Художественная культура (Sep 2024)
The 1934-1935 Competition for the Preliminary Design for the Academy of Sciences: The Circumstances of Commissioning the Design to A.V. Shchusev
Abstract
The article is devoted to the analysis of the closed competition for the preliminary design of the building complex for the Academy of Sciences in Moscow, which was held from October 1934 to January 1935. Not having been thoroughly researched before, this competition had a significant impact on the life and career of A.V. Shchusev. The main task of the study was to understand the mechanism that led to the architect being tasked in 1935 with the further design of the Academy of Sciences. The research is based on the analysis of archival documents and publications of 1934-1935 in the press. As a preliminary context, the article considers the processes of the Academy selecting a site for construction and describes its interaction with the Mossoviet and the Council of People’s Commissars. The author examines the internal discussions in the Academy about the organization of design and construction, during which the idea of the competition was born and its format and goals were defined; analyses the composition of the competition participants and provides explanations regarding the discrepancy between their number and the number of invited workshops and the projects they submitted; carries out an analysis of all projects, with special attention paid to the proposals of A.V. Shchusev, whose team presented three variants of the placement and layout of the complex; and considers each stage of the announcement of results, at one of which the Construction Commission of the Academy of Sciences unequivocally recognized the general plan executed by the team of N.A. Trotsky as the best. As a result of the research, conclusions are made about the role of the described processes and the actors involved in them in making the final decision.
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