Melnikov: An Investigation Through Architectural Models

A guide to the pioneering modernist work of Konstantin Melnikov, as displayed through architectural models and their accompanying preparatory materials

The architecture of the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s was integral to shaping 20th-century modernism. Russian architect Konstantin Melnikov (1890-1974) was a key figure of this movement, with many of his realized projects, such as his cylindrical residential house completed in 1929, becoming modernist icons. Because he refused to conform to architectural standards after Stalin’s cultural turn in 1932, his works were largely forgotten for several decades. He was rehabilitated and received public recognition for his imaginative constructions only a few years prior to his death in 1974.
This publication presents models of Melnikov’s built and unbuilt works, created under the direction of scholar Pavel Kuznetsov by the students of the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio. The models are accompanied by photographs, sketches and project descriptions expanding on Melnikov’s work. An essay by Kuznetsov situates the architect in his historical context, shedding light on an underappreciated figure of architectural history.