Brodyachaya Sobaka. Geometry of the lost

An audio-play about the failed constructivist utopia compiled from poetic texts and reminiscences of the residents of the Narkomfin Building.

In the reminiscences of its residents, the Narkomfin Building is like a spaceship floating in the air. After the war, communal apartments appeared in the building and over time it fell into ruin. Some of the cells were sealed and the windows painted over.

Architectural mutations reflect social transformations. Brodyachaya Sobaka explores what happened to the dream of collective living and the «new man».

Is collective living good for people? Does the unification of accommodation lead to the unification of spirit? Do common values and self-identification appear as a result of living together? Was the attempt by the Soviet authorities to re-educate people by managing their routine successful? The authors of the play seek answers to these questions in the poetry of Vladimir Mayakovsky and Osip Mandelstam, in reminiscences, and in archives. The dramaturgy of the play, which recreates the semantic and object content of the spaces of the Narkomfin Building, was suggested by its history, and the building’s architecture helped with the sound solutions, ranging from harmony to sound design.

Photo: Courtesy of the duet Brodyachaya Sobaka