Советский модернизм

PRESIDIUM BUILDING OF THE USSR ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, Moscow, 1990 . The project that won the 1968 competition and was modified into this high-rise version took twenty-two years to complete. The complex, sitting on a high hill and visible from many distant places in the city, is an integral part of the panorama of Russia’s capital. The tower, which visually relates to the nearby Moscow University building, is generously decorated by a crown. Its gold-plated decor is complemented by the other equally decorated elements of the overall composition. Clad in white stone, the architectural forms that are articulated in art deco style and the prolific gold-plated details don’t quite conform to the canons of modernism. I wouldn’t say that this building represents the definition of the modernist movement, but it can hardly be referred to as a postmodernist example, either. Yet, in its own way, it possesses a strong sense of completeness in its own way. It stands aloof in its unique attire. F. Novikov architects – Y. Platonov, A. Bogatyreva, L. Barsch, S. Zakharov, A. Zvezdin, engineers – A. Livenstein, A. Nikiforov

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