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Concept
Postconstructivism
Summary
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 artists' migration to Stalinist neoclassicism. Khan-Magomedov identified postconstructivism with 1932–1936, but the long construction time and vast size of the country extended the period to 1941.
Existence of this style is evident, but Khan-Magomedov's explanation of its evolution as a natural process inside the architectural community, rather than as a result of political direction by the Party and State, is strongly disputed.
This section is based on Khan-Magomedov's Soviet avant-garde architecture, vol.1, "Avant-garde to postconstructivism and beyond"
In 1932–1933, during the Palace of Soviets contest, the State sent a clear message to architects that the age of experiment was over and the new buildings must follow the classical canon. At this time, the architectural profession was divided into three generations:
Mature Neoclassical architects (most of them in their fifties and sixties), like Ivan Fomin, Alexey Shchusev and Ivan Zholtovsky. Excellent education and experience led them to success in any style – Art Nouveau, Neoclassicism and Constructivism.
A younger, diverse avant-garde movement (itself divided into rationalists and constructivists). With the exception of the Vesnin brothers, few constructivists had acquired professional experience before World War I; the war, Revolution of 1917 and Civil war halted any new construction for a decade (1914–1926). In 1927–1929, former theorists Nikolai Ladovsky, Moisei Ginzburg, Ilya Golosov stepped aside from public discussions and switched to practical building and urban planning. By 1933, they had not more than seven years of practice and were just entering their own age of maturity.
Finally, the vocal students of the 'Proletarian School', members of VOPRA: the "class of 1929" (Arkady Mordvinov, Karo Alabyan).
Official source
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