Discrimination of modernism as a way of destroying memory

/ Architecture /

The documentary "Infinity according to Florian", the world premiere of which took place in January 2022 at the Rotterdam Film Festival, and the Ukrainian premiere in autumn 2022, can be called a manifesto of Ukrainian modernism. Why, despite the cultural and educational efforts of architects and journalists, is modernism systematically discriminated against as a "legacy of the Soviet era"? The radicalism of sentiments caused by wartime only aggravated the situation. We decided to remind once again what architectural modernism is and what is the cultural value of modernist and neomodernist buildings.

What is architectural modernism and why are Kyivans defending it?

The owners of the shopping center on Lybidska Square planned to make Florian Yuryev's "Flying Saucer" part of the entrance group to the new building of the giant mall. However, she became a symbol Savekyivmodernism — the public movement for the preservation of the architecture of Ukrainian modernism and the consolidation of architects.

Neomodernist "Tarilka" - Institute of Information, built according to the project of architect Florian Yuryev. 1971. Photo: O. Ranchukov

A protest action that united Kyivans in defense of modernist architecture

The day before, the team of Artem Dodonov, co-founder of the AER architectural bureau, launched an interactive map of modernist objects in Kyiv. The site contains information about architecturally significant buildings built in the capital in the 60s-90s. Most of the objects do not have a protective status, some have already been destroyed or disfigured beyond recognition by "reconstruction". The latest losses are the destruction of the building of the swimming pool of the Olympic reserve and the trade pavilion at VDNG.

The "Flowers of Ukraine" building was built in 1985 according to the project of architect Mykola Levchuk. Collage: Yuriy Ferendovych

Their fate may also befall the "Flowers of Ukraine" building at any moment, the attempt to dismantle which caused street protests in Kyiv in the summer of 2021. Then the people of Kyiv managed to have the building with the partially dismantled facade urgently taken under state protection. But in December 2022, the District Administrative Court of Kyiv canceled the decision of the Ministry of Culture to enter "Flowers" into the register of cultural heritage monuments.

The judge argued that "Flowers of Ukraine" is "an object of Soviet times in a state that does not add aesthetic beauty and value to the historical face of Kyiv."

The judge's words are a typical example of devaluation of architectural heritage. At the same time, the majority of radical-minded citizens often understand the history of architectural styles so poorly that they even confuse modernism with modernism.

 

(Not) can be confused. Modern and modernism in architecture: what is the difference

Modern (art nouveau, art nouveau, secession) is a style of the end of the XNUMXth and beginning of the XNUMXth centuries, which also appeared in Ukraine as a result of the emergence of internal currents, such as the Hutsul secession or the Ukrainian modernism of Vasyl Krychevsky. It was replaced by modernism, which absorbed many directions: constructivism, futurism, brutalism, etc. Art Nouveau symbolized a cultural renaissance. Modernism is a protest and break with panaestheticism, a decisive appeal to new ideals.

You can confuse words, but you can't confuse architecture. Modern captivates with the elegance and sensuality of forms, flexible spirals of stairs, plant motifs in the design of facades. The most famous examples of buildings in the Art Nouveau style in Kyiv are "House with Chimeras" by Vladyslav Horodetsky, "House with Snakes and Chestnuts" by Ignatius Ledochovsky, Bessarabian Market by Henry Guy.

Kyiv landmark: "House with Chimeras" - a bold experiment of the architect Vladyslav Horodetskyi. Photo: Pedro J Pacheco

Bessarabian market. The building is in the style of late modernism, built according to the project of the architect Henry Guy

Modernism was initially revolutionary and radical, and later democratic and socially oriented, devoid of decorative excesses and extremely thoughtful: every corner, every detail is constructively and functionally justified. Modern appealed to external beauty, modernism appealed to content. A first-floor viewer will not appreciate the positive qualities of modernism if he is not familiar with the advantages of open plans, operable roofs, natural insolation and ventilation of interior spaces, with the function of solar panels on the facades.

 

What trends exist in architectural modernism of the XNUMXth century?

Functionalism, rationalism, international style, Bauhaus are all modernist currents of the first half of the XNUMXth century. Brutalism, Soviet modernism or neomodernism are the same style, but from the late, post-war period.

In contrast to the integral modernism, which glorifies aestheticism, modernism is multifaceted, ambiguous and not always pleasing to the eye. Kharkiv can boast of excellent modern buildings with facades richly decorated with plastic and ceramic panels, but its main landmark is the constructivist ensemble of Derzhprom.

The Kharkiv House of State Industry, built in 1925-1928 according to the project of architects Serhiy Serafimov, Samuel Kravets and Mark Felger

If the brutal colossus of avant-garde Ivan Kavaleridze's work, rising on the steep bank of the Siversky Dinets, is destroyed as a result of artillery duels, it will be a painful cultural loss, and to understand this loss it is not at all necessary to secretly honor the memory of "Comrade Artem".

Monument to Artem in Sviatohirsk. The sculpture is an example of monumental modernism of the early XNUMXth century and is protected by the state as a monument of national importance. Photo of the press service of the Donetsk regional military-civilian administration

The Farewell Hall at the Kyiv crematorium at Baikovo Cemetery, created by Avraham Miletskyi, Ada Rybachuk, and Volodymyr Melnychenko, is a place associated with the pain of loss, but the building itself is an indisputable architectural masterpiece of neomodernism of the mid-70s.

Kyiv crematorium: hall of farewell, built according to the project of Avraam Miletskyi, Ada Rybachuk and Volodymyr Melnichenko. Photo: Yuriy Ferendovych

Early modernism and neomodernism — a connection through the years

Early modernism in the architecture of the USSR developed until the 30s - it ended with a ban on architectural experiments and a return to classicism, according to Stalin's tastes. But after his death, the architectural industry experienced a period of thaw, when architects got the opportunity to implement their spatial ideas at least in the field of public building construction.

Vernadsky National Library. Photo source: www.nbuv.gov.ua

Soviet modernism of the 60s and 80s is a reinterpretation of the rationalism of the 20s, its best version, in terms of planning and construction, implemented under a tighter budget and with the use of budget materials, but with a rich internal content. And, one might say, more decorative. If the modernism of the beginning of the century radically denied excesses, bas-reliefs, stained glass windows, ceramic panels and mosaics appear again in the works of neomodernists.

However, facades turned out to be the most vulnerable element of neomodernist buildings. They are hidden behind plastic lining, billboards, sealed with insulation, stained glass windows and mosaics are mercilessly dismantled and broken. And everywhere these actions, dictated primarily by the desire to save money on restoration or to make money on the construction of a new commercial object, are justified by decommunization and the fight against the Soviet legacy.

 

Modernism in the architecture of the USSR: bold experiments within a rigid framework

In the works of modern European urban planners, ideas that were implemented by Soviet architects back in the 20s, and then already in the 80s, very often take place. Both the ergonomics of the space and the psychological comfort of future users were important to the designers. This applies to both public and residential buildings.

For example, one can find many interrelationships between the Doctor's House (17 Velyka Zhytomyrska St.), built according to the project of Pavel Alyoshin in the 20s, and the building of the Polyclinic of the Litfond of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine (15 Reitarska St.), designed by Volodymyr Shevchenko and Abraham Miletsky.

The doctor's house, built according to the project of the architect Pavel Alyoshin. Photo: Oleg Sai

In the Doctor's House, the entire structure of the building is subordinated to the idea of ​​a comfortable life. Spacious apartments, common areas: laundry, library, gallery, private green yard. And the first solarium on the roof in Kyiv.

The polyclinic building on Reitarska was built according to the project of architects Avraham Miletskyi and Volodymyr Shevchenko. Photo from Volodymyr Shevchenko's archive

The polyclinic building is 60 years younger, conceptually meets today's European requests for the design of public buildings and inherits the architectural concepts of the 20s. The architects envisioned a cascade of landscaped terraces and solariums on the roof for patients and doctors to relax. But, unlike the brick Doctor's House, the polyclinic building has been preserved much worse and is subject to major repairs. The lack of resources in which Soviet designers and builders had to work in those years is indicated.

The building is being prepared for reconstruction. Now it is difficult to predict how strictly the owners will adhere to the original project. Perhaps this "Stairway to Heaven", as the building of Kyiv is called, is the fate of the destroyed "Flowers of Ukraine" building?

Hotel "Salyut", designed by Abraham Miletsky. Photo: O. Ranchukov

Most of the components of modernism, this complex style, are imported from Europe and the USA. And the modernist buildings of the Soviet period resonate with the works of world stars: Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto and others, which only confirms Ukraine's belonging to a large European family.

Innovative ideas penetrate through the strongest iron curtain, which shows the senselessness of any dictatorial prohibitions, while the demolition, destruction and rough reconstruction of neomodernist buildings deprive us and our descendants of the opportunity to analyze the continuity and development of Ukrainian architecture.