Bookvica

[MOSCOW POST-WAR ARCHITECTURE] Trest Mosstroi–4 [i.e. Mosstroi–4 Trust]

Moscow: Moskovskii rabochii, 1968. Item #1858

143 pp. 13x17 cm. In original full cloth with gilt and silver lettering and logo; illustrated endpapers. Small tear of half-title, few traces of traces of glue on verso of front flyleaf, inscription on half-title – the book was presented to a secretary of the party committee of Apparatstroi Trust, Aleksander Portenko from «communists of Mosstroi-4 Trust» in 1969.

One of 2000 copies. Extremely rare.
The catalog was compiled by L. Surkov and was designed by N. Nosov.
In 1948, the Construction Department of Moscow State University highrise building was created, which, after successfully completing the task, was transformed into the Mosstroy-4 Trust. After the highest of Seven Sisters, the enterprise was responsible for construction of various civil buildings: the Luzhniki Stadium, the State Kremlin Palace, the Moskva shopping mall, the Rossiya movie theater, the Palace of Pioneers complex, the Battle of Borodino panorama, the Library for Foreign Literature, the Warsaw Hotel, also embassies, schools, kindergartens, stores, canteens, etc. Among them is the airport Vnukovo-2. Its purpose was to serve the leaders of the Communist Party, leaders of other countries, as well as official delegations and representatives of foreign governments. The book also lists buildings under construction for the moment of the publication.
This catalog collects selected projects of the company. Photographs of exterior and interior are supplemented with drawn elements. In the 1960s, the Kalinin Prospect [now the New Arbat Avenue] was constructed, demolishing some historical buildings. The catalog shows a model of new buildings along the avenue, early photographs of the Oktyabr movie theater, the Moscow House of Books, and internal pictures from the Novoarbatsky grocery store. The edition includes typical concrete-paneled apartment buildings of the 1960s (“khrushchevki”] called “experimental projects for the Cheremushki district”.
The catalog also witnessed the early years of the Rossiya Hotel in Zaryadye (existed in 1964-2006). The 1935 Soviet master plan of Moscow called for demolition of Zaryadye, the historic district of Moscow. This was followed by the destruction of most of Zaryadye in 1947, clearing the ground for the skyscraper [the Eighth Sister] designed by architect Dmitry Chechulin. This project was canceled at the foundation stage and remained in drafts. Construction of the Rossiya Hotel had begun in 1964. Dmitry Chechulin used the existing foundations of the canceled skyscraper project. Until 1980, it was the largest hotel in the world.
Endpapers feature a segment of a scheme of Moscow. Above it, red silhouettes of some mentioned buildings are mapped.

Not in Worldcat.

Price: $1,500.00