Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture, mostly known in the former Eastern Bloc as Stalinist style or socialist classicism, is a leading movement in architecture, monumental, and decorative art in the USSR and other countries of the socialist bloc from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s. The style developed under the conditions of a totalitarian state as a visual embodiment of the triumph of the socialist system, combining elements of classicism, baroque, Napoleonic Empire style, and art deco.
Features
The main features of this style are emphasized monumentality, strict symmetry, the use of a system of orders, and abundant decoration, combining classical forms with Soviet symbols.The use of expensive natural materials such as marble, granite, and bronze, combined with the palatial splendor of the interiors, served the purpose of creating the image of a triumphant state and a “bright future,” where the aesthetic superiority of form often dominated the functional rationality of space.
Particular attention was paid to the development of the "façade" appearance of cities: the creation of ultra-wide avenues and ceremonial squares was subordinated to the logic of mass processions and demonstrations, transforming the urban environment into a theatrical space. The style's engineering and technical foundations were based on cutting-edge solutions for its time, including the use of steel frames for high-rise construction and complex hydraulic systems in the subway. However, the outer shell always remained emphatically historical, invoking the legacy of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance.
Stalin's high-rises
The Stalin's high-rises are a series of seven high-rise buildings constructed in Moscow between 1947 and 1957, representing the culmination of Stalinist architecture. Designed at the initiative of Joseph Stalin to commemorate Moscow's 800th anniversary, the complex includes the Main Building of Moscow State University, residential buildings on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment and Kudrinskaya Square, the buildings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transport Construction, as well as the Ukraina and Leningradskaya hotels. The buildings' architectural design draws on a synthesis of neoclassical and American Art Deco, characterized by a stepped silhouette crowned with tall spires bearing Soviet symbols. The project required the implementation of engineering technologies unique to the USSR, including the use of steel frames and artificial ground freezing, which allowed for the creation of a new vertical silhouette for Moscow and the creation of an image of a global "socialist metropolis."Technology
In terms of construction methods, most of the structures, underneath the wet stucco walls, are simple brick masonry. Exceptions were Andrei Burov's medium-sized concrete block panel houses and large buildings like the Seven Sisters, which necessitated the use of concrete. The masonry naturally dictated narrow windows, thus leaving a large wall area to be decorated. Fireproof terracotta finishes were introduced during the early 1950s, although this was rarely used outside of Moscow. Most of the roofing was traditional wooden trusses covered with metallic sheets.About 1948, construction technology improved – at least in Moscow – as faster and cheaper processes became available. Houses also became safer by eliminating wooden ceilings and partitions. The standardized buildings of 1948–1955 had the same housing quality as the Stalinist classics and are classified as such by real estate agents, but are excluded from the scope of Stalinist architecture. Ideologically they belong to mass housing, an intermediate phase before Nikita Khrushchev's standardized buildings known as Khrushchyovka.
Scope
Although Stalin rejected Constructivism, completion of constructivist buildings extended through the 1930s. Industrial construction, endorsed by Albert Kahn and later supervised by Viktor Vesnin, was influenced by modernist ideas. It was not as important to Stalin's urban plans, so most industrial buildings are not part of the Stalinist category. Even the first stage of the Moscow Metro, completed during 1935, was not scrutinized by Stalin, and so included substantial constructivist influence.Thus, the scope of Stalinist architecture is generally limited to urban public and residential buildings of good and middle quality, excluding mass housing, and selected infrastructure projects like the Moscow Canal, the Volga–Don Canal, and the latter stages of the Moscow Metro.
History
Background (1900–1931)
Before 1917, the Russian architectural scene was divided between Russky Modern, and Neoclassical Revival. The Neoclassical school produced mature architects like Alexey Shchusev, Ivan Zholtovsky, Ivan Fomin, Vladimir Shchuko and Alexander Tamanian; by the time of the 1917 Revolution they were established professionals, with their own companies, schools and followers. These people would eventually become Stalinism's architectural elders and produce the best examples of the period.Another school that began after the Revolution is now known as Constructivism. Some of the Constructivists were young professionals who had established themselves before 1917, while others had just completed their professional education or didn't have any. They associated themselves with groups of modern artists, compensating for lack of experience with public exposure. When the New Economic Policy began, their publicity resulted in architectural commissions. Experience was not gained quickly, and many Constructivist buildings were justly criticized for irrational floor plans, cost overruns and low quality.
For a brief time in the mid-1920s, the architectural profession operated in the old-fashioned manner, with private companies, international contests, competitive bidding and disputes in professional magazines. Foreign architects were welcomed, especially towards the end of this period, when the Great Depression reduced their jobs at home. Among these were Ernst May, Albert Kahn, Le Corbusier, Bruno Taut and Mart Stam. The difference between traditionalists and constructivists was not well defined. Zholtovsky and Shchusev hired modernists as junior partners for their projects, and at the same time incorporated constructivist novelties in their own designs.
In 1930 Gosproektstroi was established as part of the Building Commission of Vesenkha with the help of Albert Kahn Inc. It employed 3,000 designers with a budget of 417 million Rbls.
Urban planning developed separately. Housing crises in big cities and the industrialization of remote areas required mass housing construction, development of new territories and reconstruction of old cities. Theorists devised a variety of strategies that created politicized discussions without much practical result; State intervention was imminent.
The beginning (1931–1933)
Stalin's personal architectural preferences and the extent of his own influence remains, for the most part, a matter of deduction, conjecture and anecdotal evidence. The facts, or their representation in public Soviet documents, largely concerns the Palace of Soviets contest of 1931–33:- February 1931 – Major Soviet architects receive invitations to bid for the Palace of Soviets design.
- June 1931 – The Party Plenum authorizes three megaprojects: the reconstruction of Moscow, the Moscow Canal, and the Moscow Metro.
- July 1931 – Architects submit fifteen designs for the first competition, and a second competition is announced, which is to be open to foreign submissions.
- February 1932 – The prize for the second competition is awarded to three drafts. All modernist designs are rejected.
- March 1932 – 12 architects receive an invitation to a third competition.
- April 1932 – The Party outlaws all independent artistic associations. Viktor Vesnin is assigned to direct the official Union of Soviet Architects.
- July 1932 – five architects receive an invitation to a fourth competition.
- August 1932 – Stalin writes a memorandum to Voroshilov, Molotov and Kaganovich. The memorandum explains his opinion of the competition entries, selects Iofan's draft and proposes specific changes to it. This memorandum, first published design 2001, is the basis for most conjectures concerning Stalin's personal influence.
- February 1933 – The fourth competition closes with no winner announced.
- May 1933 – Public approval of Iofan's draft.
- September 1933 – All Moscow architects are assigned to twenty Mossovet workshops, most of them directed by traditionalist architects.
Pre-war Stalinist architecture (1933–1941)
Early Stalinism (1933–1935)
The first years of Stalinist architecture are characterized by individual buildings, or, at most, single-block development projects. Rebuilding vast spaces of Moscow proved much more difficult than razing historical districts. The three most important Moscow buildings of this time are on the same square, all built between 1931 and 1935, yet each draft evolved independently, with little thought given to overall ensemble. Each set its own vector of development for the next two decades.- The Mokhovaya Street Building by Zholtovsky, an Italian Renaissance architecture fantasy, is a direct precursor of post-war exterior luxury. However, its size is consistent with nearby 19th-century buildings.
- The Moskva Hotel by Alexey Shchusev. This line of development was uncommon in Moscow, but similar grand edifices were built in Baku and Kiev. Slim Roman arches of Moskva balconies were common all over the country in the 1930s. After the war they persisted in southern cities but disappeared from Moscow.
- Finally, Arkady Langman's STO Building : a modest but not grim structure with strong vertical detailing. This style, a clever adaptation of American Art Deco, required expensive stone and metal finishes, thus it had a limited influence – the House of Soviets in Leningrad, finished in 1941, and Tverskaya Street in Moscow.