Course: Architectural Sketches: Moscow Modernism

The introductory class will acquaint participants with the tools and rules of working in the open air; and the laws of perspective, their application, and deliberate violation in drawing. To complete the session, participants will apply the acquired knowledge by making a sketch based on a photograph.

In 1955, the Resolution on Excesses in Architecture was adopted in the Soviet Union. Outlining only the most general points, like the elimination of excesses and the use of the advanced experience of international design, it prompted architects to develop a positive agenda themselves. They tried various options, from simplified neoclassicism to the international style in the spirit of Mies van der Rohe, while also aiming to discover the untapped potential in 1920s constructivism. The process was gaining momentum, with Moscow architects moving on from charming yet timid debut designs (Sportivnaya metro station pavilions) to a clear image of Soviet modernity, as embodied in the Pioneer Palace and Rossiya Cinema projects, implemented in the late 1950s.

Participants will learn more about composition, proportions, and the stages of working with a sketch, before making a frontal drawing of a building facade.

The flight of man into space proved that nothing is impossible, while the Third Program of the CPSU, adopted in 1961, promised the onset of communism in just two decades. Significant architectural projects of the era were also aimed either at the heavens (the Ostankino TV tower) or the future (the House of New Life). “Gigantomania” was also typical for this period: in the 1960s, the 2,000-seat restaurant Vremena Goda (Seasons of the Year) was erected in Gorky Park. Completed to coincide with important dates—the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution in 1967 and the 100th anniversary of Lenin’s birth in 1970, these structures symbolized both the apogee and the finale of non-self-reflecting modernism.

This session will focus on developing the technique of depicting a freestanding building and learning how to build perspective using simple rectangular constructions.

In the 1970s, architecture began to change, with complex, “talking” forms, deliberately textured stone or brick cladding, an appeal to historical prototypes, and even integration of preserved historical fragments (Krasnaya Presnya Museum, Taganka Theater). Preparations for the Moscow Olympics led to the emergence of sports facilities, many marked by excessive monumentality, as well as the first experimental collaborations with foreign architects (Cosmos Hotel, World Trade Center Moscow).

Participants will learn the theory and practice of sketching buildings with complex facades in perspective.

The stagnation of the Soviet economy, further undermined by the Olympics, led to numerous long-delayed construction projects. Some buildings that had been conceived in the 1960s were only completed in the 1980s, and others were never finished. Projects did not remain unchanged, however, becoming more complex and overgrown with decorative elements (for example, the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences) and expanding beyond modernist aesthetics even more than the constructions of the previous decade. The designs of the 1980s experimented explicitly with new styles, such as hi-tech (the Industrial Fishing pavilion at VDNKh) or paradigmatic postmodernism (the Pioneer Palace in Perovo District).

Participants will focus on sketching interesting details, rhythms, decorative elements, and working on a smaller scale.

A huge leap forward occurred in the 1950s, with the pace of construction increasing to such an extent that it forced a radical revision of the master plan for the development of the city and the principles of urban planning. The increase in the size of the city required the formation of regional centers with their own architectural dominants. Alongside mass development, experimental solutions were introduced, such as the 9th Novy Cheryomushki micro district (late 1950s), Troparevo (1960s), and Severnoye Chertanovo (1970s). The same wave gave rise to the architectural ensemble of Novy Arbat street: literally tearing apart the low-rise center of Moscow, these modernist constructions eventually gave citizens an understanding of the value of the historical environment.

During the closing lesson, participants will practice scale and work on drawing a building in the urban environment. This will be followed by a review of the practical training and a presentation of participants’ work.