of special complexity and a vital necessity. Therefore, a rich palette of research methods is needed to explore the existing urban fabric and design its development and integration into modern life. Urban morphology and metrological analysis in particular offers an effective methodological apparatus based on existing urban fabric «reading», which has shown effectiveness in different historical territories around the world even if the original meanings or the original historical materials are not available. In this paper, the effectiveness of metrological analysis with reference to the fabric of the Siberian historical city is illustrated through establishment of regular patterns in land plot configurations and sizes and corresponding social processes that underlie their emergence, evolution and interaction. The use of this type of analysis to identify the internal logic of changing relationships between the interrelated elements of the city organism is potentially able to inform architectural practice on its way to preserving the identity of cities.