Tatlin's Tower

[[File:Russia-2000-stamp-Tatlin Tower and Worker and Kolkhoz Woman by Vera Mukhina.jpg|thumb|2000 Russia 1 rub 50 kopeks stamp. Tatlin Tower and Worker and Kolkhoz Woman by Vera Mukhina]] '''Tatlin’s Tower''' or '''The Monument to the Third International''' is a grand monumental building envisioned by the [[Russia]]n artist and architect [[Vladimir Tatlin]], but never built. It was planned to be erected in Petrograd (now [[St. Petersburg]]) after the [[October Revolution|Bolshevik Revolution]] of 1917, as the headquarters and monument of the [[Comintern]] (the third international). ==Plans== [[File:Tatlin's_Tower_maket_1919_year.jpg|thumb|Model of the tower, 1919]] Tatlin's [[Constructivism (art)|Constructivist]] tower was to be built from industrial materials: iron, glass and steel. In materials, shape, and function, it was envisaged as a towering symbol of [[modernity]]. It would have dwarfed the [[Eiffel Tower]] in Paris. The tower's main form was a twin [[helix]] which spiraled up to 400 m in height, around which visitors would be transported with the aid of various mechanical devices. The main framework would contain four large suspended [[geometric]] structures. These structures would rotate at different rates of speed. At the base of the structure was a cube which was designed as a venue for lectures, conferences and legislative meetings, and this would complete a rotation in the span of one year. Above the cube would be a smaller pyramid housing executive activities and completing a rotation once a month. Further up would be a [[Cylinder (geometry)|cylinder]], which was to house an information centre, issuing news bulletins and manifestos via telegraph, radio and loudspeaker, and would complete a rotation once a day. At the top, there would be a hemisphere for radio equipment. There were also plans to install a gigantic open-air screen on the cylinder, and a further projector which would be able to cast messages across the clouds on any overcast day. ==Evaluations== The Monument is generally considered to be the defining expression of [[Constructivist architecture|architectural constructivism]], rather than a buildable project. Even if the gigantic amount of required steel had been available in revolutionary Russia, in the context of housing shortages and political turmoil, there are serious doubts about its structural practicality. ==Models== There is a model of Tatlin’s Tower at the [[Moderna museet|Museum of Modern Art]] in [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]] and at [[Tretyakov Gallery]] in Moscow. == Description == *'''Native name''': Памятник III Интернационалу *'''Location''': [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russian Federation]] *'''Status''': [[cancelled]] *'''Constructed''': 1920 - ? *'''Building uses''': [[monument]], [[communications]], [[Conference hall|conferences]], government, other *'''Structural types''': other, flag, [[revolving floor]], sign, [[truss]] *'''Materials''': glass, steel *'''Height''': {{convert|400|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} *It was designed to surpass the [[Eiffel Tower]] by a third part of its height. *'''Architect''': [[Vladimir Tatlin]] *Its [[axial tilt|tilt]] is the same as [[Earth]]: 23.5 degrees. *The cube was designed to host the congresses of the [[Third International]] and make a full rotation each year. The pyramid would make a spin in 30 days and would be the place for the bureaucracy. The thin cylinder was to revolve in a day and host a newspaper. A radio station was to be placed in the little dome at the top. *'''Structure style''': constructivism ==See also== * [[Shukhov Tower]] * ''[[Tower Bawher]]'', an abstract short film inspired by Tatlin's Tower. ==External links== * [http://www.tatlinstowerandtheworld.net Tatlin's Tower and the World] — Artist group's web site on the project of building Tatlin's Tower in full scale. * [http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=fce07ec253a2ca6457e642c7166e125a&prevstart=0 Tatlin's Tower - The Monument to the Third International Moscow Location] - 3D model of the Tatlin Tower ===Videos=== * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P18XmwRKgM Architecture and the Russian Avant-garde (Pt 2 Tatlins Tower)] - using computer graphics, archive footage and locations in Moscow, this film illustrates Tatlin's contribution to world architecture and how his tower may have looked in Moscow had it been built after the revolution; by Michael Craig; 3:37. * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bTqknmlB0U Tatlin's Tower Short Film] - silent movie; by Lutz Becker; 3:40. * [http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1334983531238 Tatlin Tower Hometree in Parliament Square] - 3D video animation of a possible Tatlin's Tower construction in London, UK, on International Worker's Day, Sat 1 May 2010; by Tim Dalinian Jones; 1:20. {{Supertall proposed skyscrapers}} {{coord missing|Russia}} {{dmy|date=December 2010}}