Posted: November 26, 2007

Constructivism in building architecture

CONSTRUCTIVISM(lat. - construction) - a direction in the art of the 20th century, successively associated with cubism and futurism and giving rise to its own art style, which affected the Soviet, painting, applied art and poetry of the 20s-beginning. 30s; main installation constructivism there was a convergence of art with the practice of industrial life along the line of form: the geometrization of contours and the exposure of the technical basis of construction in architecture, functionally justified design in applied art and architecture.

Despite the fact that urbanism here showed many parallels with Western concepts, in the version Soviet Union this process can be identified many exceptional features, even going beyond the nationalization of land and property. The land use scheme was subordinated to the master plan for the distribution of production sites.

Along with recommendations on where to find production sites, this plan also includes guidelines for developing regional city systems based on production projects. Responsible for urban and architectural planning on site was the chief architect in the respective municipal executive committee and its department. However, despite all the centralism, regional and local authorities still had a certain latitude. Through fake messages and deceptive maneuvers, local functionaries were able to prioritize their priorities over those of the central regime.

Constructivism- This is the style of architecture of the Soviet Union of the period of the 1920s and early 1930s. This style combines advanced technology, engineering systems and a clear communist social orientation. Although this style was divided into several competing directions, many interesting projects were created, some of which were realized. In the early 1930s, this style fell out of fashion among those in power. Constructivism had a great influence on the further development of architecture

The federal structure of the multi-ethnic Soviet state also played an important role here. The politically significant "basic nations" retained the status of union republics. Without this indirect form of government, it would have been impossible for the Soviet authorities to govern the gigantic country. The central regime provided material and financial resources to the union republics, which were mostly ruled by "provincial princes". In general, there was even more freedom when it came to cultural affairs and architectural projects.

In exchange for this freedom of action, regional leaders had to accept the supremacy of the upper echelons in Moscow. Resources and financial grants were distributed in accordance with the hierarchical principle. They received disproportionately generous government subsidies, and small and medium-sized cities were at a disadvantage. There was a strong gap between the city and the countryside. Prior to the end of the regime, the discriminatory pass system was discriminated against by people from rural areas to protect metropolitan areas from an uncontrolled influx of new residents.

The term "constructivism"

Constructivism in architecture came from a broader direction of constructivist art, which itself came out of Russian futurism. Constructivist art attempted to apply a three-dimensional cubist vision to absolutely abstract non-objective constructions with a kinetic element. After the revolution of 1917, all attention was turned to the new social requirements and industrial tasks of the new time. Two clear directions emerged: the first - in the realistic manifesto of Antoine Pevzner and Nahum Gabo, dedicated to space and rhythm, and the second - represented the struggle in the Enlightenment commissariat between those who defended pure art and prodactivists (constructivist practices), such as Alexander Rodchenko, Varvara Stepanova and Vladimir Tatlin, a group of socially oriented artists who believed that art should also participate in industrial production. Applied constructivism.

However, the migration movement is still out of control. The rural flight devastated the villages and brought the provincial roads into the city. The effects of this phenomenon can still be felt today. Production of unequal spaces. He argued that the Soviet model represented a revision of capitalist accumulation that further accelerated this process. Intensified growth was to be achieved primarily through the provision of privileged production sites.

However, despite the proclaimed official ideology, this territorial concept has not been able to achieve sufficient synergies to set in motion self-sustaining development throughout the country. Hierarchical structures only led to the fact that the growth poles became stronger and the forgotten regions weakened. Grandiose prestigious projects and monumental buildings thus ultimately remained imposing gestures whose symbolic integrative power was insufficient to secure the system's legitimacy for long.

The split occurred in 1922 when Pevzner and Gabo emigrated. Now the movement developed with a socially utilitarian focus. Most of the product activists won the support of Proletkult and the LEF magazine (Left Front of the Arts) and later became the dominant force in the OCA architectural group.

Revolution in architecture

An irresolvable contradiction between the imaginary space of dramatization of power and the real space Everyday life also contributed to the sound of the deadly knee of the Soviet empire. Situated on the banks of the Neva, its towering, leaning steel skeleton would house the Comintern in volumes of glass whose turnover would symbolize revolution and dialectics.

As the metaphors go, he articulates Soviet state socialism quite neatly. What was actually built also speaks volumes: a state whose history is far from monolithic, breaking away from openness to terror and back again, from architecture from mass production to disposable glasses, and from Russification to intense engagement with local tradition.

The first and most famous constructivist project was presented in 1919 for the Comintern in St. Petersburg by the futurist Vladimir Tatlin. This project is often called the Talin Tower. And although it remained unrealized, the materials - glass and steel - and its futuristic character and political background (the movement of its internal volumes symbolized revolution and dialectics) set the tone for all projects of the 1920s.

The square is surrounded by heavy red granite slabs decorated with red flags and inscribed with the Commissar of Education Anatoly Lunacharsky - the effect is spacious, original and impressive. Rudnev, his young architect, became infamous 30 years later for the Stalinist skyscrapers in Moscow and Warsaw.

A sleek row of two-story apartments, many without kitchens, are connected via walkways to a glass box with communal dining rooms, a library, a gym and a rooftop garden as part of a family life reform program. The social ideas behind the building were abandoned within a few years of completion, but its architectural ideas were plundered by Western European architects such as Le Corbusier, Wells Coates and Denis Lasdun. which sits on extremely valuable real estate is falling apart.

Another famous project in the style of constructivism is the Lenin tribune (author El Lissitzky (1920) in the form of a moving podium for the speaker. During civil war the UNOVIS group (Affirmative of the New Art) was formed, headed by Kazimir Malevich and Lissitzky. The creators of Suprematism built utopian cities. Components of constructivism can be clearly seen in Western high-tech projects, for example, Gustav Eiffel and skyscrapers New York and Chicago.

Ironically, many of his ideas about social spaces in apartment buildings are widespread in luxury apartments. The Moscow Metro - along with its more recent cousins ​​in St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Baku, Tashkent, Kharkov, Yerevan and elsewhere - lays claim to being the most amazing piece of Soviet architecture. Mayakovskaya might even be the most exciting underground station ever built. On the domed ceilings of this impossibly deep station, built to be used as a bomb shelter, what she did is a glittering, dizzying series of mosaics by the great realist artist Alexander Deineka depicting the "24-hour Soviet sky."

ASNOVA and Rationalism

Immediately after the civil war, the treasury of the USSR was empty and there was nothing to build new houses. And yet, in 1921, the Soviet avant-garde school Vkhutemas (Higher Artistic and Technical Workshops) appeared, headed by the architect Nikolai Ladovsky, who organized ASNOVA (association of new architects). The teaching methods were fantastic; elements of the psychology of form (Gestalt psychology) were used, bold experiments with form were carried out (for example, Simbirchev's glass hanging restaurant). Among the architects included in this association were: El Lissitzky, Konstantin Melnikov, Vladimir Krinsky and the young Bertold Lyubetkin.

After the war, the shattered Soviet state diverted precious resources into a seemingly bizarre project of seven triumphant skyscrapers. Six of them were located along the Moscow Garden Ring - huge, monster buildings that occupy all city blocks and rise to the Kremlin-style hairpins, allegedly at the insistence of Joseph Stalin himself. Three more were built in newly acquired or "sister" cities: Riga, Warsaw and Prague. The best of the seven Moscow cities is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the vertical Gothic rhythm gives the tower a sense of intimidation, horror and evil, befitting its purpose in the midst of cold war.

Working Club. Zueva, 1927.

Projects from 1923-1935, such as the horizontal skyscrapers of Lissitzky and Mart Shtam, pavilions by Konstantin Melnikov, demonstrate the originality and ambition of this group. Melnikov designed the Soviet Pavilion at the 1925 Paris Fine Arts Exhibition, where he promoted new style. Its rooms were designed by Rodchenko. Another example of constructivism can be seen in the film Aelita (1924), where Alexander Exter's exteriors and interiors are modeled in an angular geometric form. The 1924 Mosselprom State Store was also built in early modernist style for a new generation of New Economic Policy shoppers; Mostorg architects Vesnin brothers, built three years later. Modern offices for the public were also popular, such as Izvestia's head office. It was built in 1926-1927 by Grigory Barkhin.

Some of the results were trite, but many of them were optimistic, free-form architectures. This seaside train station in Latvia is an excellent example of the enthusiasm for the sculptural concrete structures that the Soviets used in 1950s California architecture. Clear, light and light despite its heavy cantilever form, it stands between the Baltic Sea and the river and now contains an art gallery along with tickets.

This gloomy, unique building is often featured today in photo albums of "amazing futuristic Soviet architecture." Strange, maternal creatures crouch at the foot of the hill near the main cemetery of the capital of Ukraine. Close, the gates to these things are twisted metal doors that look like work; Concrete flames are covered around them. The long gestation period reflects the fact that the crematorium originally adjoined a wall of relief sculptures on 20th-century suffering, which Kyiv had more than most places.

OCA (organization of contemporary architects)

A colder and more technological style of constructivism appeared in 1923-24, as an example, the project of the office building of the Vesnin brothers for Leningradskaya Pravda. In 1925, the OCA group was founded by Alexei Vesnin and Moisei Ginzburg, which was associated with Vkhutemas. This group had much in common with Weimar German functionalism (Ernst May's building designs). Residential buildings (commune houses) replaced nineteenth-century cohabitation buildings. The term "social condenser" described their goals, which were based on the ideas of Lenin.

Controversial from the start, it was covered with a layer of plaster before the building was opened. This photogenic multi-storey office block consists of several mini-towers intersecting on a steep hill overlooking the Kura River. Inspired by the jumble of interconnected Persian-style houses in the old city of Tbilisi - according to its architect - it stands like a lone monument on the main road from the Georgian capital, and the difficulty of pedestrian access is a sign of the ministry's success in highways.

Late Soviet architecture was often a compromise between the heavy, decorative monumentality of the Stalin era and the mass production and modernity of the 20s and 60s. The almost manic pomp and splendor of the city's Chisinau Gate combines a Baroque sense of axial symmetry and a precast concrete approach with plenty of architectural sleight of hand. These are literally the first buildings you see when approaching the Moldovan capital from the airport, and as you get to the center, the buildings get smaller and more dilapidated - the exact opposite of how most capital cities were designed.

Houses of joint residence, for example, the house of the commune of the Ivan Nikolaev Textile Institute (Ordzhonikidze St., Moscow, 1929-1931) and the Gosstrakh apartment building, built by Ginzburg, and the Narkomfin house, also built according to his project. Apartment buildings in the constructivist style were built in Kharkov, Moscow, Leningrad and other cities. Ginzburg designed the government building in Alma-Ata. The Vesnin brothers - a film actor school in Moscow. Ginzburg criticized the idea of ​​building the buildings of a new society on the old principles: the attitude towards shared houses is the same as towards bourgeois apartments. The constructivist approach is to take into account as much as possible all the changes in everyday life ... our goal is to work together with the proletariat to create a new way of life. The OSA published the journal SA (Modern Architecture) from 1926 to 1930. The rationalist Ladovsky designed his own original cohabitation house in 1929. Extravagant project: Chekist village in Serdlovsk (today Yekaterinburg) designed by Antonov, Sokolov and Tumbasov. The residential complex in the form of a hammer and sickle was designed for members of the Cheka, today it is.

"Cemetery of the Earth": Inside City 40, Russia's Deadly Nuclear Secret

The date of completion of this building in the industrial metropolis of Eastern Ukraine makes it one of the few candidates for the "last Soviet building". This "palace" for young people is designed to meet its users, but is filled with frightening space-time details for their enjoyment, with portholes, labyrinths, flying paths and bizarre multi-colored sculptures, in a secluded, green place near the Dnieper River. The idea of ​​the pioneers was to raise children to be good communists - unlikely for the generation of children who have used the building ever since.

Everyday life and utopia

tags: architectural style, architectural era
From: Ole Lukoe

Avant-garde art, which originated at the beginning of the last century, gained enormous scope in all European countries. One of its unique directions was the constructivism that emerged in Soviet Russia. This direction was completely subordinated to the needs of the people, supported by new possibilities of machine production.

What are your favorite Soviet buildings? "Russian avant-garde", it is usually called, although the artists themselves did not use this term; they were known as Futurists, then Productivists and most consistently Constructivists. But the people doing this work didn't generally consider themselves artists, they even used the term as an insult. They wanted to destroy art altogether, not as a surly nihilistic gesture, but because they thought they had created something better to put in its place.

Until the Costakis collection went public, there was only a vague idea that the former Russian Empire something extraordinary happened - perhaps a few mentions, or usually in connection with the German artists they inspired.

The style of constructivism arose at the beginning of the last century within the framework of art. His homeland was Soviet Russia However, it has spread to a number of other countries as well.

There is no consensus on the reasons for its occurrence. It is generally accepted that constructivism began its development in the depths. Its main features and signs were finally formed by the first half of the 1930s. This direction opened up not just new forms of expression of avant-garde art, it reflected new social transformations of society (this was especially pronounced in the USSR), preparing art for the use of new methods and materials.

This is at least in part because it was of no use to either side during the Cold War. In the Building a Revolution catalogue, an essay by Jean-Louis Cohen outlines the close ties these artists and architects had with various Western trends, from being invited to Moscow to design a giant office block for the Union of Cooperatives, but there is still a trend act as if the constructivists themselves were "Western" in the Cold War sense - that they were typical creative types who could not be included in the "system". to paraphrase the title of a book about the architect Konstantin Melnikov, they were "solo architects in a mass society", alternately either naive aesthetes or individualists who did not bend to serve the new masters whose suppression by the monolithic state was inevitable.

The final formation of constructivism became possible not so much due to the rapid decline of modernity, but due to unprecedented scientific development.

Most of all, these changes affected the domestic sphere. The transition to industrial production made it possible to create new household items - gramophones, radios, typewriters and electrical appliances that were not compatible with classical object aesthetics.


In the direct development of constructivism, two periods can be distinguished:

  • non-utilitarian, where constructivism was reduced to revealing the real structure of objects and things and fixing it in flat or three-dimensional forms. This direction was developed by Western masters and often manifested itself in fine arts and sculpture.
  • Applied- this is emphatically practical constructivism, aimed at creating the most functional and necessary objects and things. It is completely subordinate to the process of implementing communist ideas and is inherent mainly in the Soviet countries.

As for the term constructivism, it was first used in the book of the same name by A.M. Ghana.


Style features

The main features of constructivism were manifested in the new aesthetics of things.

The main theoretical principles of this direction are set forth in the works of the Viennese architect and publicist Adolf Loos, namely:

  • Refusal of elaborate decorations and artistic excesses. He became the main idea of ​​the direction. This concerned both architecture and artistic and industrial practice.
  • Refusal of ornaments and other decorative elements. This is especially evident in architecture. Houses in the style of constructivism were presented as " uniform form”, which does not require any decorations and decor, the Empire style.
  • Intricate shapes of objects are losing relevance. They are replaced by more rational images.
  • The main criterion for the aesthetic value of a thing is its expediency and the possibility of practical application. The desire for maximum rationality of forms was supported by the possibilities of machine production and implied complete failure from handmade artistic finishing.
  • The development of the art industry.
  • The main attention was paid not to the beauty of the object, but to its functional purpose. It was believed that the forms and decorations of things inherent in handicrafts were not appropriate in the age of machine production.

Architecture

The constructivist direction was widely used in Soviet architecture of the 20-30s of the last century.

The rapid development of industry, transport and the growth of cities did not correspond to the classical urban layout with narrow streets and ornate buildings. In this regard, constructivism, aimed at maximum efficiency and, made it possible to solve the problem not only of transport services, but also of optimal resettlement and maintenance of sanitary living conditions.

The residential complexes created during this period were focused on the needs of the middle and low-paid category of citizens and consisted of economical standard apartments.

Soviet constructivism involved the development of not just a specific building or structure, but developed universal quarters, streets and the principles of their combination. The latter also included urban transport routes.


Constructivism in architecture often manifested itself in the use of rather simple formal elements, completely devoid of any decor and ornaments. All parts of the building were connected in accordance with the plan for organizing the internal space, and their shape was determined directly by the purpose of the premises.

It was also believed that the architect had to think over not only the general concept of the building, but also the placement of signs, clocks, elevator shafts and loudspeakers, which were also considered part of the architectural image.

The Soviet constructivists, who became the progenitors of the style, directed their efforts towards solving two problems - designing an exemplary socialist city and creating communal apartment buildings for workers.

Moreover, the jurisdiction of architects began to include not only residential buildings, but also department stores, workers' clubs, printing houses, sanatoriums, factories, factories, power plants and so on.

In the history of Russian constructivism, the city of Yekaterinburg is of particular importance. During the period of rapid construction of the first Soviet five-year plans, constructivism was recognized as official architectural style countries. By a happy coincidence, a whole group of talented architects practiced in Yekaterinburg during this period. The latter, thanks to the total development of the city, got the opportunity to realize even the most unpredictable ideas. So Yekaterinburg acquired 140 unique buildings. Such a concentration architectural monuments no other city in the world can boast.

Constructivism, as one of the avant-garde trends, became widespread not only within the USSR, but also in a number of other states.

So a striking example of constructive architecture was the Eiffel Tower erected at the World Exhibition in Paris.


Eiffel Tower, Paris

Interior Features

The interior of houses in the style of constructivism fully corresponded to the main features of the direction and included the following features:

  • clearly defined frame and compact forms;
  • the absence of any mysteries and secrets - each item performed exclusively the functions assigned to it.

Constructivism assumed the creation of spacious overall premises, the use of walls and partitions was minimized. Sometimes mobile screens were used for zoning rooms. There were no frills in the decor - ornaments, stucco decorations. The main colors were: white, black, gray, metallic, red and yellow. Although constructivism denied decor, however, it was allowed to create small accents through the use of bright coatings or lighting. The walls and ceiling were often finished with plain plaster or paint. The flooring is parquet board. As for furniture, the main requirements for it were convenience and functionality. Such furniture often had a pronounced frame and regular geometric shapes.


Sculpture

As part of the development of the constructivist trend, sculpture also received considerable development. In the early 1920s, Soviet constructivists formed the Institute artistic culture(INKHUK), uniting sculptors, architects, artists and art critics. Constructivist sculpture proceeded from the concept of building forms, based on the expression of internal structural relationships between the geometric elements of the composition and the combination of various textured materials.


At this stage, the sculpture was abstract. So instead of depicting familiar human characters, the masters used intricate geometric designs. The purpose of the demonstration of the latter was to impress the audience, to form a transition from the image to the construction.

A special role in the formation of constructivist sculpture is played by the activities of N. Gabo and N. Pevzner.

Gabo is known for his experiments in spatial plasticity (heads of planes), while Pevzner became famous for creating non-objective cubic compositions. The purpose of these works was to reveal the form and texture of objects. Later, Gabo formed the “Realistic Manifesto”, which reflected the concept of shaping formed in those years, and contained the following provisions:

  • reality is the highest beauty;
  • the negation of color, the depth of the composition was achieved through textures and tone;
  • the denial of the descriptive nature of the lines, they were perceived as the direction of the forces hidden in the composition;
  • negation of volume, depth was recognized as a measure of space;
  • denial of mass in sculpture. It was believed that the volume can be constructed from planes.
  • denial of static composition.


Fashion trends

The heyday of constructivism came at the beginning of the 1920s. During this period, the first attempts to create a Soviet style of fashion took place. Particular attention was paid to the creation of "clothing for workers." The main criteria of the new Soviet style were convenience and simplicity. Most of both women's and men's outfits were based on the simplest cut of a shirt, made up of rectangles.


Later, Marengo suits, felt boots, coats, dirk coats, squirrel coats and stockings with arrows began to droop into Soviet fashion. However, not many women could afford fashionable clothes, so most simply altered their old outfits according to patterns from magazines.

By 1930, light industry began to actively develop in the country. The production of calico fabrics increased sharply, however, not everyone could even buy it on free sale. Therefore, many did not even think about fashion, but wore what they had.

In such conditions, fashion was denied as a bourgeois concept. All the efforts of the people were directed to the construction of socialism, therefore, clothes were made as comfortable as possible for work. Men wore clothes of sports or paramilitary styles - jacket, trousers tucked into boots, tunics or shirts with embroidery.

Women, on the other hand, wore jackets, knitted sweaters, blouses and skirts as everyday clothes. Single festive dresses were decorated with lace collars. In winter, they wore wadded coats with astrakhan collars.

Prominent figures of the direction

Among the outstanding figures of constructivism, V. E. Tatlin deserves special attention.

His work stood at the origins of the formation of this direction. One of these works was his "counter-reliefs" - compositions from pieces of tin, wire, wood, glass and plaster. All materials underwent minimal processing and were submitted as cubic elements of the composition. In his "non-objective" graphic works of geometric elements and textures, the artist tried to show the relationship between specific elements and the structure of the composition as a whole.

Considering constructivism in painting, it is impossible not to mention the works of A.M. Rodchenko.

His paintings were characterized by abstract and geometric forms. The artist believed that any spatial construction should be abstract and indiscriminate.


Posters of Russian constructivism of the 1920s - 1930s

Conclusion

Constructivism has become one of the unique areas of avant-garde art. This direction was guided not only by aesthetic, but also by functional criteria. All created objects and things were deprived of unnecessary decorations and elements. This trend arose within the framework of the socialist Soviet movement and fully corresponded to the spirit of the time. Constructivism has a lot of similarities with, although the makings of the appearance of this style are considered just.