Konstantin Melnikov: Architect of the Impossible

One of the most controversial and iconic figures in the 20th century architecture, Konstantin Melnikov (1890-1974), ‘solo architect in a mass society’, is the focus of the course. It aims to provide a critical perspective on the Soviet avant-garde architecture of the 1920s and draw lessons for today from Melnikov's built and never implemented projects, from the sensational pavilion for the I’Exposition Internationale in Paris (1925) and the architect's idiosyncratic cylindrical house-studio (1927-29) to garages, worker clubs and numerous visionary projects.

A detailed analysis of several case-studies will provide participants with a ‘total immersion’ in the Melnikov universe. In addition to functional typology, spatial composition and specific aspects of his architecture (structures, materials, colors, sound, light, heating etc.), the course deals with his 'architecture beyond architecture' and philosophical, technological and artistic ideas behind it.

The course is based on both open sources and new findings from the architect's archive, which has been the subject of the lecturer's research over the last eight years.

Much attention is given to presenting Melnikov’s personality and interpretation of his works and tragic life in the historical and political context of his era, his contemporaries and the architectural competitions of the epoch.

It aims to provide a critical perspective on the Soviet avant-garde architecture of the 1920s and draw lessons for today from Melnikov's built and never implemented projects, from the sensational pavilion for the I’Exposition Internationale in Paris (1925) and the architect's idiosyncratic cylindrical house-studio (1927-29) to garages, worker clubs and numerous visionary projects.

In presence

A detailed analysis of several case-studies will provide participants with a ‘total immersion’ in the Melnikov universe. In addition to functional typology, spatial composition and specific aspects of his architecture (structures, materials, colors, sound, light, heating etc.), the course deals with his 'architecture beyond architecture' and philosophical, technological and artistic ideas behind it.

Examination mode: paper or, optionally, a reconstruction model of one of the architect's selected projects with support and advice from the lecturer.