- Narkomfin narratives We are honoured to reblog here the essay by Vladimir Paperny originally published in the book O’NFM_6: Narkomfin, edited by Danilo Udovicki-Selb, published by Ernst Wasmuth Verlag Tübingen, 2015, given the kind permission of author, editor and publisher. Apart from being flattered by our film Dom Novogo Byta quoted in it as a source, the piece […]
- Spomenik, Kosmaj The monuments (spomenika) that Tito commissioned to artists and architects to commemorate events of the Second World War are one of the most capturing outcomes of a modernist idea of Yugoslavia. These works translate in concrete gestures the aspiration to settle a national identity and commemorate traumatic history without nationalist rhetoric, revering the past while translating […]
- On the preservation of Modernist Heritage Since our involvement as invited artists with the Moskonstruct campaign, and later with RKM, where we took care of the communication and graphic design of the EU funded cooperation project, we have found ourselves involved in the issue of preserving the heritage of modernist architecture. Our project and blog have also become a sounding board for campaigns and petitions. This […]
- On the Preservation of Konstantin Melnikov’s Works and Heritage We recently received this petition for the preservation of Melnikov’s works and we are happy to republish it. We are approaching the 40th anniversary of the death of the architect Konstantin Melnikov,and the importance and value of his built works and the projects he drew has not stopped growing over all these years. Melnikov’s visionary […]
- Dom Novogo Byta / trailer Dom Novogo Byta is a new step into the investigation led by Ogino:knauss on how Twentieth century’s modernist principles shaped the everyday life of urban dwellers, and what is their heritage in a global urbanisation perspective. In 2009 we were invited to produce a video installation for the art exhibition “Moskonstruct”, part of a campaign […]
- Vladimir Shukhov Vladimir Shukhov is often referred to as Russia’s Edison. He was one of the first to develop stress and deformation calculations, though he is most famous for his creation of double-curving surfaces and the world’s first hyperboloid structures, of which his Shabolovka Radio Tower in central Moscow is a shining example. Shukhov worked in Philadelphia […]
- Threatened El Lissitsky’s printing plant We have been visiting our friends at the Zhurgaz house, to see how is going their struggle to preserve their home and the close El Lissitzky’s typography. The planned new high rise building has been built up, although in recent times the construction has been stopped. The destitution of mayor Luzkhov left in disgrace his […]
- Artists vs. Residents Artists have always inhabited the Narkomfin, and are among those who struggle for saving its architectural heritage. Nevertheless their role in the Narkomfin story is also ambiguous, as possible agents of gentrification and displacement. MIAN is allowing some artists to use the spaces of the building as studio, but the residents react against the artists, […]
- Burning Moscow – El Lissitzky printing plant An interview with Elena Olshanskaya (chairman of Zhurgaz condominium management)
- El Lissitzky’s Autograph On the Map of Moscow We receive and publish from Elena Olshanskaya translated by Michael Subotin “We live in cities born before us. They no longer suffice for the tempo and needs of our day. We cannot raze them overnight and rebuild them “correctly”. It is impossible to change their structure and type all at once. Moscow, with its plan, […]