Ivan Leonidov lived
from 1902 to 1959. He was a constructivist architect, but also a
painter, urban planner and a dreamer. From all of his works he only was
able to build this staircase on a hillside in Kislovodsk.
“It
is sad that the vast majority of sketchbook plans and competition
entries reproduced in this album were never built. Ivan Leonidov was
surely one of the most innovative and humanistic architects to come out
of early Russian modernism. His Constructivist-inspired projects embody
the same revolutionary spirit as Vladimir Tatlin’s celebrated 1919
tower. In his later buildings, medieval Russian motifs mingle with
pyramids, amphitheaters, pagodas, to reflect his love of Eastern and
classical cultures. Many of his visions were quixotichis United Nations
headquarters, for example, or the Island of Flowers park in the Dnepr
Riverbut all are inspirational. Vilified in the 1930s, Leonidov has
lately undergone a “rehabilitation” in the Soviet Union.”
From the review of the book Ivan Leonidov
Leonidov
1929 – Design for the Columbus monument in Santo Domingo
Leonidov
Wikipedia article
Ivan Ilich Léonidov (born February 9, 1902, Tver Oblast -1959, November 6, Moscow) was a Russian constructivist architect, urban planner, painter and teacher.
Contents |
Early life
Ivan Léonidov was raised on an isolated farmstead in the province of Tver Oblast. The son of a farmer and woodsman, he went to work as a casual labourer at the docks in Petrograd. When an icon painter noticed Léonidov's drawing skills, he became his apprentice.
Career
In 1919 Léonidov attended the Svomas free art studios in Tver. From 1921-27 he studied at the VKhUTEMAS in Moscow under the tutelage of Alexander Vesnin at which point his attention switched from painting to architecture. His unexecuted diploma project in 1927 for the Lenin Institute and Library, Moscow, brought him international recognition. The scheme was prominently displayed at the Exhibition of Contemporary Architecture, Moscow, and was published in the OSA Group journal Sovremennaya arkhitektura. He then went on to teach at the VKhUTEMAS between 1928-30. From 1931-33 he worked in the Giprogor and Mossovet and from 1934-41 he joined the studio of Moisei Ginzburg at the People's Commissariat for heavy industry.
Leonidov's only materialized design was the 1938 staircase in Kislovodsk (1940 photographs: overview, theater stairs, terrace stairs).
Works (Selected)
- 1926 – Design for Izvestia printworks in Moscow (VKhUTEMAS studio with Alexander Vesnin)
- 1927 – Thesis (diploma) Lenin Institute and Library in Moscow (unexecuted)
- 1928 – Competition entry for the building of the Centrosojuz in Moscow
- 1928 – Club of the New Social Type. Variant B [1]
- 1929 – Design for the Columbus monument in Santo Domingo
- 1929–1930 – Competition entry for the House of Industry in Moscow
- 1930 – Competition entry for the culture palace of the proletarian district in Moscow
- 1930 – Competition entry for the socialist city Magnitogorsk (director/conductor of a group of students of the VChUTEIN)
- 1934 – Competition entry for the Narkomtiazhprom building (The People's Commissariat for heavy industry in Moscow), Red Square, Moscow.
- 1937–1938 – Outside staircase in the Ordzonikidze sanatorium in Kislovodsk
- 1937–1941 – Pioneer palace in Kalinin (Tver)
- 1950s – Sketch drafts for the »sun city« and the seat of the United Nations
References
- Cooke, Catherine, (et al.) (1990). Architectural Drawings of the Russian Avant-Garde. The Museum of Modern Art. ISBN ISBN 0-87070-556-3.
- Meriggi, Maurizio, (et al.) (2007). Una città possibile. Architetture di Ivan Leonidov 1926-1934. Electa. ISBN ISBN 88-370-5445-9.
- De Magistris, Alessandro, (et al.) (2009). Ivan Leonidov 1902-1959. Electa.
Futurist
