Alexey Shchusev (1873?–?1949) was one of the very few architects who managed to rise to the top of the architectural hierarchy under the tsars and then to repeat this success under Soviet rule. Already before the Revolution of 1917, Shchusev was an acclaimed Revivalist architect, well-known for his church designs and Moscow’s Kazan Station. In the 1920s, he became a renowned Constructivist. Following the official renunciation of Avant-Garde architecture ordered by Stalin, Shchusev swiftly became an advocate of Socialist Classicism, designing many projects in the dictator’s favoured Empire Style in order to satisfy the Stalinist state’s needs for monumental representation. This monograph offers a critical view on Alexey Shchusev’s work. The architectural historian Dmitrij Chmelnizki pursues the mysteries of one of the most famous Soviet architects whose name and work has remained a marginal note outside the Russian-speaking academic world to this day. But the book also shows that Shchusev’s planning assignments in the twilight Soviet society require more intensive research. A future generation of architectural historians may be better able to answer the question of how independent such research will be possible in today’s Russia.

Алексей Щусев (1873 - 1949) был одним из немногих архитекторов, кому удалось подняться на вершину архитектурной иерархии в императорской России, а затем повторить этот успех при советской власти. До революции 1917 года Щусев был известен как талантливый архитектор модерна, автор многочисленных церквей и проекта Казанского вокзала в Москве. В 1920-е годы Алексей Щусев – один из ведущих советских конструктивистов. После запрета в 1932 современной архитектуры в СССР, Щусев быстро становится высокопоставленным архитектором из окружения Сталина, автором образцовых зданий и сооружений «сталинского ампира».Эта монография представляет собой критический анализ творчества Алексея Щусева, остающегося пока малоизвестным за пределами русскоязычного академического мира. Историк архитектуры Дмитрий Хмельницкий исследует тайны, которыми окружены жизнь и работа одного из самых известных советских архитекторов. Эта книга не дает ответа на все, поставленные в ней вопросы. Их решение требует дальнейших исследований – тем более важных, что в творчестве Алексея Щусева отразились все проблемы истории архитектуры первого тридцатилетия советской власти.Alexey Shchusev (1873?–?1949) was one of the very few architects who managed to rise to the top of the architectural hierarchy under the tsars and then to repeat this success under Soviet rule. Already before the Revolution of 1917, Shchusev was an acclaimed Revivalist architect, well-known for his church designs and Moscow’s Kazan Station. In the 1920s, he became a renowned Constructivist. Following the official renunciation of Avant-Garde architecture ordered by Stalin, Shchusev swiftly became an advocate of Socialist Classicism, designing many projects in the dictator’s favoured Empire Style in order to satisfy the Stalinist state’s needs for monumental representation.This monograph offers a critical view on Alexey Shchusev’s work. The architectural historian Dmitrij Chmelnizki pursues the mysteries of one of the most famous Soviet architects whose name and work has remained a marginal note outside the Russian-speaking academic world to this day. But the book also shows that Shchusev’s planning assignments in the twilight Soviet society require more intensive research. A future generation of architectural historians may be better able to answer the question of how independent such research will be possible in today’s Russia.

Boris Iofan is best known as the architect behind the Palace of the Soviets. Yet his style was not limited to the ­Socialist ­Classicism that flourished under Stalin. Rather, Iofan’s archi­tectural language boldly evolved throughout his lifetime: from his eclectic beginnings in Rome, to the grandeur of the wedding-cake style in the 1930s, and finally, to his incorporation of concrete panels under the Khrushchev government. This book presents a collection of essays, photographs, floor plans, sketches, and drawings that chart the development of the archi­tect’s variegated career which spanned nearly six decades.

Иван Жолтовский был одной из ключевых фигур истории советской архитектуры. Он стал всемирно известен как победитель конкурса на Дворец советов в 1932 г. После разгрома современной архитектуры в СССР, именно Жолтовский возглавил систему обучения и переобучения советских архитекторов в соответствии с новыми правилами сталинской архитектуры. В то же время, его судьба и его творческая жизнь до сегодняшнего дня во многом загадочны. В книге впервые делается попытка рассмотреть и объяснить самые важные эпизоды жизни и творчества Ива на Жолтовского в контексте сталинской эпохи. Книга проиллюстрирована работами Жолтовского из собрания Государственного музея архитектуры им. Щусева в Москве, многие из которых никогда ранее не публиковались. Язык издания: немецкий, русский.

The greatest challenge in designing homes is negotiating the delicate balance between aesthetics and the personal desires of the occupants. While it`s important for the structure to reflect the vision and style of the architect, the client must ultimately feel at home beneath the roof. It is particularly interesting, therefore, to examine the homes that architects create for themselves. If houses reflect their owners` personalities, then architects` own homes are like autobiographies. Location, layout, style, lighting, artwork, furnishings-every detail adds color to the story. Each of these 100 dwellings, presented A-Z by architect, speaks more about its designer than any other building possibly could. Издание на английском языке.

The architect Leonid Pavlov's unique talent fully flourished in the period between I960 and 1980. But the path that led him to the creation of his most significant works is no less interesting. Pavlov is one of those who embody the living connection between the avant-garde and post-Stalin Modernist architecture. In fact, his experience shows that two decades of the enforced historicism of the Stalin era could be seen as a kind of school, enriching architects' skills and giving them a more profound understanding of their art. Similarly, Khrushchev's reform of 1955, considered by many as the end of the architectural profession itself, offered Pavlov both a liberating path and a chance to try out new and exciting directions. An engaged flexibility helped him adapt to the "official point of view" and current trends and - combined with his inner integrity - allowed him to work productively throughout his life. Unfortunately, none of his rare Constructivist buildings have survived to this day (there were few of them, as he only started practicing architecture in 1930). However, his highly personal versions of Neoclassicism, post-Stalin Modernism and Postmodernism are of very high value. Especially noteworthy is his successful treatment of the latter style, mostly represented in Russian architecture, traumatized by the enforced historicism of the Stalin years by inferior eclectic buildings. For Pavlov there was no contradiction between the Classical and the Modern. He would use the golden ratio, refer to Palladio and to Old Russian church styles even when creating his Modernist buildings. Perhaps then it is only natural that he would start later using historical references more conspicuously. A closer look at the biography of Leonid Pavlov, then, his main creative works and texts where he describes his attitude to the art of architecture and the profession itself, will help us better understand the history of Soviet architecture.

The architect Leonid Pavlov's unique talent fully flourished in the period between I960 and 1980. But the path that led him to the creation of his most significant works is no less interesting. Pavlov is one of those who embody the living connection between the avant-garde and post-Stalin Modernist architecture. In fact, his experience shows that two decades of the enforced historicism of the Stalin era could be seen as a kind of school, enriching architects' skills and giving them a more profound understanding of their art. Similarly, Khrushchev's reform of 1955, considered by many as the end of the architectural profession itself, offered Pavlov both a liberating path and a chance to try out new and exciting directions. An engaged flexibility helped him adapt to the "official point of view" and current trends and - combined with his inner integrity - allowed him to work productively throughout his life. Unfortunately, none of his rare Constructivist buildings have survived to this day (there were few of them, as he only started practicing architecture in 1930). However, his highly personal versions of Neoclassicism, post-Stalin Modernism and Postmodernism are of very high value. Especially noteworthy is his successful treatment of the latter style, mostly represented in Russian architecture, traumatized by the enforced historicism of the Stalin years by inferior eclectic buildings. For Pavlov there was no contradiction between the Classical and the Modern. He would use the golden ratio, refer to Palladio and to Old Russian church styles even when creating his Modernist buildings. Perhaps then it is only natural that he would start later using historical references more conspicuously. A closer look at the biography of Leonid Pavlov, then, his main creative works and texts where he describes his attitude to the art of architecture and the profession itself, will help us better understand the history of Soviet architecture.

As an architect, Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841) is considered one of finest in German history, having established a "new," patriotic German style based on the Gothic style; as a painter, draftsman, and designer of furniture, interior fittings, and stage sets, he created some of the best examples of 19th century art. His work was so admired by King Frederick William III that Schinkel acted as state architect of Prussia for nearly his entire career, designing many public buildings, palaces, and royal country estates, including the Royal Theater and Altes Museum in Berlin. So highly was Schinkel regarded that his contemporaries deemed him a genius and biographies were written about him during his lifetime. Издание на английском языке.

The greatest challenge in designing homes is negotiating the delicate balance between aesthetics and the personal desires of the occupants. While it's important for the structure to reflect the vision and style of the architect, the client must ultimately feel at home beneath the roof. It is particularly interesting, therefore, to examine the homes that architects create for themselves. If houses reflect their owners' personalities, then architects' own homes are like autobiographies. Location, layout, style, lighting, artwork, furnishings-every detail adds color to the story. Each of these dwellings, presented A-Z by architect, speaks more about its designer than any other building possibly could.

To the Memory of Oleg Vedernikov - Oleg Vedernikov (cello), Alexey Goribol (piano). 1 CD

Strange as it may seem, however, there are almost no books devoted to this most famous of periods in Russian art. The most recent fundamental studies on the Russian Empire style appeared as long ago as 1935-1936. This means that "Russian Empire", which appears on the eve of the new millennium, can be regarded as the first attempt to assess the period in the perspective of modern art-historical studies. The new volume covers the full range of the Empire style's various manifestations in architecture and urban development, sculpture and decorative painting, integrated interior design and the creative arts and crafts - furniture, bronze-casting, light-fittings, fabrics and costume. Издание полностью на английском языке.

Wherever they go, anyone who visits Barcelona today will come across the works of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), the architect who has attracted art-lovers from all over the world to Spain. It was there, in the capital of Catalonia, that the famous master of architecture produced nearly all of his works. Raised during the Industrial Revolution, Gaudi strove to distinguish and reaffirm the identity of his native Catalonia as Spain and the rest of Europe modernized. Early neo-Gothic designs were the stepping-stone to the mature, original style that came to be synonymous with his name. Incorporating bold colors and odd bits of material into his designs, Gaudi created inspiring, visionary buildings and helped establish Barcelona (most notably with the still-unfinished Sagrada Familia cathedral) as a city of the world.

Italian architect and designer Gio Ponti (1891–1979) is difficult to pin down. With an extraordinarily prolific output and eclectic style, his oeuvre remains one of the most diverse and groundbreaking in design history. Trained initially in architecture, Ponti soon moved into industrial and interior design, experimenting with ceramics, silverware, and glass. Ponti's key works are spread throughout this extensive overview, including structures of all kinds, from small residential dwellings to high-rise buildings, schools, and office blocks.The home was one of Ponti's recurring interests and central areas of innovation. His talent for total design―a careful consideration of both interior and exterior space—is charted in the glossy reproductions, floor plans, and drawings featured in this edition. Ponti's colorful, carefree, and elegant spaces blended an expressive neoclassicism with emerging modernist sensibility.The founder and nearly lifelong editor of domus magazine never ceased to develop and reinvent his style. From the Denver Art Museum to his collection of churches, from bespoke homeware to the symbol of modern Milan, the Pirelli Tower, this monograph provides an introduction to Ponti's exuberant creativity and illustrious career.“Pure architecture is a crystal. When it is pure, it is clear like a crystal―magic, closed, exclusive, autonomous, unsullied, absolute, conclusive like a crystal. Architecture refuses unfinished shapes… Architecture begins and ends. Architecture stands."

A landmark of science fiction`s "Golden Age," Isaac Asimov`s Foundation Trilogy--which comprises the novels Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation - has long been regarded a visionary masterpiece whose astonishing historical scope perfectly conveys science fiction`s sense of wonder.

Utilitarian simplicity, graceful beauty. French architect and designer Jean Prouve (1901-1984) was one of the most important constructors of the 20th century. Prouve's design innovations included cleverly-shaped metal parts for building prefabricated structures; he designed buildings and furniture that could be produced with economy of labor and material and efficiency in use, while maintaining high technical standards and quality materials. His simple and elegant style, while born from the desire for inexpensive production, has become an imitable aesthetic and has earned him a position as one of the century`s most influential designers. This introduction to Prouve`s work gives a profound insight into the variety of his oeuvre and the progressiveness of his inspirational vision. About the author: Nils Peters studied art history at the University of Hamburg, architecture at TFH Berlin, and urban sociology at Columbia University in New York. He has taught, published, and exhibited on the subject of architecture and has had his own practice since 1998. Издание на английском языке.

What makes a Stalin? Was he illegitimate? Was Stalin a Tsarist agent or Lenin's chief gangster? Was he to blame for his wife's death? And when did the killing start? Born in poverty, scarred by his upbringing, exceptional in his studies, this charismatic but dangerous boy was hailed as a romantic poet and trained as a priest but found his mission as a fanatical revolutionary. He became the mastermind of bank robberies, protection rackets, arson and murder. Surprisingly, he is also revealed as a scandalously prolific lover, leaving a trail of mistresses and illegitimate children. This is the story of how Stalin became Stalin.