The photographs of the buildings were taken using a drone drone.
It was possible to look at the building from a bird's eye view before the era of aeronautics not only from the neighboring mountain: the presentation models gave just such an effect, and their beauty could distract from the thought about the perception of the conceived structures from the ground, although it is this that is decisive for any building. In the 20th century, flying airplanes and aerial photography have become commonplace, so the view of the project from above, always more exciting than earthly perspectives, has become even more relevant. So, in the 1960s, the USSR considered short-distance air travel as a promising mode of transport, and for some time passengers were even delivered from the Central Terminal to four Moscow airports by helicopter. Therefore, the architects in those years took into account in their projects for Moscow the appearance of the "fifth facade" - the view of the building from above, and also planned the roofs to be used. However, then flights over the capital were banned, roof-terraces - for safety reasons - too, so what was conceived in the projects was not implemented during construction, and the roofs turned into a "warehouse" of technical installations.
In mass development, where it was not possible to give each building an individual look, the architects “redeemed” this with the beauty of planning solutions, which could rarely be assessed from the ground, but to a major official studying the layout, they must have seemed extremely attractive (for more details, see “Aesthetics Soviet residential architecture ).
However, not mass, "piece" objects of the last decades of the existence of the USSR made an impression on both pedestrians and passengers of vehicles. At the same time, their carefully thought-out and often very complex form and composition look completely different from above, forcing to re-evaluate the work of the designers.
Palace of Pioneers on Lenin Hills
1959–62
V. S. Egerev, V. S. Kubasov, F. A. Novikov, B. V. Paluy, I. A. Pokrovsky, M. N. Khazhakyan, Yu. I. Ionov.
The maximum shooting height is 470 m.
The architects follow the example of their predecessors of the avant-garde era, creating a space-wide layout designed for the view from an aircraft: a single light "front" facing the Pioneer Parade Square and chamber courtyards formed by separate buildings on the opposite side.
Universal sports hall "Druzhba" in Luzhniki
1977–1980
Yu. V. Bolshakov and others.
The maximum shooting height is 220 m.
The sports hall, built for the Olympics-80, traditionally evokes organic associations from the level of human growth: a flower, a starfish and the like. But from the air, the clear geometry of this folded reinforced concrete shell becomes clear, which is both more interesting and deeper than any object "prototypes".
The main computing center of the State Planning Committee of the USSR on Akademika Sakharov Avenue
1964–1974
L. N. Pavlov and others.
The maximum shooting height is 280 m.
The MCC, which immediately attracts the attention of a pedestrian, does not look so impressive from above: there is imperceptibly neither a well-thought-out breakdown of floors - technical, machine and office, nor the triangular supports of the street facade. However, even in the absence of these details, the proportions of simple geometric shapes remain - the tower and the stylobate.
Zhiguli car service station on Varshavskoe highway
1967–1977
L. N. Pavlov and others.
The maximum shooting height is 650 m.
Leonid Pavlov conceived this building as a Suprematist composition, designed for an aerial view, and from above, the service station, disfigured by the activities of "economic entities", still looks impressive. Its upper part categorically shows the top of its triangle on the Moscow Ring Road and cars rushing there (it is shifted to the edge of the base in this direction, which gives the whole structure a dynamic). The roof of the huge stylobate containing the garages is enlivened by a multitude of skylights. It can be assumed that very little can be done to return the building to its original - or close to the original - appearance: just take care of the view from the ground …
Museum of V. I. Lenin in Gorki Leninskih
1975–1987
L. N. Pavlov and others.
The maximum shooting height is 200 m.
The work of "Soviet postmodernism" refers us directly to ancient and ancient Eastern architecture, to the composition of a manor house and a Christian basilica. The echoes of past eras were supposed to give the "legend of Lenin" the significance it needed in the late Soviet era. The aerial view is reminiscent of other facades and the regular layout of the building, usually seen from one, the most famous point.
Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry on Miklukho-Maklaya Street
1976–1984
Yu. P. Platonov and others.
The maximum shooting height is 630 m.
An ideal candidate for aerial photography, the IBH building is famous for its unusual plan in the form of a DNA double helix. However, unlike many other buildings with a "figurative" plan, which look not at all interesting when viewed from the ground level, the institute attracts the attention of pedestrians with its dynamic composition, which distributes its huge areas over a series of relatively low volumes. The building thus testifies to the connection of post-war Soviet modernism with the Russian avant-garde: the plan and the impression it makes on the pedestrian and the motorist remind of the layout of the Khavsko-Shabolovsky residential area, which embodied the theories of rationalists of the 1920s about the dynamic perception of architecture.
Paleontological Institute and Paleontological Museum. Yu. A. Orlova in Teply Stan
1972–1987
Yu. P. Platonov and others.
The maximum shooting height is 330 m.
It is difficult to guess the layout of the brick “castle” from the outside: nothing betrays the existence of a large courtyard there, and the ideal correctness of the “square in square” from the ground is also difficult to notice. Four towers, one on each side of the building, do not allow this: they seem to be trying to spin its static plan, like a wheel. All the features of the project are perfectly visible when viewed from above, complementing the seemingly self-sufficient appearance of the structure.
Complex of the Academy of Sciences on the Lenin Hills
1974–1997
Yu. P. Platonov and others.
The maximum shooting height is 600 m.
The twin towers crowned with the notorious "golden" construction are an integral part of the panorama of the Southwest. They are clearly visible from afar, so it is easy to forget about their less noticeable multi-part foundation, organized around the courtyard: the layout was deliberately based on the resemblance to a monastery. Moreover, only from the air - or from the upper floors of the towers themselves - you can appreciate the complex floors of this foundation, almost more spectacular than the appearance of this "base" from the ground.
Residential complex "Lebed" on the Leningradskoe highway
1967–1974
HELL. Meerson and others.
The maximum shooting height is 430 m.
The complex of four 16-story towers is an experimental housing. But the facades of elegant houses on the bank of the Khimki reservoir with thin supports of the first floors are now so neglected that the beauty of the architectural concept is difficult to assess from the ground. And from above, one can clearly see the consistency of the setting of the towers with the landscape, and the peculiarity of the complex - the stylobate uniting the buildings, accommodating the necessary services and garages ("Swan" was built in the context of the program of mass motorization).
Exemplary promising residential area Chertanovo-Severnoye
1975–1982
M. V. Posokhin, L. K. Dubek and others.
The maximum shooting height is 450 m.
The area was built on an area of 100 hectares at the edge of the Bitsevsky forest park. The impressiveness of the buildings with different number of storeys is emphasized by the relief differences in the valley of the Chertanovka River. The image of the new city, reminiscent of the city of the ancients in its finished composition, should not have been disturbed by cars: driveways and garages were hidden underground. A network of pedestrian paths and a developed service infrastructure have been created for residents. However, the project was not fully implemented: some of the residential buildings were replaced with standard ones, and the community center of the district and some other components were not implemented at all.
