SOVIET MODERNISM: 1955-1985
AN ANTHOLOGY/THE TESTIMONY OF A SOVIET ARCHITECT – FELIX NOVIKOV
A VIEW FROM THE XXI CENTURY/THE EMPIRE'S LAST STYLE – VLADIMIR BELOGOLOVSKY
ISBN 978-5-903433-43-8
232 p., 29.0 х 26.0 cm, 210 ill.
Hard cover, Russian/English
2,400 rubles/$80
This book comprises authoritative commentary complemented by an album of photographs of one hundred examples of Soviet architecture of the period its title indicates. Its authors – a renowned Soviet architect and writer, Felix Novikov and an American architect and critic, Vladimir Belogolovsky – compiled the anthology based on archival photographs and materials from professional Soviet architecture publications. The unique nature of their work exposes a whole stratum of Soviet architecture, hidden until now, despite the long broken "iron curtain," due to lack of interest. What readers will see on the pages of the book will make them think again about the uniqueness and originality of thought that pervaded Soviet architecture of the twentieth century. The book is recommended for the perusal of leading architectural critics worldwide.
Book Presentation:
October 17, 12:30 pm
Zodchestvo Festival, Conference Center, Manezh Central Exhibition Hall, Moscow, Russia
Book Reviews:
“Soviet modernism takes off in the brief ‘thaw’ ushered in by Khrushchev and takes up some of the threads of constructivism that had been cut off by Stalin. As Vladimir Belogolovsky points out, it is a style that, relating to trends in the West, is, however, more socially collective. Emphatic in expressive simplicity, it is also large in scale and imperial in its abstraction. Felix Novikov gives voice to the motives and confusions of this period when a few architects broke free of the new party line to build more authentic works. Such testimonies are rare and welcome.”
CHARLES JENCKS
“Felix Novikov’s and Vladimir Belogolovsky’s anthology of Soviet modern architecture makes one realize how exceptionally varied and creative this architecture was once the stylistic rigidities of socialist realism had been relinquished. In part, this cultural liberation entailed a return to the more radical formulations of Soviet constructivism in its prime, and we find this in such works as the Georgian Ministry of Highways, built in Tbilisi in 1977. At other times, the work attained a monumentality of pre-Columbian dimensions as in the Palace of Culture, built in Tallinn, Estonia, in 1980. Whereas, in the Zvartnotz Airport, built in Yerevan, Armenia, in the same year, one is witness to a dynamic rotary solution to the design of an air terminal, evidently influenced by Paul Andreu’s pioneering 1974 Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 1 in Paris. At its best, Soviet architecture, in the space of three decades, moved toward an interesting synthesis between Western paradigms and the exciting legacy of its own, largely unbuilt, avant-garde tradition.”
KENNETH FRAMPTON
“The swansong of the Soviet Union has been an architectural one. During the four decades that have followed the rejection of Socialist realism, audacious buildings have shaped the Soviet urban landscape, echoing the work of Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer, Eero Saarinen, and other Western models, and also proposing bold interpretations of programs such as airports, circuses, stadiums, and museums. Felix Novikov is one of the most outspoken professionals of this time, author of remarkable buildings and sharp critical writings. Collaborating with Vladimir Belogolovsky, he has now created a provocative volume on an overlooked chapter of monumental modernism, in which stunning works are rescued from oblivion.”
JEAN-LOUIS COHEN
“Architecture of the closing Soviet decades is perceived as bleak and seems to be disappearing from our consciousness – was it there, was it not, and why bother? The very first anthology of built works of the period straightens out these distortions. Bravo! Professionally and with love it presents qualities such as poetry and imagery, which that epoch was generally denied of. Yet, there were talents, and craftsmanship, personal romanticism, and keen tenderness…”
ALEXANDER RYABUSHIN
Selected Illustrations:
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Nikita Khrushchev: “Toward industrialization!”
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Palace of Pioneers, Moscow, 1962
Architects: V. Egerev, V. Kubasov, F. Novikov, B. Palui, I. Pokrovsky, M. Khazhakyan
Engineer: Y. Ionov
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The Science Center of Microelectronics, Zelenograd, Russia, 1969
Architects: F. Novikov, I. Pokrovsky, V. Larionova, E. Likhtenberg
Engineer: Y. Ionov.
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Computing center, Moscow, 1980
Architects: L. Pavlov, T. Alferova, A. Lunev, A. Semenov
Engineers: E. Garmsen, G. Lysenko, V. Sobolev
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Ostankino TV Tower, Moscow, 1967
Engineer: N. Nikitin
Architects: D. Byrdin, L. Batalov
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Kalinin Prospekt Complex (New Arbat), Moscow, 1967
Architects: M.V. Posokhin, A. Mndoyantz, G. Makarevich, B. Tkhor,
S. Airapetov, I. A. Pokrovsky, Y. Popov, A. Zaitzev.
Engineers: S. Shkolnikov, V. Nikolaev, V. Sno, L. Gokhman
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Council of Economic Development (SEV) Building (now Municipal Building), Moscow, 1969
Architects: M.V. Posokhin, A. Mhdoyanz, V. Svirsky
Engineers: S. Shkolnikov, V. Nikolaev
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Customs house at the Finnish border, Russia, 1967
Architects: S. Speransky, V. Volosevich, S. Michailov
Engineer: I. Suslikov
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Cinema “Rossiya,” Yerevan, Armenia, 1974
Architects: G. Pogosyan, A. Tarkhanyan, S. Khachikyan
Engineers: G. Gevorkyan, I. Tzaturyan
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Residential building on Begovaya Street, Moscow, 1975
Architects: A. Meerson, E. Podolskaya, M. Mostovoi
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Ministry of Highways, Tbilisi, Georgia, 1977
Architects: G. Chakhava, Z. Dzhalaganiya
Engineers: T. Tkhilova, A. Kimberg
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Stadium Razdan, Yerevan, Armenia, 1973
Architects: K. Akopian, G. Mushegyan
Engineer: E. Tosunyan
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Youth Palace, Yerevan, Armenia, 1972
Architects: G. Pogosyan, A. Tarkhanyan, S. Khachikyan
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TASS Building (Telegraph Agency of the USSR), Moscow, 1977
Architects: V. Egerev, A. Shaikhet, Z. Abramova, G. Sirota
Engineer: Y. Manevich
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Automotive service center, Moscow, 1978
Architects: L. Pavlov, L. Gonchar, E. Kapeliovich, R. Chertov
Engineers: E. Garmsen, A. Lesnevsky
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Olympic Cycle Track, Moscow, 1980
Architects: N. Voronova, A. Ospennikov
Engineer: V. Khandgi
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Zvartnotz International Airport, Yerevan, Armenia, 1980
Architects: A. Tarkhanyan, S. Khachikyan, L. Cherkizyan, Z. Shekhlyan
Engineer: S. Bagdasaryan
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Oncology center, Moscow, 1979
Architects: I. Vinogradsky, V. Orlov, A. Echeistov, E. Bekritsky, V. Antonov
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Sports and concerts complex, Yerevan, Armenia, 1984
Architects: K. Akopyan, G. Pogosyan, S. Khachikyan, G. Mushegyan
Engineers: I. Tzaturiyan, G. Azizyan
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Sanatorium “Druzhba” (Friendship), Yalta, Ukraine, 1985
Architects: I. Vasilevsky, Y. Stefanchuk, V. Divnov, L. Kesler
Engineers: N. Kancheli, B. Gurievich, E. Vladimirov, E. Ruzyakov, E. Kim
Read the reviews in Russian on Archi.ru:
http://archi.ru/events/extra/event_special.html?eid=3922&fl=3
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