Introduction. The architectural and construction discourse, which has become widespread today, states that even though there develops the informational networking type of interaction among the participants of the socio-cultural exchange, the architecture will still get its rightful place because it is the most important component of the living environment of a community.Despite the rapid and successful development of applied areas of the Architectural Science caused by the dynamics of mass construction (or construction of single buildings and structures, but those, which are originally clearly meant to meet the mass requirements of the society, its stereotyped ideas about the look of a modern urban metropolis) and changes in construction technologies, design and engineering methods, forms and production resources, there is no clear understanding of what does the architecture implicate, not merely in the frame of scientific achievements, but also in the frame of the technical, technological and material progress of civilization.The problem set by the latest dynamics in the architectural and construction field (industry) is increasing the durability of wall building materials, mainly the ceramic bricks. The method of increasing the frost resistance of ceramic bricks made of Kushchevsky deposit clay raw material by adding a structuring additive into the clay mass, which ensures the required properties of the material’s pore structure, is presented in this scientific article.Materials and Methods. The present scientific work builds up on the results of the research on the effect of the proposed additive on the frost resistance of a ceramic crock made of Kushchevsky clay raw material by plastic molding. The results of the chemical analyses of the clay raw material of Kushchevsky deposit and the modifying additive are shown. As an additive there is used the waste (a calcium-bearing by-product) which is released during manufacture of the phosphate mineral fertilisers and has the form of spherical granules of 30–100 microns in diameter.In addition to determining the physical and mechanical characteristics of the burnt samples modified with a mineral additive, the porous characteristics of a ceramic crock were studied using the mercury porosimeter. With the help of the device, which is made on the basis of a quartz dilatometer and a freezer, the dilatometric measurements were carried out by freezing the water-saturated samples at the temperature of up to –20°C.Results. The carried-out experiments showed the increase in the frost resistance of the plastic-molded ceramic crock made of the clay rock of the Kushchevsky deposit when adding the carbonate-bearing mineral additive due to formation of the optimal porous structure. During numerous successive periods of freezing and thawing there was recorded good resistance of the modified samples to tensile stresses arising in the crock. The implementation of this method (of adding the proposed additive into the clay mass) in the brick factories is guaranteed to provide the manufacture of the ceramic building products with increased frost resistance.Discussion and Conclusions. Deformation curves of pores calibrating graduation in samples with and without a mineral additive are presented, along with the study results of the samples’ deformation during freezing.In conclusion, a matrix with the results of the climatic annual parameters of the Russian Federation is presented, confirming the need for the building materials to comply with the improved performance characteristics. The implementation of this method in ceramic brick manufacturing lines will foster the production of products with increased frost resistance.

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The problems of architectural shaping and thinking evolution in the context of the modern society development are considered in the article. The most important issue is the preservation of cultural-historical and ethnonational codes of collective social experience architectural expression in modern Russia. Distinctive features of Russian architecture development on the background of changes in the Western world and consciousness in the globalization era are marked. The contradictions and challenges of establishing a new architectural language in the context of different vectors of the reception of historical heritage and renewal of the cultural layer of Russian society are characterized.

The aim of the article is to investigate the architectural form self-representation processes in the spatial experience of culture. Theoretical and methodological prism of the research is the semiotic concept of architecture of W. Eco and the concept of E. Panofsky correlating with it and explaining the nature of the Gothic architectural form evolution. The architectural reality self-definition problem in the context of the historical development of cultural and anthropological experience spatial codes is considered. On the basis of W. Eco’s semiotic concept of architecture we propose the vision of architectural object as a form in which the signifier - the “grammar” of architectural text - is treated as a signifier in the unity of meanings, functions and structures of the work. Architectural form in this capacity is described as a subject of socio-cultural communication, an individual link in the spatial code mediation chain of this or that tradition. On the basis of the comparative analysis, we have demonstrated the similarity of semiotic approach to the essence of architecture and Gothic architectural thinking of E. Panofsky. It shows the relevance of this methodology for modern architecture theory allowing to reveal the processes of architectural reality affirmation. The significance of the results for the theory of architecture consists in the fact that the heuristic significance of Eco’s semiotic conception of architecture was substantiated by E. Panofsky’s conclusions concerning the essence of Gothic form-building. The notion of architectural form as a subject of cultural communication greatly extends the architectural reality affirmative nature notion.