1964. Ostankino TV Tower

 

Querida María,

"Cuando llegas a la cumbre descubres que

no hay mucha diferencia entre ver las cosas

desde las alturas o desde el fondo del mar"

(Rafael Narbona)

R

1918. Kazan Circus, Tatarstan

 

Dear Piet,

The iconic flying-saucer Kazan Circus built in
1967 is an amazing and pioneering reinforced concrete 
conic shell structure with no vertical supports inside.

Sincerely,
R 

1887. The House of State Industries, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Russia

 

Dear Dimitri,

The former House of State Industries is currently the
Hotel Iset. A popular constructivist landmark in the
city of Yekaterinburg.

Sincerely,
R

1674. Wiipuri asema

Dear Enzo,

The Vyborg Railway Station was inaugurated in 1913 

and almost destroyed during the Continuation War in 

August 1941. Only ten percent of the building remains 

standing since then. This station was very similar to 

Helsinki railway station that was built six years later.

Sincerely,
R

1650. Pravda Building, Moscow

Dear Michael,

This exemplaray building of the late constructivism era sadly remains abandoned since 2006 when it suffered a big fire. Most likely will be demolished in the future.

R

1605. Leningrad. The Narvsky Cinema

Querido Juan,

!Trasunto de cristal
bello como un esmalte de ataujia!
Desde la galeria
esbelta, se veia
el jardin (...)

(Juan Ramon Jimenez, Trasunto de Cristal)

Abrazos
R

1601. Palace of Culture, Leningrad

Dear Peter,

The Palace of Culture in Saint Petersburg (former Leningrad) was a Constructivist project built to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917. From 1933 it was named after 

writer Maxim Gorky and is able to accommodate
2,200 people.

Regards,
R

1561. Moscow. New Apartment Building

Dear Georgi,

The very large VTsIK residential complex was reserved for officials of the Communist Party when built in 1931. Later during the Stalinist purges many tenants dissapeared and the building began to be known popularly as the "House of Ghosts"

Best regards,
R

1506. Viipurin Kirjasto. Vyborg Library

Dear Michael,

"I love your pre-ordained design
and am ready to play this role
but the play being acted is not mine
For this once let me go."

(Boris Pasternak-Hamlet)

Sincerely,
R

1485. Moscow. Club Soueff, Lesnaia Street

Dear Irina,

This eye-catching view of the Zuev's workers club was taken in the 1930s, soon after his inauguration.
Architect Golosov embraced expressionism and dynamism in his works and in this building he was so successful that it became almost immediately an icon of Soviet Constructivist architecture.

Regards,
R

1478. Shukkhov tower, Russia

Dear Ken,

"A structure becomes architectural, and not sculptural, when its elements are no longer their justification in nature" (Guillaume Apollinaire)

Cheers,
R

1460. Communal House, Ekaterinburg, Russia

Dear Fidel,

This building followed a similar scheme as in the very experimental housing project that was Narkomfin in Moscow, also designed by Ginzburg simultaneously with this one in Ekaterinburg. This building however seems to have a more secure future than its counterpart in Moscow.

Cheers,
R

1365. MoGES Mockba

Dear Peter,

An old postcard featuring the Moscow City Electric Power
Station with the large chimneys in the background.
The back facade with those chimneys is one of the most
celebrated russian constructivist structures.

Best regards,
R

1348. Gorni Vozdukh Sanatorium Matsesta, Sochi

Dear Mikhail,

"We are convinced that the new forms of Soviet architecture will be found not by way of the 

imitation of the architectural forms of the past, 

but on a basis of critical thinking, as in the past,
so now, by way of a profound understanding of 

living processes and their translation into 

architectural form" (The Vesnin Brothers)

Best wishes,
R

1339. Viipuri. Kirjastotalo

Dear Arne,

"Every one of my buildings begins with an italian journey"
(Alvar Aalto)

Regards,
R

1260. Tilsit. Neue Loge. Fabrikstrasse

Querido abuelo,

Encontré una deliciosa postal en perfecto estado
que muestra la pequeña sinagoga dedicada a los Tres
Patriarcas construida por Erich Mendelsohn en Sovetsk
(antigua Tilsit) en el Oblast de Kaliningrado cuando ésta
ciudad formaba parte de Prusia.
El marcado sentido del dinamismo y del ritmo que
Mendelsohn poseía es evidente a pesar de lo reducido
del tamaño del edificio.

Un abrazo,
R

1170. Tsentrosoyuz, Москва

Estimado Pelayo:

"Entonces se asomó por la ventana, y sorprendió al
ángel en las primeras tentativas de vuelo. Eran tan
torpes, que abrió con las uñas un surco de arado en
las hortalizas y estuvo a punto de desbaratar el cobertizo
con aquellos aletazos indignos que resbalaban en la luz
y no encontraban asidero en el aire. Pero logró ganar
altura. Elisenda exhaló un suspiro de descanso, por ella
y por él, cuando lo vio pasar por encima de las últimas
casas, sustentándose de cualquier modo con un azaroso
aleteo de buitre senil. Siguió viéndolo hasta cuando ya
acabó de cortar la cebolla, y siguió viéndolo hasta
cuando ya no era posible que lo pudiera ver, porque
entonces ya no era un estorbo en su vida, sino un punto
imaginario en el horizonte del mar."
(Gabriel García Márquez-Un Señor Muy Viejo Con Unas
Alas Enormes)

Suyo,
R

1040. Moscou. Maison de la Commune et Radiostation du Soviet

Dear Luke,

This vintage postcard features a spectacular view of
the Shabolovka Radio Tower of Moscow. Regrettably
this structure, one of the best of the Russian Constructivist
period, has been negleted for years and is in desperate
need of restoration.

Let's save Shukhow tower!
R

964. Gorky Drama Theatre

Dear Mikhail,

Shchuko and his partner Gelfreich designed notorious buildings like the Elektrozavodskaya Moscow Metro Station, famous for its architectural decoration, the Lenin Library, and more importantly the Palace of Soviets. While still designing this last building, they completed a large constructivist opera theater in Rostov-on-Don later destroyed in World War II and rebuilt in 1963.

Sincerely,
R

914. Das Stadion Dynamo, Moskau

Dear Paul,

"In a city, time becomes visible" (Lewis Mumford)

Kind regards.
R