The evolvement of the architect I.N. Kudryavtsev’s creative method in the 1930s on the example of the Houses of Communication in Leningrad, Murmansk and Petrozavodsk

Abstract

The article reviews the architecture of the Houses of Communication designed by the architect I. N. Kudryavtsev, a graduate of the Leningrad VKhUTEIN, in the context of the architectural styles of the 1930s. Most of these projects were implemented in the North-Western region: Leningrad, Murmansk and Petrozavodsk. Based on archival sources, the authorship of I. N. Kudryavtsev was first established for a number of previously unknown objects. The study revealed specific features of the architect's creative method, which evolved under the influence of artistic, stylistic, social and political factors. For the first time, a whole typological group of specific buildings, which are Houses of Communication, have been identified as pertaining to the style of constructivism and post-constructivism. The role and place of the architect I. N. Kudryavtsev in Leningrad’s professional community before his expatriation to Finland in 1938 is ascertained.

Keywords

• i.n.kudryavtsev
• north-western region
• leningrad vkhutein
• constructivism
• post-constructivism
• houses of communication