The Architecture of Konstantin Melnikov

Слайд 2

Konstantin Melnikov was born to a peasant family in Moscow in

Konstantin Melnikov was born to a peasant family in Moscow in

1890. Through the efforts of the engineers to whom he was apprenticed he attended the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Although he initially studied painting when he entered the school in 1905, he studied architecture from 1912 until he completed his studies in 1917.
Слайд 3

After the 1917 Revolution Melnikov developed a new city plan for

After the 1917 Revolution
Melnikov developed a new city plan for

Moscow. From 1921 to 1923 he taught part time at his old school which had been renamed the Moscow Vkhutemas.
The main portion of his work. at this time, consisted almost entirely of worker's clubs within Moscow.
Слайд 4

Mel’nikov rose to prominence through competitions,” writes Jean-Louis Cohen in his

Mel’nikov rose to prominence through competitions,” writes Jean-Louis Cohen in his

recent historical overview, The Future of Architecture since 1889. “Mel’nikov created a sensation with his Makhorka Tobacco Pavilion at the Agricultural Exhibition held in Moscow in 1923 and, two years later, with the pavilion he designed to represent the USSR at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes” (pgs. 165-166). Though they drew a dubious inference regarding Mel’nikov’s overall “qualifications” from the work, Manfredo Tafuri and Francesco Dal Co reached a similar conclusion in their history of Modern Architecture: “Mel’nikov acquired immediate international fame with his Russian pavilion for the Paris Exposition of 1925
Слайд 5

Completed in 1928, his house was unlike anything the Soviet Union

Completed in 1928, his house was unlike anything the Soviet Union  had

yet seen. It is composed of two three-story cylindrical volumes compressed into each other, creating six principal living areas between which the functions of the house are divided.
Слайд 6

The house’s most iconic features, of course, are its hexagonal “beehive”

The house’s most iconic features, of course, are its hexagonal “beehive”

windows, over sixty of which perforate its rounded skin.
Слайд 7

Around the same time, the nearby Rusakov Worker’s Club was nearing

Around the same time, the nearby Rusakov Worker’s Club was nearing

completion. It is centered around a large auditorium on the lower floor and contains three smaller auditoria above, the posteriors of which cantilever through the exterior façade at an upward angle.
Слайд 8

By the end of the decade, Moscow was filled with Melnikov's

By the end of the decade, Moscow was filled with Melnikov's

worker's clubs, including halls at Burevestnik, Frunze, Kauchuk, and Svoboda, as well as a set of automobile and bus garages.

Frunze Workers' Club (1927-1929)

Burevestnik Factory Club (1927 - 1929)

Слайд 9

Each of these projects, unique though they were, shared similar appreciations

Each of these projects, unique though they were, shared similar appreciations

for circular plan and window elements, overstated geometries, and convention-breaking massing arrangements.

Kauchuk Factory Club (1927-1929)

Svoboda Factory Club (1927-1929)

Svoboda Factory Club (1927-1929)

Слайд 10

Melnikov's flurry of commissions and professional success ended as quickly as

Melnikov's flurry of commissions and professional success ended as quickly as

it began. By 1933, the political climate in professional architectural circles had shifted, and Melnikov's individualism and formal explorations had fallen into disfavor.

Gosplan Garage (1936)

Слайд 11

He worked for a few years on urban planning projects and

He worked for a few years on urban planning projects and

would continue to submit the occasional (and inevitably unsuccessful) architectural competition proposal. But what began as an individual's meteoric rise - and a provocative disruption to the architectural establishment - came to a tragic stall in the mid-1930s that Melnikov never could revive.

Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage (1926)