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[STALINIST ARCHITECTURE] Planirovka i sotsialisticheskaya rekonstruktsiya gorodov. Vyp. 6 [i.e. Planning and Socialist Reconstruction of Cities. Issue 6]

Shchusev, A., Zagorsky, L.

Item #2008

[1 of 7 published]. Moscow; Leningrad: ONTI GOSSTROYIZDAT, 1934. 70, [2] pp.: ill. 26.6x19.7 cm. In original publisher’s illustrated wrappers. Loss of the pieces of the spine, otherwise in a very good condition.

Scarce. First edition. 1 of 5,000 copies. Edited by F. Popov, N. Efremov, A. Borshchevsky. With black-and-white illustrations throughout. This publication on the planning and socialist reconstruction of Soviet cities is co-authored by the renowned Soviet architects Alexey Shchusev (1873-1949) and L. Zagorsky in 1934. It is the first Soviet account that defines mandatory standards for newly embraced Stalinist architecture (1933), drawing from practical experiences in artistic composition across various Soviet and foreign cities (New York, New Orleans, Rome, Florence, Hempshire, Moscow, Leningrad, etc.).
Interesting that even though the edition stands out as a pioneering work on Stalinist style, one of its authors, Alexey Shchusev, was considered an eminent representative of Constructivism. He was one of the few Soviet architects, who was equally successful during three consecutive epochs of Russian architecture – Art Nouveau (broadly construed), Constructivism, and Stalinist architecture. His career proceeded smoothly until September 1937, when, after a brief public smear campaign, Shchusev lost all his executive positions, and
was effectively banished from architectural practice. In the following years he gradually returned to work and restored his public image as the patriarch of Stalinist architecture.
The publication comprises six primary sections, outlining the fundamentals of designing diverse architectural elements for the planning and reconstruction of Stalinist cities. The authors
systematically examine standards for constructing highways, squares, airports, industrial centers, green spaces, physical education centers, kiosks, etc. Numerous black-and-white illustrations and plans showcase project designs both within the USSR and abroad: the Capitol Square in Washington, the seaside boulevard in Baku, Sedgwick Park in Sussex, England, Uritsky Square in Leningrad, Shchusev’s redevelopment of Leningradskoye Shosse in Moscow, etc. It is quite interesting that the authors present foreign architectural examples as effective designs amid the USSR’s anti-Western architectural sentiment. The edition concludes with an appendix featuring plans and projects for different Soviet cities, including Magnitogorsk, Novaya Gorlovka, Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Velikoe Zaporizhzhia, etc.

Worldcat shows 1 copy of the edition at the University of Michigan.

Status: On Hold