Konstantin Stepanovich Melnikov was a Russian architect and painter. His architectural work, compressed into a single decade (1923–33), placed Melnikov on the front end of 1920s avant-garde architecture. Although associated with the Constructivists, Melnikov was an independent artist, not bound by the rules of a particular style or artistic group. In the 1930s, Melnikov refused to conform with the rising Stalinist architecture, withdrew from practice and worked as a portraitist and teacher until the end of his life.
Konstantin Melnikov
Professor Vladimir Mikhailovich Chaplin (second from left) with his family and his pupil Kostya Melnikov (second from the right). Moscow, 1904.
Intourist Garage, the only facade remaining to date
Svoboda Club in northern Moscow was Melnikov's tribute to the land of his childhood
Constructivist architecture
Constructivist architecture was a constructivist style of modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s. Abstract and austere, the movement aimed to reflect modern industrial society and urban space, while rejecting decorative stylization in favor of the industrial assemblage of materials. Designs combined advanced technology and engineering with an avowedly communist social purpose. Although it was divided into several competing factions, the movement produced many pioneering projects and finished buildings, before falling out of favor around 1932. It has left marked effects on later developments in architecture.
Tatlin's Tower, The Monument to the Third International, 1919 (Vladimir Tatlin)
Shukhov Tower, Moscow, 1922. Currently under threat of demolition, but with an international campaign to save it.
The print shop of Ogonyok magazine designed by El Lissitzky
Zuev Workers' Club, 1927