Melnikov House
Architect: Konstantin Melnikov
Year: 1929
Location: Moscow, Russia
Art Movement: 1920s Russian
Avant-garde/Constructivism
Program: Architect’s personal home
and studio
Prajwala Gaddalay | Alexandra Grypinich | Issey Ren
Argument
Melnikov’s residence and studio is a direct result of political and
social movements of Russia in the early 20th century telling its
story through its unique construction, plan, and use of light.
Timeline
WW1
1914-17
Provisional Government
1917
Russian Civil War
1917-22
USSR Formed
1922
Stalin’s Rise
1924
Konstantin Melnikov (1890-1974)
Avant-Garde
new and unusual or experimental ideas,
especially in the arts, or the people
introducing them
Futurism
Suprematism
combination of faktura: the particular material properties of an object, and tektonika, its spatial presence.
Rusakov Workers’ Club, Moscow, Russia (1928)
The Soviet Pavilion at the 1925 Paris World’s fair
Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage(1926)
Gosplan Garage(1936)
Burevestnik Factory Club(1927-1929)
Design concept
Work Cylinder
Roof and Ceiling: The section may depict the shape and
structure of the roof of each cylindrical volume. The roof
design is an integral part of the building's overall form and
can be seen from both the exterior and interior.
The section helps viewers understand the spatial relationships between different
parts of the house and how they function together as a unified living and
working space.
“He believed essence of his house
lay in the balance and equivalence
of weight, light, air and heat”
Construction
Peter Eisenman, Steven Holl, and Rem Koolhaas are among the many architects who have signed a letter
pleading for the preservation of one of Konstantin Melnikov’s greatest works, the Melnikov House