March 18 | 1pm | square in front of the Shabolovskaya metro station entrance | free!
This year marks the 95th anniversary of Shukhov Tower, which was designed by genius engineer Vladimir Shukhov and began operating on March 19, 1922. The openwork steel structure, soaring 150 meters into the sky, was the first major construction project after the Russian Revolution and became a worldwide symbol of early Soviet avant-garde architecture. The tower long operated as a radio, TV and mobile service transmitter before being threatened with demolition in 2014. Although such drastic measures were later cancelled, the tower’s future remains unclear amid bureaucratic disputes regarding its restoration.
To commemorate the anniversary, the “Na Shabolovke” gallery, Avant-garde Center and “Moscow Through the Engineer’s Eyes” project are holding a “Shukhov Tower Birthday” festival, which will include a free tour of Shabolovka district in English. Natalia Melikova, a creator of The Constructivist Project, will tell of the tower’s history, significance and current fate and guide participants through the surrounding Shabolovka neighborhood, which boasts a number of Constructivist architecture landmarks: the first Moscow crematorium, now the Church of Seraphim Sarovsky and Anna Kashinskoy; the Textile Institute dormitories; and the Mostorg department store.
Text from: inrussia.com/avant-garde-around-the-shukhov-tower
