Atayants moved to St. Petersburg in 1984 and entered the architectural department of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts, from which he graduated in 1995. His graduation thesis was titled "The Project of Design of the Navy Museum in Kronshtadt." In 1996, the project was displayed at the Vision of Europe exhibition in Bologna and was published in the exhibition catalogue.[7]
In 1996, he joined the St. Petersburg Department of the Union of Architects of Russia. By the end of the 1990s, Maxim Atayants had developed numerous projects for private houses and corporate interiors.
Maxim Atayants is regarded as a partisan of neoclassicism.[by whom?] This architectural school proclaims that the design of modern buildings could and should be created using the order system and other expressive means of classical architecture.[12]
Graphic arts
As a graphic artist, Atayants created many works of architectural landscapes that portray:
Cathedral of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in Saint-Petersburg (2012 – now) – under construction.[13]
St. John the Baptist church (Սուրբ Հովհաննես Մկրտիչ, Surb Hovanes Mkrtych) in Nagorno-Karabakh (2013)[14] – built
Ethnographic park "Moya Rossia" ("My Russia") in Sochi[15] (2014) – built
Mountain resort "Gorky Gorod" in Sochi (2014)[16] – built
Residential district "Ivakino-Pokrovskoye" (Moscow region).[17]
Residential district "Gorod Naberezhnikh" (Moscow region).[18]
Restoration and renovation of the Novo-Tikhvinsky convent and St. Alexander Nevsky cathedral in Ekaterinburg.
Selected architectural competitions
Buildings of Supreme Court of Russian Federation in St Petersburg[3] (2014)[19] – competition held by Administration of President of Russian Federation – winner, project was formally approved but rejected in fact.
Academics
Joint summer school in St. Petersburg of Russian Academy of Fine Arts (Architectural department) and Notre Dame School of Architecture, (1996).
Notre Dame School of Architecture Rome department. Guest lecturer at the seminar given by Professor Ettore Maria Mazzola and consultant of graduation theses. (From 1997 till now).
"Vision of Europe", (Bologna, 1996) – graduation thesis "The Project of Design of the Navy Museum in Kronshtadt"[7]
III Moscow Biennale of Architecture, exhibition "Tendencies. Historicism" (2012) – inspirer and organizer of the joint exhibition of 7 Russian and 7 foreign architects of neoclassical school.[21]
"Nothing but Italy! Architectural graphics XVIII—XXI centuries", Moscow (2014) – The State Tretyakov Gallery, – 8 graphic works[22]
In early 1991, the village of Karaglukh was destroyed during Operation Ring. The village cemetery was defiled and defaced, and the memorial spring dedicated to the village residents who died in World War II was destroyed. All buildings and village infrastructure were in ruins and the village was abandoned.
In 2011, Atayants decided to build a church next to the village and dedicate his efforts to rebuilding the village.[27] By 2018, the John the Baptist Church was built and consecrated, and the St. Mary church was restored. The memorial spring was repaired, and utilities such as water and electricity were established. Three residential buildings have been built, with two other residential buildings under construction. An agricultural processing plant is also being built to source produce from local farmers.[14][28][6][29][30]