Constructivism

Introduction Russian couturierure since the eleventh deoxycytidine monophosphate up to the primeval twentieth century was overabundantly religious. For umpteen centuries, churches were the tot wholey weeings that were constructed out of st iodine. However, the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the mold of the Suprematism suit of 1915 brought about the bear of Constructivism, the un sampledistic decoratorural panache of Russia from 1924-1932. The brief time period that followed the 1917 Revolution attach the beginning of the influence of the new wave Constructivist movement in the social organization and see of major buildings.It enjoyed a short popularity until the late 1920s when it was repudiated by the much conservative Stalinist-era architecture. The principles of Constructivism theory come from triad main art movements that evolved in Europe during the early part of the 20th century Russian Suprematism, Dutch Des Stijl, or Neo Plasticism, and the Bauhaus in Germ any . Historical Backdrop The Russian Revolution of 1917 In early 20th century Russia, especial(a)ly in 1917, there was a serial of revolutions that in the end destroyed the autocracy of the Tsar.This serial of revolutions lead by the workers of Russia under their leader Vladimir Lenin was k straighta pathn as the Russian Revolution. The February Revolution in March of 1917 foc put ond on St. Petersburg. During this time, the Soviets, or workers councils, delegated to the members of the regal Parliament the task of governing Russia and overthrowe Nicholas II, the Tsar during that time and the last of the Tsars. Meanwhile, the Soviets, led by the genialists or Bolsheviks, had the full allegiance of the lower-class citizens and workers as sound as the political left. The Bolsheviks hence formed workers militias.In the October Revolution that followed, the Bolshevik caller under the command of their leader Vladimir Lenin, as comfortably as the workers councils, overthrew th e tentative Government in St. Petersburg. Eventually, the success of the revolution paved the way for the acquit of the USSR. After this series of events, peasants took over the lands previously owned by the vassals and redistri unlesse land. This similarly marked the beginning of common existence especially among the on the job(p) classes, which led to the building of several constructivist buildings to bear the premiere ommunities and to promote the ideology of communism. The Suprematism Movement of 1915 Suprematism is the main ideology in art that inspired Constructivism, which is the predominant architectural style of Russia during the period from 1924 to 1932. Suprematism lasted from 1915 to 1935 and is regarded as the first systematic school of modernism based on purely abstract pictorial compositions and geometrical figures. It is a Russian art movement which was originally plungeed in capital of the Russian Federation in 1913 by the Russian painter Kazimir Malevich .Malevich advocated Suprematism as he believed that this is the better way to liberate art from the ballast of the representational population. He himself did this by producing art consisting of geometrical shapes flatly painted on the surface of the canvass. The purpose of Suprematism is pure sensation and the pictorial space should be emptied of all symbolic content as in Surrealism. Malevich believed that art has to be decongested and cle ard in order to show a new reality where the to the highest degree cardinal thing is thought as well as sensation.Malevichs Suprematism was excessively hard influenced by the then avant-garde movements in art such as Cubism and Futurism. Suprematism, con alignring that it was based on Malevichs spiritual beliefs, was regarded as non-objective and apolitical. Aside from its use of simply geometric shapes as the unmatchables demonstrated by constructivist forms of architecture, Suprematism as well as emphasized the use of a limited co lorise range, which explains the overall appearance of constructivist buildings.The Beginnings and Golden duration of Constructivism The development of Suprematism led to the movement toward a non-objective art, or art without a subject, in architecture. During the early eld of Constructivism, the Russian modernists or avant-garde started embrace Cubism and Futurism, which were twain of the major sources of influence of Constructivism. Cubism was a 20th century modern movement popularized by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in France and other parts of Europe from 1907-1921.Futurism, on the other hand, started in Italy in 1910 and from 1920-1940 was use in the construction of buildings condescension the opposition of the fascist state which favoured classical Roman imperial patterns. In 1913-1914, the Russian and Soviet architect and painter Vladimir Tatlin used industrial materials to confine and exhibit a number of relief constructions. He was inspired by Italian futurist Um berto Boccionis dream of plastic configurations in space and Pablo Picassos 3D collages, both of which he secernated by apply the term Constructivism.Vladimir Tatlin was thusly the progenitor of this post-Revolutionary movement in architecture. The year 1921 marked the appearance of the first Constructivist manifesto afterward the formation of the First Working Group of Constructivists in capital of the Russian Federation. The key artists were Vladimir Tatlin, Kasmir Malevich, Liubov Popova, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Vavara Stepanova, Vasily Kandinsky, Naum Gabo, Antoine Pevsner, El Lissitzky. Actual constructivist theory and bod practice began in 1922 in conjunction with the locution of Vesnin brothers of the plan for the castle of Labor, which was presented during a argument in 1922.However, existing building on a significant home base did not start until 1925 after the founding of the Union of Modern Architects, the ex officio organization of the Russian Constructivist archi tects. By 1925, the first experimental office and residential buildings began their first appearance. Towards the end of 1925, the Constructivists of Russia formed their own organization as a response to the decision of the Rationalists to establish the Association of New Architects, or ASNOVA, twain long time earlier in 1923.While the Rationalists and ASNOVA pore on their search for purely aesthetic abstract forms, the Constructivists and OSA (union of modern architecture) brought to life a novel, more(prenominal) pragmatic architectural form, with reference to the purpose of the of the specific building, the materials used to construct it, its image and other conditions for production, and al virtually(prenominal) of all the promotion of well-disposed development of Russia at that time. While the Rationalist emphasized the artistic or aesthetic side of architecture, the Constructivists favoured its functional aspect.The period from1927 to 1929 was considered the golden age of Russian avant-garde architecture. In these trinity years, a small group of Russian constructivist architects was able to build or plan the best-known buildings in the country. Among the mental synthesiss strengthened during this time were the Zuyev confederation by Ilya Golosov, all the clubs by Konstantin Melnikov and his house, Lenins Mausoleum and the Narkomzem building by Aleksey Shchusev, Narkomfin by Ginzburg and Milinis, the Barshchs and Sinyavskys Planetarium, and Nikolaevs common house for students. The Concept of ConstructivismConstructivism, or Constructivist Art, is a term used to describe a type of non-representational, or totally abstract, relief construction, sculpture, painting, and kinetics. Constructivist buildings are usually ordered and often minimal, spatial, geometric, architectonic and experimental with how industrial material is used. Furthermore, constructivism feature engineering and advanced technology with a dominant Communist social purpose. The movement produced several pi wholenessering projects as well as grownup buildings and structures originally falling out of favour during the early 1930s.Early constructivist art and architecture, just resembling Communism, was idealistic and seeking a new order that dealt with various social and economic problems. The appearance of several constructivist buildings and monuments is characterized by an dialect on geometrical shapes worry angulate solids and cylinders, often intersecting each other or demonstrating asymmetry. Limited colour range is another quality of constructivist buildings, with the choice of colour as flesh or white signifying simpli city in the communal society.Red was as well as a truly popular choice of colour for the buildings and monuments like Lenins Mausoleum as this colour was known to symbolize Communism. Both the geometrical emphasis and the limits in colour are characteristics of Constructivist Architecture brought about by the influence of Su prematism, which was the most dominant art movement in Russia at that time. German Constructivism or the Bauhaus Architecture, the German word Bauhaus literally means polarity of edifice or Building civilize. It refers to a school in Germany famous for the style and design that it taught.It is a form of modernist architecture that was founded by Walter Gropius and existed in Germany, about parts of Europe, the United States, and Israel from 1919 to 1933. The Bauhaus was an architectural ideology similar to Russian Constructivism and existed at the same time that it did. As Constructivism lost its favour because of Stalinist Neoclassicism, the Bauhaus in stages became inactive as the Nazi rose to power. Just like Constructivist structures, Bauhaus buildings usually possess a cubic design and favour right angles owing to its geometrical figure.Nevertheless it may occasionally feature rounded corners as well as balconies. These buildings usually have an open floor plan and insip id window dressings. The Most famed Constructivist Buildings The Rusakov Workers Club. One of the most notable examples of constructivist architecture in Moscow is the Rusakov Workers Club. It was intentional by Konstantin Melnikov and was constructed from 1927 to 1928. On the outside, the club resembles a caramel brown and in elevation, it is make up of a base and three cantilevered cover areas for the seats.If the seating areas are combined, the building can seat over 1,000 mint while each of these three cantilevered seating areas can be used as a separate auditorium. More conventional offices are found at the rear of the building. Moreover, the materials used in its construction are glass, concrete and brick. The constructivist identity operator of the building is expressed in its exterior, which the architect Melnikov himself described as a tensed muscle. On the outside, the three seating areas are seen as three large rectangular solids protruding from the walls of the b uilding on the fastness part.Melnikov naturally applied his own values to its construction by place setting the Rusakov Workers Club, as well as other clubs he had designed, against the hostile city rather than belonging to it by employing sharply distinctive forms to create the structure appear individualist and unique against the general backdrop of urban buildings. Svoboda pulverization Club, another constructivist building worth mentioning is the Svoboda Factory Club, or Maxim Gorky Palace of Culture. It was also Konstantin Melnikov who designed the building in 1927. It was completed two years subsequently.For the general design of the Svoboda Factory Club, a conventional rectangular masonry check was used as a replacement for the original plan of using a flat elliptical tube, thus giving its design a constructivist spirit. The staircase was not curved but built straight, leaving the exchange rostrum column as the tho curvilinear element in the structure. However, althou gh the commutation rostrum column balances the left and right halves of the building, these halves are not identical with the north side end block significantly high than the opposite one.This unique feature is a quality of the individualism of the constructivist movement. Nonetheless, the central rostrum hides such a discrepancy . Zuev Workers Club, another prominent example of constructivist architecture is the Zuev Workers Club in Moscow. The architect Ilya Golosov designed the structure in 1926 and it was finished after two years. The original function of the building was to house various facilities for the workers of Moscow.The innovative and unique glazing treatment at its corner and the frontage formed from the frolictic intersection of a cylindrical glazed staircase and a stack of rectangular floor canvass prove to be very photogenic and make the Zuev Workers Club a symbol of Russian avant-garde architecture. These two unique qualities reflect a strong unique identity wh ich is characteristic of Soviet Constructivism. The stack of rectangular floor planes has nates them a sequence of club rooms and open foyers that lead to a rectangular auditorium made up of 850 seats.Golosov, like Melnikov, was an enthusiast not for the logics but for the moral force forms Constructivist design methods. In the Zuev Workers Club, this is evident in the immensely powerful drama of the cylinder intersecting the flat planes . Narkomzem, also known as Peoples alimentation of Agriculture, Narkomzem was another noteworthy example of avant-garde architecture in early 20th century Russia. The building, which is now used today as a working ministry, was designed by Aleksey Shchusev and was finished in 1933.The most smasher constructivist feature of the building is its corner details where a rectangular plane intersects with the cylindrical edge. Aside from the corner details, the overall asymmetry and the ribbon window primed(p) on the top floor remain to be the most str iking features of Narkomzem . Melnikovs raise. The house of the architect Konstantin Melnikov, or simply known as Melnikov House, is one of the most notable examples of 20th century avant-garde architecture. It is located in Moscow and is located well away from the street.Melnikov House is a building made up of a combination of both futurist and Classical designs consisting of two interlocking cylinders with the rear one noticeably taller than the front. The structure is also perforated with some sixty identical elongated hexagonal windows provided with Constructivist glazing bars. The asymmetry in the cylinders and the uniquely designed hexagons are testaments to Melnikovs commitment to Constructivism. The cylinders are made from stucco-covered bricks similar to those used in Russian churches and on the window dressing are written the words KONSTANTIN MELNIKOV ARKHITECTOR .Narkomfin, another Russian building with constructivist design is the Narkomfin building. It was designed by the architects Ignaty Milinis and Moisei Ginzburg along with engineer Sergei Prokhorov. It was constructed from 1928 to 1930 for the purpose of providing flatcars for the employees of the Peoples Commissariat of Finance, of the Narkomfin. The transitional, semi-communal apartment was vatical to pull in to the Soviet citizen the communal way of life and to introduce communism into the heart of domestic life and prepare the citizens to fully perish a communal existence .Narkomfin, for its constructivist elements, had a long elegant facade with several rows of horizontal windows. It was topped with the Commissars penthouse making it look like and be called the ship. Upon its completion it turned out to be an ensemble composed of three buildings the caparison block, the communal block and a small laundry building. The Narkomfin has remained an picture of modernism in avant-garde architecture of Soviet Russia primarily because of these constructivist elements that make it stand ou t among the rest.The Narkomfin building was also known as the most perfectly realized building out of all the communal buildings constructed during the Constructivist sequence or in the utopian years of the early Soviet Union. It was also considered the prototype for the modern European apartment blocks and housing estates. Now, the Narkomfin remains as a pilgrimage sites for historians and architects from all over the world. The common House (1920-1930) of the textile Institute, or the Communal House for fabric Institute Students, in Moscow is considered Ivan Nikolaevs masterpiece and is another noteworthy architectural work of the Soviet constructivist era.Popularly called Nikolaevs House or The Hostel, the Communal House demonstrates the dom kommuna, or the 2000 adult apprentices shared cabins along an eight-storey block extending for a length of 200 meters. There was a seminal mix of dining rooms and recreational spaces in the low block. The Communal House was rattling bui lt for textile students to live and study in while adopting a strict military communal fashion that starts with a wake-up call, and proceeds with exercise, exhibitor, and study.The constructivist elements of the Communal House include half-round stair towers, the triangular staircase, and the Brobdingnagian rectangular volumes as well as the asymmetry demonstrated by the uneven intersections of the various planes in the facade of the building. The Barshchs and Sinyavskys Planetarium, or the Moscow Planetarium, was realised on November 5, 1929 and is considered at present a centre of natural sciences. The planetarium is in the main involved in reading public lectures and implementing scientific and artistic programs in cosmonautics and astronomy. In the observatory of he planetarium, one can watch the sunspots, the Moon, the planets and many other heavenly bodies with the use of a telescope. The Modern State of the Planetarium M. O. Barshch and M. I. Sinyavsky were amenable for the design of the planetarium and commenced the construction on September 23, 1928, the day of the autumnal equinox. The planetarium was actually one of the largest projection domes for any planetarium in the world, which makes this unique feature one of its most prominent characteristics as a symbol of avant-garde Soviet architecture. However, its apex was only 4cm thick. Located in the former city of Leningrad, now St.Petersburg, the Red Banner Textile Factory was partially designed by the first foreign architect asked to design in the USSR, Erich Mendelsohn, in 1925 to 1926, and later designed by E. A. Tretyakov, S. O. Ovsyannikov, and Hyppolit Pretraeus until its completion in 1937. The Red Banner Textile Factory was a dynamic, futuristic large factory and was a most notable example of Soviet Constructivist architecture. The Red Banner Factory resembled a ship with the top part of it jutting out of the planes. There is also an asymmetry with the intersection of the cylindrical a nd rectangular sections of the building on the outside.These two constructivist features of the factory give it its unique identity and make it stand out. Notable Architects of Russia from 1924-1932 The Russian constructivist designer Vladimir Tatlin was considered the progenitor of Soviet Constructivism because of his revolutionary exhibits of relief constructions from 1913 to 1914. He was also responsible for the appearance of the Constructivist Manifesto in 1921 which paved the way for the first construction of a plan for a constructivist building in 1922 and the actual establishment of constructivist office and residence buildings in 1925.Tatlin trained at the Moscow schooling of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture as well as in the Penza Art School. It was after completing his formal studies that he joined a group of avant-garde painters and writers all over Russia. It was also during this period that he formulated several designs for a theater and participated in exhibitions . Konstain Melnikov was one of the big names in Soviet constructivist architecture, being the architect behind the Rusakov Workers Club, the Svoboda Factory Club and his own Melnikov House.Melnikov apprenticed as an engineer after attending the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He studied architecture from 1912 to 1917 and it became his passion although he signly studied painting in 1905. As a romanticist and a supporter of Communism, Melnikov was an architect who had independence of estimate and rejected the principle of method in design and instead focused on intuition as the most essential factor in expressing the social and symbolic meaning of an architectural form such as a building.In his works, Melnikov struggled to combine Classicism and Leftist Modernism and often designed his architectural masterpieces with explicit and symbolic historicism. A leader of Constructivism from 1925 to 1931, Ilya Golosov was the Russian architect responsible for the desig n of the Zuyev Workers Club in Moscow and communal housing in Ivanovo. Just like Tatlin and Melnikov, Golosov studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculture and Architecture. However, he also studied in the Stroganov School of Arts.His main result with the works of the Vesnin brothers made him join the constructivist organization, or the OSA Group in 1925, and from then on he started designing his masterpieces. However, although Golosov was a champion of Constructivist architecture, he regarded the architectural philosophy of Constructivism only as ideal for exterior decoration but not for wholesomeness in terms of functional style. These contrasting views of his regarding Constructivism eventually made him abandon the avant-garde form of architecture in 1932 and settled for neoclassic architecture in his works, hence from Soviet Constructivism to Soviet Realism.Another name in the Soviet Constructivist architects hall of fame is Ivan Nikolaev. He was famous for the constructi vist design and even the formulation of the rules and regulations of the Communal House of the Textile Institute built from 1929 to 1931. He devised a rather rigid and Communist procedure for the members of the training institute which was supposed to be followed through every single day a wake-up call, exercise, shower and study. In addition Nikolaev was also famous for his modernist campus of the Moscow Power engineer Institute.He, however, abandoned his constructivist beliefs in order to adopt Stalinist architecture. Another prominent name in avant-garde Soviet architecture of early 20th century Russia was Aleksey Shchusev. Shchusev was responsible for the constructivist designs of the Kazan Railway Station, the Narkomzem, or Agriculture Ministry, building in Moscow, and most important of all, Lenins Mausoleum on Red Square, which he designed only in a stunning period of three days. Another one of his constructivist designs was the Institute of Resorts in Sochi, which he designe d from 1927 to 1931.Shchusev was tasked to design many more buildings after 1932 and some say that he was even the originator of knightly skyscrapers in Moscow. Shchusev studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1891 to 1897 and his travels to conglutination Africa and Central Asia from 1894 to 1899 may have somehow influenced his partial non-adherence to pure Constructivism. It is also worth mentioning that even before Shchusev designed buildings, he was already tasked to recreate church and to design a cathedral during the first ten years of the 20th century.His restoration of the St. Basil Church in Ukraine, his designs for the Trinity duomo in Pochayiv Lavra, and the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent in Moscow made him one of the best and most versatile architects of his time. The expressionist architect Erich Mendelsohn was a German Jewish architect and the first foreign architect who was allowed by the USSR to work for them. In 1926, he partially designed the Red Flag Textile Fact ory in St. Petersburg. The constructivist design of the exterior of the factory made it resemble a ship.This particular masterpiece of Mendelsohn is similar to the Mossehaus, which he himself designed in Berlin. He also designed the rear view of the Einstein Tower in Potsdam and the Cohen House in London, all of which had designs similar to that of Soviet Constructivism. Mendelsohn studied architecture at the Technical University of Berlin and the Technical University of Munich, where he graduated cum laude in 1812. His initial work before he became an international architectural designer was as an independent architect in Munich.One of the champions of Russian Constructivism, not necessarily for his actual works but for his theories, was the name Yakov Chernikhov. Perhaps Chernikhovs only actual architectural achievement was the Red Nail Makers Factory, or Red Carnation Factory, built in St. Petersburg from 1930 to 1931. The rest of Chernikhovs fame is attributed to his written wor ks. Chernikhov studied at the Odessa Art School where he taught drawing and sketching years later, and at the Academy of Arts at St. Petersburg where he graduated in 1925. He then joined the Constructivist movement and instead of concentrating on the actual ractice of his profession, he wrote and published a series of books which showcased his constructivist architectural fantasies Fundamentals of Modern Architecture, written from 1929 to 1930 Construction of Architectural and shape Forms, written in 1931 and Architectural Fantasies 101 Compositions, written in 1933. These three books did not only make him famous all over the world but also became a source of inspiration to many generations of architects. He had five more books published from 1934 to 1948. Decline of ConstructivismA competition for a la-di-da project for the Palace of the Soviets was held in 1932. The constructivists joined the competition with their best entries. However, there was an ever-growing criticism of Mo dernism as that time, and this affected as well all the Soviet Constructivism. The winning entry was therefore not constructivist but an eclecticist Stalinist architecture project by Boris Iofan. By the end of the 1920s, Constructivism was eventually replaced by Post constructivism, which featured buildings designed in a obscure style and bore close resemblance to Neoclassicism.