The story of these unassuming ruins begins in the late 19th century, when the Bromley factory built a boat repair yard on the site of the future Gorky park. In 1923 a national agricultural exposition was held on the vast stretch of land next to the building. The building was bound for demolition, until the prominent constructivist architect Shchusev intervened, and it was reconstructed into one of the pavilions for the expo.
The interiors were designed by famous artists of the time, such as Deyneka and the Pishkov brothers.
The park had an architectural studio, headed by El Lissitzky. Lissitzky transformed the building yet again, significantly modifying the plan, roof structure and facades, following the principles of Constructivism. This project was characteristic of Lissitzky’s work, which included several other structures for the park.
In 1931 part of the building was given over to the first sound movie theatre in Moscow, named Velikan (the Giant) . The park’s director invited Rodrigo Dacosta, a Brazilian architect, to work on this project together with the Soviet architect Voynov. The theatre functioned briefly, interrupted by WWII when its main auditorium was hit by a bomb in 1942. To this day, the building has stood in ruins.
The proposal suggests the creation of a new social platform, which would be closely linked to the history of the place, while introducing new functions. The
Architecture: Olga Treivas, Vera Odyn, Mihail Mickadze, Daria Sheina
Client: Gorky Park
Status: Concept
Year: 2013
Prominent figures of the Soviet Avant-Garde,such as Lissitzky, Schusev and Deyneka have worked on the building at various points in time
A new social platform would emerge from the synergy between the buidlings heritage and newly introduced functions
