School 518
Encyclopedia
School 518 is a high school in the historical Balchug
area of Moscow
, Russia
. Designed by Ivan Zvezdin and completed in 1935, it is the only listed postconstructivist
memorial building in the city. It was reconstructed between 1999 and 2003 to meet modern safety standards and Zvezdin's original design, both externally and internally.
waterfront lot between Sadovnicheskaya Street
and Vodootvodny Canal
. This area, near Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge
, underwent significant construction in the 1930s. The bridge and adjacent Textile Institute were completed in 1938. Further east, the historical Sadovniki area retained its 19th century mix of residential blocks, military depots and factories.
. He studied in Warsaw
, Nizhny Novgorod
and graduated from the Moscow Institute of Civil Engineers in 1927. He spent his entire life working on low-profile architectural and city planning projects in Moscow, such as working-class apartment buildings, schools and theaters. Since 1935, Zvezdin has been associated with Mossovet
Workshop No. 10. He died in 1979 and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery
.
of the 1920s to Stalinist architecture
. Two groups of architects - constructivists and neoclassicists
- converged on the same transitional style, known as postconstructivism
(or simply early Stalinism) and featuring classical shapes without classical detail; in which the architects stopped experimenting with shapes. However, they remained reluctant to accept classical order
. Instead, they invented their own order, in which they combined large window surfaces with slim, capital
-less supporting columns.
School 518, for example, has such constructivist features as large glass panes and circular top floor windows. It also has a portico
of slim white column
s supporting the protruding third-floor hall, and is perfectly symmetrical.
Technologically, it was built of man-made lime and cinder blocks, with wooden ceilings, partitions and roof trusses. With a gross volume of 18,500 cubic meters, it has nearly twice more volume per student than the 1935 standard (30.8 vs. 16.5 cubic meters per student).
the school was converted to a military hospital.
), School 518 retains its original function and interiors.
.
Balchug
Balchug , also known as Bolotny Ostrov , is an island in the very centre of Moscow, Russia, squeezed between the Moskva River and its old river-bed which was turned into the Vodootvodny Canal in 1786...
area of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Designed by Ivan Zvezdin and completed in 1935, it is the only listed postconstructivist
Postconstructivism
Postconstructivism was a transitional architectural style that existed in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, typical of early Stalinist architecture before World War II. The term postconstructivism was coined by Selim Khan-Magomedov, a historian of architecture, to describe the product of avant-garde...
memorial building in the city. It was reconstructed between 1999 and 2003 to meet modern safety standards and Zvezdin's original design, both externally and internally.
The site
The school was built on a 2.9 hectareHectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
waterfront lot between Sadovnicheskaya Street
Sadovnicheskaya Street
Sadovnicheskaya street is a street in the historical Zamoskvorechye District of Moscow, Russia, on a narrow island between Moskva River and the parallel old river bed . The street runs from Balchug Street south-east to the Garden Ring.-History:Historical neighborhood of Sadovniki Sadovnicheskaya...
and Vodootvodny Canal
Vodootvodny Canal
Vodootvodny Canal is a 4 kilometre long, 30-60 metre wide canal in downtown Moscow, Russia. It was built in 1780s on the old riverbed of Moskva River to control floods and support shipping. Canal construction created an island between Moskva river and the canal. The island acquired its present...
. This area, near Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge
Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge
Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge is a steel arch bridge that spans Moskva River near the mouth of Yauza River, connecting the Boulevard Ring with Zamoskvorechye district in Moscow, Russia...
, underwent significant construction in the 1930s. The bridge and adjacent Textile Institute were completed in 1938. Further east, the historical Sadovniki area retained its 19th century mix of residential blocks, military depots and factories.
The architect
Ivan Andreyevich Zvezdin was born in 1899 in Nizhny NovgorodNizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
. He studied in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
and graduated from the Moscow Institute of Civil Engineers in 1927. He spent his entire life working on low-profile architectural and city planning projects in Moscow, such as working-class apartment buildings, schools and theaters. Since 1935, Zvezdin has been associated with Mossovet
Mossovet
Mossovet , an abbreviation of Moscow Soviet of People's Deputies, was the informal name of *parallel, shadow city administration of Moscow, Russia run by left-wing parties in 1917*city administration of Moscow in Soviet period...
Workshop No. 10. He died in 1979 and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia. It is next to the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. It should not be confused with the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg....
.
Architecture
Between 1932 and 1936, Soviet architects began to transition from the ConstructivismConstructivist architecture
Constructivist architecture was a form of modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s. It combined advanced technology and engineering with an avowedly Communist social purpose. Although it was divided into several competing factions, the movement produced...
of the 1920s to Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...
. Two groups of architects - constructivists and neoclassicists
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
- converged on the same transitional style, known as postconstructivism
Postconstructivism
Postconstructivism was a transitional architectural style that existed in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, typical of early Stalinist architecture before World War II. The term postconstructivism was coined by Selim Khan-Magomedov, a historian of architecture, to describe the product of avant-garde...
(or simply early Stalinism) and featuring classical shapes without classical detail; in which the architects stopped experimenting with shapes. However, they remained reluctant to accept classical order
Classical order
A classical order is one of the ancient styles of classical architecture, each distinguished by its proportions and characteristic profiles and details, and most readily recognizable by the type of column employed. Three ancient orders of architecture—the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian—originated in...
. Instead, they invented their own order, in which they combined large window surfaces with slim, capital
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
-less supporting columns.
School 518, for example, has such constructivist features as large glass panes and circular top floor windows. It also has a portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
of slim white column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s supporting the protruding third-floor hall, and is perfectly symmetrical.
Technologically, it was built of man-made lime and cinder blocks, with wooden ceilings, partitions and roof trusses. With a gross volume of 18,500 cubic meters, it has nearly twice more volume per student than the 1935 standard (30.8 vs. 16.5 cubic meters per student).
History
Zvezdin designed a so-called Moscow Suburban School (Подмосковная школа) for 600 students, an experimental institution with a main school hall, gym, stadium and workshops. By 1935, the age of experimentation was over, and the main building opened as two regular high schools - No. 518 for boys and No. 519 for girls. Other buildings were never completed; a small gym was attached in 1950s. The main building was only partially completed. It had open-air terraces but no provisions for open-air classes, and the rear wall was coarsely finished. During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the school was converted to a military hospital.
Reconstruction
By 1996, the cinder and wood structure was literally falling apart, and demolition was imminent. Parents and preservationists, led by Selim Khan-Magomedov, managed to list the school on the national register of memorial buildings. Thus, it became the only listed postconstructivist building in Moscow. This memorial status allowed it to receive city funding for reconstruction of the protected interiors and southern facade. The reconstructions between 1999 and 2003 also expanded the rear facade, adding the fourth floor with circular windows. Single-story rear terraces were built out to complete the building's 4-story height. Additionally, the small gym was torn down and replaced with a larger, separate structure. Historical interiors were rebuilt to 1935 drawings. Unlike other recently rebuilt constructivist buildings (i.e. Mostorg by Vesnin brothersVesnin brothers
The Vesnin brothers: Leonid Vesnin , Victor Vesnin and Alexander Vesnin were the leaders of Constructivist architecture, the dominant architectural school of the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s...
), School 518 retains its original function and interiors.
External links
Russian: School 518 site- Ivan Zvezdin bio
- facade photo
- 1935 interior photo
- 1990s facade photo
- Gallery: rebuilding walls
- Gallery: rebuilding interiors
- Gallery: rebuilding staircase
See also
- Selim Khan-Magomedov, "Pioneers of Soviet Architecture: The Search for New Solutions in the 1920s and 1930s", 1986, Thames and Hudson Ltd, ISBN 978-0500341025
- Maria Gough, "The Artist as Producer: Russian Constructivism in Revolution", 2005, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520226180
.