Now derelict, Moscow’s Narkomfin Building was once a potent expression of the social condenser, an approach to building which sought to engineer a new, more socialist community.

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The social condenser remains one of architecture’s purest experiments in social engineering. Emerging from the revolutionary ferment that followed the First World War, its essential purpose was to break down social hierarchies and bolster a new working-class consciousness in its residents.

Probably the most well-known example is the Narkomfin Building (1932), a block of flats located at 25 Novinsky Boulevard, in Moscow. Designed by Moisei Ginzburg and intended for high ranking members of the Commissariat of Finance (shortened to Narkomfin), the building’s most striking feature is that none of its 54 housing units had a dedicated kitchen. Instead, the building was built with communal kitchen, laundry and creche facilities, a move which was intended to socialise the kind of reproductive labour that was traditionally carried out by women in the home. Meanwhile, in a bid to stimulate an ethos of self-improvement and a new more socially engaged lifestyle, the building also featured a library and a gymnasium.

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The Narkomfin Building echoed similar experiments happening at the same time in other cities led by socialist administrations. In Vienna, for instance, the interwar period saw a tenth of the city rehoused in so-called Gemeindebauten, housing which aimed to transform the city’s working class through embedded social and cultural institutions. So, in a place like Rabenhof, located on the Veinna’s so-called Ringstraße des Proletariats, residents had access to a theatre (which transformed later into a cinema), along with a kindergarten, two playgrounds, and communal kitchen and laundry facilities.

A Conservative Turn

Evidently, the social condenser enjoyed quite a moment in this period, but it also endured in the Soviet space long after, albeit in a somewhat less radical form, especially after the Soviet Union took a more socially conservative turn under Stalin. Indeed, while the attempts to liberate women from domestic labour were left out, the post-war period saw the construction of many interesting new residential and cultural buildings which sought to engineer an emboldened working-class culture, particularly in the newly socialist societies of Eastern Europe.

After the Fall of Communism, however, the social condenser’s fundamental purpose quickly proved totally out of step in cities that rapidly adapted to a more capitalist model of urban development (if they can get away with it, developers operating in a capitalist urban development framework will always build buildings which make little affordance for the wider social functions which the social condenser offered).

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The Narkomfin Building Today

In this new context, it should come as no surprise that most residents vacated the Narkomfin building years ago and the structure has fallen into a state of disrepair, despite being listed as a “Cultural Heritage Monument” on the Russian cultural heritage register. Now, the building has the dubious honour of sitting on top of another less illustrious list, UNESCO’s endangered buildings.

Interestingly, things have recently come full circle in contemporary architecture’s fixation with densification and the so-called “mixed-use development”, which bears some striking similarities with the social condenser. The fundamental difference is the underlying social reality within which these respective design approaches operate within. Whereas the social condenser was envisioned as a space to realise a new, more emancipated working-class subject, the modern-day mixed-use development is overwhelmingly targeted at bougie young urban professionals. In other words, the former is exclusive of bourgeois ideology and the latter is thoroughly steeped in it.

Even though Russians often call Moscow the “Third Rome,” the city’s first agora appeared only in autumn 2017. Khokhlovka Square, formerly just another abandoned construction site common in Moscow and other Russian cities in the mid-1990s, was transformed into an amphitheater – the first architectural object of its kind in Moscow.

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The public space has become an all-weather space and groundbreaking open-air museum, combining contemporary design with an archeological segment of a 16th-century fortification wall. Today it is a must-see destination in the Russian capital: within a year, the number of user-submitted photographs featuring it on social media grew 15 times.

Abandoned for nearly a decade

Located on a busy part of Moscow’s historic Boulevard Ring at the intersection with Pokrovka Street, Khokhlovka Square was slated to become an underground parking lot, but work was halted in 2007 after a surprising archeological find: a segment of the 16th-century White Town fortification wall, marking the border of medieval Moscow. The site was abandoned for nearly a decade. It was also a major obstacle for pedestrians walking along the Boulevard Ring.

The space got a new lease on life when Strelka KB, Russia’s largest urban consultancy, proposed turning the site into a public space to the Moscow City Government, with an amphitheater that would showcase the White Town wall section. The project was organized as part of the Moscow Street program, a large scale initiative to create a safer, more livable Moscow through revamping streets and public spaces. The square was developed by Strelka KB in collaboration with the landscape architecture studio Djao-Rakitine and in 2018 was recognized with the Moscow Urban Forum Community Award in the Urban Design category.

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A sense of privacy and intimacy

From an architectural perspective, Khokhlovka Square descends several meters below street level to the fragment of the White Town wall. Behind the 16th-century fortification is an architectural concrete wall covered by Virginia creeper vines, serving both as a protective structural element and a contrasting background for the light stone monument. The eco-friendly water-permeable paving system used at the base of the amphitheater helps absorb rainwater, along with a system of collection grates that redirect rainwater away from the surface and strengthen the amphitheater’s foundation. Meanwhile, the base of the amphitheater offers a flexible open space, and the steps leading to it feature wood planking, allowing them to be used as seats in any weather. The steps leading down to it create an accessible approach, with a ramp suitable for users of varying levels of mobility, and together with several large trees planted around the perimeter, they give a sense of privacy and intimacy, offering shade and shelter from sun, wind, and passing cars.

Round-the-clock point of attraction

The site’s popularity after reconstruction was measured by Strelka KB’s Center for Urban Anthropology. Whereas street activity was minimal due to the abandoned construction site, in the twelve months following reconstruction the percentage of photos taken on the street increased from 28% to 45%, and data shows a wide variety of activities in the amphitheater itself, from picnics to outdoor sports. Most importantly, the area became a round-the-clock point of attraction: whereas the Pokrovka Street area was once best known for its nightlife, it is now a daytime destination as well, with the percentage of photos taken during the daylight hours nearly doubling. The increased foot traffic fostered the opening of trendy new spots, including one of the most popular pizzerias in the city.

Thoughtful preservation

Kiril Ass writes in topos 105 about the (in)visible transformation of Russia’s capital under Sergei Sobyanin and how the beauty of its urban space could come at the expense of democracy.

Under the administration of Sergei Sobyanin, the third Mayor of Moscow since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian capital has gone through a drastic transformation of its urbanism. In recent years, the inner city was rebuilt and turned into to what seems to be a contemporary city at its best – a city for people. But the appearances are deceiving. The Muscovites are paying a high price for a more liveable urban environment: As the city’s public space has lost its political relevance, the citizens have further forfeited their political rights and influence.

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One of Sobyanin’s first moves in office was the destruction of the city’s informal shopping infrastructure – the remnants of the 1990s micro-economy, i.e. the hundreds of small shops and pavilions scattered across the city and concentrated near metro stations that provided the Muscovites with everything they needed on their way to work or home. These establishments
were torn down overnight by excavators, regardless of their legal status, ruining the businesses and lives of their owners and employees and overturning the daily lives of millions of Muscovites in an action swiftly dubbed “Night of the Long Shovels”.

Protests against the ruthless demolitions were in vain, regardless of whether they were voiced in the Architectural Council, reported about in the press or shouted out in the streets. The protests culminated after the Russian parliamentary elections in 2011. Thousands of people demonstrated against alleged electoral fraud.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets – yet to be gentrified – to reclaim their stolen votes. They were tolerated for a week, as these were the largest protests in a decade, only to be beaten down later. The protests continued during the winter, ending up in a massive march on the day before Putin’s third inauguration, famous for the images of his motorcade rolling through empty, heavily guarded Moscow avenues. The march was violently suppressed by the police.

In 2012, new laws were passed, severely curtailing the rights of public protest – and of oppositional political action in general. To summarize, almost any kind of political demonstration now requires advance approval by the city government – needless to say that under the new laws no approval would ever be granted for a central area of the city. In the eyes of the newly confirmed mayor, the beautiful, newly made streets of Moscow need no political activity.

Watch the video of Putin’s motorcade rolling through empty Moscow avenues:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPN9OL5EqUk

Read the full article about the transformation of Moscow and which projects were realized that changed the cityscape, in topos 105.

Rarely have I experienced so many critical political discussions on my trips to Moscow as on this one, last October. Perhaps it’s because the situation continues to intensify, with the country leaning increasingly towards nationalism, to “make Russia great again”. The architect Kiril Ass (*1974) is one of the sharpest minds of his generation. He designs, teaches and writes about architecture. He is an architect in the firm of Alexander Brodsky, one of the main proponents of Soviet “paper architecture”. The exhibitions he creates together with his wife Nadya Korbut are precise and immersive. Among other places, he teaches at the Moscow School of Architecture, an independent university based on the system of the London Metropolitan University.
Five questions about urban planning, architecture and power in Moscow.

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How has Moscow changed in recent years, especially since Sergei Sobyanin came to power as mayor?

Sobyanin was appointed by Putin in 2010, which is different from Yury Luzhkov, his predecessor. Luzhkov was one of those typical “self-made men” of the 1990s. But he was elected by the population in more or less fair elections – at least at the beginning – and held this position for 18 years. His strong interest in architecture had a lasting influence on the city. Of course, he had terrible taste when it came to his favourite architects and styles. But that’s a different story.

In contrast, Sobyanin was not elected, but appointed. The elections were held two years after he took office. Given the situation they were easy to manipulate, like so many other elections as well. Initially, the policies of the new Moscow government were quite liberal. New theatres were opened, libraries renovated and Gorky Park received a total makeover. These activities were linked to a special person named Sergei Kapkov, who was Moscow’s Minister of Culture from 2011 to 2015 and quite cosmopolitan, with a Western-oriented political style. In retrospect, this could be considered the start of the city’s “hipsterization”. A voice was given to the young, urban generation, and the new city projects – public space in particular – were designed for them, with bike lanes, free WiFi, etc.

Dmitry Likin, one of the two founders of the architectural firm Wowhaus, told me that Sobyanin is truly interested in public space. Only aesthetically, he is not very educated.

That’s not the point. Public space is for the public. But if the public does not exist, then the project is pointless. Public space also played an important role in Soviet architecture, only it was totally organized. It is said – unofficially, of course – that it is forbidden to include old people in renderings of public space presentations submitted to the government. The city administration wants to see a specific image of the city: one with young, happy people. The elderly, the poor and the sick are excluded.

How long did this phase of hipsterization last, and how is it seen in retrospect? The term sounds a bit cynical.

Culturally it lasted as long as Kapkov was in office. Commercially new businesses continue to show up. In March 2015, Kapkov resigned and withdrew altogether from politics. His successor is clearly more conservative. This coincided with an increasing shift towards nationalism, spurred by the crisis in Crimea and later the crisis in Donetsk. All of the hardcore ideologues came out of hiding, suddenly they were everywhere. This lead to theatre performances being called off, exhibitions being shut down – such as the one in Moscow by New York photographer Jock Sturges – festivals were cancelled, and so on.

The time under Kapkov was a good start, because the city began to focus on people, and this somewhat counteracted the excessive dominance of the automobile. By then, some of the inner-city roads had degenerated into expressways. Just recently, in early October of this year, public transportation – the bus system – underwent a major update with new routes added and overall restructuring. But along with the good news was also some very negative news. This spring, hundreds of kiosks – small shops that used to line the streets, where you could buy food, cigarettes, coffee, newspapers or flowers – were torn down in a single night. The reasoning behind this was that they were illegal. Which is absolute nonsense, because the city has approved them once. For the most part, these kiosks were not at all beautiful, but they were important for public life – not to speak of hundreds of ruined small businesses. Now the city has replaced them with a strange “city beautification” programme.

You mean those bright archways standing around everywhere, like on the Arbat…

Exactly. There are constantly “festivals” of one kind or the other taking place, such as the “Honey Festival” or the “Sausage Festival”. For things like that, temporary objects and kiosks are erected, but they sell overpriced food where nobody needs it. People get something to eat on the street, either at lunchtime or on the way home from work. The diverse economy of the city means people are rushing around the city all the day. Naturally urban nodes are located near railway stations and subway stations. These new “objects”, however, are set up wherever the administration wants to “beautify” the city. It’s hardly a fair or even convincing business model. The kiosks within these decorations appear and disappear again after one or two months. It is obviously impossible to set up a bond with or at least to rely upon such an uncertain locale. So they are more of a weekend attraction than a replacement for the lost businesses. Those archways you saw on the Arbat have already been dismantled. They were built for the Autumn Festival. Currently, most of the green spaces along the large boulevards have been covered in butterfly-shaped LEDs. They are lying there in the snow, and it doesn’t look nice, but yes, they are there.

To put it another way: the city consists of a series of rules so that people can co-exist and fulfil their needs. But when the city administration decides that it knows the needs of its residents better than the residents themselves, that means that the city is failing. Closing down all of those small businesses makes the city die a little. A city is like a living organism that must always have the opportunity adapt to itself. This cannot be dictated from above. Of course some of the small shops relocated elsewhere, but it’s not like it used to be. Comfort and convenience have been sacrificed for visual order.

Who designs these city beautification elements?

A special office in the Moscow administration, which is led by some very strange women. I have no idea how to the whole production is financed, nor who receives these huge commissions. Some of the objects are very large. But the entire process, from design to production, is carried out in secret. If you look at the tender database for the city of Moscow, you’ll see bids by company A and company B. But no one knows either of them.

Comparing Russia’s presentation at the 2016 Architecture Biennale in Venice to the one in 2014, it’s apparent that both the topic as well as the approach to the productions are absolutely contradictory. In 2014, Strelka staged the pavilion as a crazy trade fair. But in 2016, there was that pathetic tribute to VDNKh, the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy from 1941. To what extent is the political shift towards nationalism reflected in the architecture?

Indeed, two presentations were very contradictory. At the Biennale, everything depends on the contracting authority, the Ministry of Culture. The team that designed the most recent contribution tried to manoeuvre the fine line between paying homage to Stalinist decor and a historically solid exhibition about our great past. VDNKh is a cultural monument from the Soviet era; it symbolizes our “glorious history” during the 1930s and 1940s. If you look at VDNKh closely, you’ll find a variety of architectural styles. But the imperial language, which is by far the most present, fits very neatly with the way that politics are conducted today.

The big problem is that the justification of Stalinism, or, if we take it broader, of state paternalism, is everywhere on the rise. Only recently, a monument to Ivan the Terrible was inaugurated in Oryol, 350 km southwest of Moscow. Monuments to Stalin are being built across the country.

In Moscow the territory around the Polytechnic Museum will be transformed into “Museum Park” – a well thought out public space, whose structure answers the needs of the Museum and its visitors, as well as intensive transport and pedestrian flows.

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How to turn the forecourt of a museum into a vibrant and busy place of urban life? Think of a place that competes on equal terms with parks, cinemas and restaurants. The new Museum Park (‘Muzeiny Park’) – based on a concept of the award winning Japanese architect Junya Ishigami – is a pedestrian zone and public space that will help to draw city dwellers into the Polytechnic Museum. The concept connects Metro exits, Museum building entrances, routes followed by both Polytechnic Museum visitors and regular pedestrians, transport flows and the logistical requirements of the Museum.

The new Museum Park

The idea itself is simple and groundbreaking at the same time: Ishigami’s proposal is based on activating the semi-subterranean basement level of the Museum by inclining the ground level around the building and planting the slopes and courtyard spaces with trees. As a result, a park would be formed both within and around the Museum, increasing the total area to 12 000 m².

An amphitheatre for urban life

In 2017 on this basis the architectural bureau Wowhause and therewith the development team directors Dmitry Likin and Oleg Shapiro will create  a park-amphitheatre, an open-air foyer that will become an extension of the spaces inside the building, to which it will form a prologue. The concept aims to unite the new pedestrian zone in the building’s basement level with the outdoor area alongside Lubyanka Square, attracting pedestrians and providing them with a convenient and pleasant route into the Museum complex. During winter time the entire subterranean level will be covered with a roof and provided with heating to ensure that Museum Park will be used all year long frequently as a place that invites both museum visitors and strollers to stay.

Opportunities for street life in all seasons: Moscow’s new government has begun to implement an innovative urban revitalisationprogramme. The aim of this ambitious project is to transform the busy city centre into a comfortable and attractive public urban space. Most importantly, the new programme proposes that an 8-kilometre-long green pedestrian path be created, linking Vorobyovy Gory, a hill on the right bank of the Moskva River, the Krymskaya Embankment, Red Square and the Kremlin Embankment. The renovation of the Krymskaya Embankment was completed in September 2013 and has become a showcase of the new city planning policy.

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The Krymskaya Embankment is located near Moscow’s historic centre and just next to the Contemporary Art Exhibition Hall CDH and Gorki Park. Prior to the renovaton, the embankment was dominated by traffic routes and was not suited for public use. The aim of the renovation project, designed by the Moscow-based architects Wowhouse, was to create new opportunities for various leisure activities along the river’s waterfront.

The new linear promenade is about one kilometre long and includes green hills, pedestrian and cycle paths, a fountain, a pond and pavilions. The design was inspired by the theme of “waves”, highlighting the dynamic character of the area. The pavilion roofs and arches, and the curve of numerous benches provide an interesting and sophisticated visual experience. The undulating surface creates a visually dynamic environment. Artificial hills and slopes, designed in cooperation with LDA Design, London, are used for cycling, skating, skiing and sledging. This design offers a great opportunity for a wide range of seasonal activities during the long, cold Russian winter.

For many years, a controversial Soviet modernist building, the Tretyakov Gallery (Exhibition Hall – CDH), was the dominant architectural feature of the Krymskaya Embankment. A new wide wooden deck was installed at the front of this building to create an open stage for performances, transforming the whole atmosphere of the area. A fountain square (12 x 60 metres) further enhances the dynamics of the space. More than two hundred computer-operated dry fountains with spotlights were integ-rated into the pavement surface to form a transparent and vivacious colonnade. This area is separated from the Moskva River by enormous lime trees. The fountain square can be used for many different activities, ranging from the sensual pleasures of water and water play to various performances and special events.

The architects very carefully transformed the local cultural environment while -preserving the traditional informal contemporary art fair. Asse Architects created a pergola-style pavilion where local artists sell their work. Taken together, the modest size of the pavilion, the wooden deck and the fountain area create a space on a more human scale around the long, massive CDH building. The undulating pavilion roof further supports the general theme of “waves”. The Krymskii Bridge over the Moskva River provides a rain and snow shelter for pedestrians, so wooden platforms and benches were installed under the bridge. The orientation of the benches along the banks of the river and the integrated lighting effectively structure the walkway and bicycle routes, and give the night time city a shiny new look.

Traditionally, Moscow landscape architects have adopted a conservative approach in their selection of plants for urban projects, using mostly annual flowers and lawns for public places. How-ever, the innovative plant list used for the Krymskaya Embankment includes a great variety of herbs, perennials and shrubs typical of the native flora. This creates a more natural and democratic image of the new urban area – an island of a western urban aesthetic right in the heart of conservative Moscow.

The overall intention of this project was to create many opportunities to foster contemporary active street life in all seasons. Overall, the main concept of the project has been successfully implemented and the area has achieved a unique atmosphere and distinguished identity. The quality of the space can still be improved on, but Krymskaya Embankment has already become attractive for tourists and citizens of Moscow of all ages.

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As reported on this blog, the team of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, New York, is the winner of the international competition for the concept of Zaryadye Park in Moscow (images of the winning scheme are featured here). The second prize in the design competition for Moscow’s new central park has been awarded to the team of TPO Reserve (lead), Latz + Partner, MAXWAN architects+urbanists. Images of the second prize for the site next to the Kremlin and the Red Square:

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The scheme introduces four terraces based on the existing topography, integrating the buildings into the landscape. The upper level of Varvarka street is the belvedere overlooking the Moscow River. The terrace below is historical, with monuments and churches. New places in the park are mostly located on the third terrace and are united in a pedestrian ring. The fourth and the lowest terrace contains a large space for various events. The variety of size and proportions creates spaces for any types of events; the park is ready for any future use. At present time the park and the Moskva river are separated from each other. A passage under the road is the best and shortest connection with the water, and the smart new river dock will be the main entrance to Zaryadye park.

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Consultants: Happold Ltd, Pfarré Lighting Design, Prof. Stefan Pauleit (TUM), Christoph Schmidt (Grün Berlin GmbH), Nataliya Ikonnikova and Ruperti Project LLC

Strelka Institute was the official consultant for the competition.

All images: (c) Latz + Partner / TPO Reserve / MAXWAN architects+urbanists

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Real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield and an international consortium including Gillespies, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Buro Happold and Rider Levett Bucknall have been selected as the winner of the competition for Park Russia development, organized by the Russia Geographic Society and Moscow Region Government.  Park Russia is an giant tourism project on over 1,000 hectares and 30 kilometres south of Moscow, near Domodedovo airport.

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The consortium’s winning proposals provided the Jury with a masterplan and business strategy showing three main zones of the park and opportunities for investment in leisure projects for the day visitor and in the development of a tourism resort destination where visitors can stay in the park. The business strategy shows a 12 year investment period, principally by the private sector. The development is to have strong “green” building credentials and intends to optimize rail access from Moscow and Domodedovo to cope with the large numbers of annual visitors ranging up to a potential 10 million per annum.

Jim Diggle, Partner at Gillespies who led the design team, said: “Gillespies’ masterplan for Park Russia celebrates the country’s unique history, cultural legacy and future. Park Russia embraces innovative sustainable design, with best practice green principles enshrined in the masterplan and major constituent design components such as buildings, landscape and supporting infrastructure.”

The “Park Russia” competition was organized by the Russia Geographic Society and Moscow Region Government.

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