Project

WHY MOSKONSTRUCT?

In the years following the October Revolution, the architects of the avant-garde Constructivist movement developed an awareness of the possibility of designing projects that would reflect the ideological and cultural innovations taking place. Today, the radical changes sweeping across the new Russia are threatening the very survival of these avant-garde masterpieces.

There are currently no regulations for the protection and conservation of these works. Many are abandoned, consumed by a lack of maintenance or subjected to distasteful transformations as the new market economy significantly transforms the face of the city of Moscow, now one of the largest construction sites in Europe. As real estate investments reach awe-inspiring sums, the first victims are precisely the buildings-icons of Constructivism, which are either demolished or robbed of their original functions. They are reduced to containers to be filled.

Moskonstruct aims to work within this complex scenario, introducing a series of initiatives, whose primary objective is that of raising public awareness of the cultural and heritage value of Constructivist architecture and their importance to the collective memory of the entire Russian nation. The challenge is that of managing to unite the logic of the free market with the needs of city planning and heritage conservation. The project focuses on the direct involvement of local administrators, investors and citizens, called upon to participate in workshops and meetings that offer a direct understanding of Constructivist architecture. The final results will include the presentation of the various aspects of conservation and the potentials related to process of renovation and reuse.

Based on the assumption that these works of architecture, in addition to being a fundamental point of reference for 20th century European culture, are also a symbol of Russia’s urban identity, Moskonstruct intends to encourage new methods of interpreting these spaces by favouring their conscious re-appropriation by local citizens and government administrators.

The primary approach to this investigation passes through the arts. A team of Russian and European artists will work together to create a series of site-specific art works that serve to stimulate the re-appropriation of existing works of Constructivist architecture.

The work of the artists and the results of the workshops will be presented as part of a final event that will take place within select examples of Constructivist architecture, stimulating a dialogue between architecture, the city and its inhabitants.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Moskonstruct will implement a series of activities focused on the promotion and recovery of the cultural and artistic patrimony of the Constructivist movement in Moscow.

Its primary objectives are:

1.      increasing awareness – national and international – and sensitising the public to the importance of conserving this important cultural-historical heritage, establishing connections with analogous initiatives;
2. increasing awareness of the work of the Constructivist architects by developing a focused collection of documentary material
3. promoting the conservation, recovery and valorisation of the heritage of Constructivist architecture, whose very survival is now threatened by years of abandonment and the radical transformations being made to Moscow’s urban fabric;
4. stimulating cultural exchange, creativity and know-how between Russian and European artists as part of a collaboration that will result in the creation of site specific art works inspired by Constructivist architecture.

 
Moskonstruct is coordinated by the DIPTU Dipartimento interateneo di pianificazione territoriale e urbanistca at the Sapienza University of Rome and the MARKhI Moscow Institute of Architecture.

The project is financed by the European Commission

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