The Soviet avant-garde era is not only a significant movement in the worlds of fine art, design and architecture, it was indeed a new way of thinking that led to fundamental changes in the lives of the people of that time. The Constructivist Project's mission is to first and foremost explore the urban environment of this historical period, to preserve and popularize this unique heritage. The project is based on the following key principles:
- Openness. We are open to all willing experts and volunteers who are ready to contribute to the compilation of the database of known and unknown constructivist buildings throughout the former territory of the Soviet Union.
- Internationality. The Constructivist Project popularizes the legacy of the Soviet avant-garde not only in Russia and the CIS. The international community is able to regularly receive the most up-to-date news about the current state of monuments of constructivist architecture, and tourists are exposed to the most complete picture of history and culture.
- Accessibility. The Constructivist Project provides free access to the largest digital database, featuring more than a thousand entries. Any financial support is therefore very welcome.
The project has been run by photographer Natalia Melikova since 2010 with the goal of raising awareness of the fate of constructivist architecture within both the Russian and international communities.
♦April 18, 2017♦ - relaunch of The Constructivist Project's website: press release
T E A M
Natalia Melikova
Author and chief editor of The Constructivist Project. Photographer based in Moscow.
Ilya Starkov
Website design. Author of the Тогда website ("Then" - a cultural project on the 1920s - 1950s).
Partner in compiling the database and architecture map covering the 1920s-1930s:
Avant-Garde Center in the Shabolovka district of Moscow. Database coordinator - Alexandra Selivanova, director of the Avant-Garde Center.
Database editors: Konstantin Bugrov, Alexander Dudnev, Dmitry Goncharuk, Mikhail Klyuev, Ilya Malcow, Elena Perfilova, Kirill Popov, Anna Pronina, Yana Safronova, Ilya Starkov, Tatyana Zaitseva, Denis Zhabkin
Material contributed by: Vladimir Basov, Marianna Evstratova, Konstantin Gudkov, Polina Ivanova, Alexey Komov, Ivan Nevzgodin, Elena Ovsyanikova, Evgeniy Rybak, Nikita Suchkov, Mikhail Timofeev, Arthur Tokarev
Thanks to all those who helped create this website: Anna Bronovitskaya, Natalia Dushkina, Mariya Kabysheva, Elmira Kakabaeva, Marina Khrustaleva, Igor Son, Nikita Tokarev, Yuri Volchok, Alexander Zmeul
If you would like to join our team, please write to:
→ theconstructivistproject@gmail.com
The Constructivist Project in the media
The Economist, 1843 Magazine | Reconstructivism (2018)
Afisha | Как американка с русскими корнями делает карту советского конструктивизма (2017)
The Art Newspaper | Moscow’s Constructivist architecture under threat by government demolition plan (2017)
Time Out Moscow | Город в кармане: какие блоги о Москве стоит читать (2017)
Strelka Magazine | Pocket Avant-Garde: Creating a Map of Constructivist Moscow (2016)
National Geographic | Tour the Decaying Beauty of Soviet Moscow With This New Map (2016)
The Moscow Times | Deconstructing Moscow's Constructivist Legacy (2016)
Curbed | The Shukhov Tower, Russia's Eiffel, Center of Preservation Fight (2016)
The Guardian | Moscow's Narkomfin building: Soviet blueprint for collective living – a history of cities in 50 buildings, day 29 (2015)
The Offing | The Future is Here, Again. Soviet Avant-Garde Architecture in Modern Day Moscow (2015)
Snob | Марина Хрусталева: Дом Мельникова. История одной национализации (2015)
The Calvert Journal | Full exposure: The Constructivist Project is keeping the avant-garde alive one photo at a time (2014)
Motherboard (VICE) | Architects to Putin: Save Shukhov Tower, Moscow's Futuristic Soviet 'Eiffel'! (2014)
BBC | Shukhov Tower: The Eiffel of the East (2014)
The Observers – France 24 | Moscow residents rally to save Soviet-era 'Eiffel Tower' (2104)
The Moscow Times | Constructivist Utopia Narkomfin Endangered by Renovation Project (2014)
The Moscow Times | Police Halt 'Illegal' Renovations in Narkomfin (2014)
Academy of Art University | Preserving Russia’s architectural heritage: Natalia Melikova’s photographic vision (2014)
ArchDaily | The Constructivist Project / Natalia Melikova (2013)
Russian Art + Culture | The Constructivist Project: Celebrating Russian avant-garde art and architecture! (2013)
The New York Times | Architectural Masterpiece in Moscow Under Grave Threat, Preservationists Say (2013)
The Moscow Times | Threatened Avant-Garde Gem Needs … Slippers? (2013)
Архнадзор | Наталья Меликова (Сан-Франциско) - "The Constructivist Project" (2012)