House of graduate student and trainee of Moscow State University (House of New Life on Shvernik Street)
Architects: N. A. Osterman, A. V. Petrushkova, I. N. Kanaeva, G. D. Konstantinovsky, G. N. Carlsen.
Engineers: S. I. Kershtein, V. N. Shapiro, A. V. Khoreva.
Moscow, Shvernik street, 19
1965–1971
Olga Kazakova, Director of the Institute of Modernism:
“The House of New Life on Shvernik Street,” as it was called when designing, is a very modernist building in its essence. It also responds in its own way to the Soviet projects of communal houses of the late 1920s (one of these houses - the famous dormitory of Ivan Nikolaev - is located nearby, on Ordzhonikidze Street), and to the Corbusian idea of a “house - a car for living”. However, these are things that are closely related to each other. On the other hand, sociologists were involved in the design of this building: they had to identify the most relevant ideas about the desired housing for a Soviet person at the end of the 1960s.
The house of the new way of life was originally built not as a hostel, but as a dwelling house for the so-called “small” families and non-family people. It was intended primarily for young and "modern" residents: a total of 812 apartments were supposed to accommodate 2.5 thousand people. The area of the apartments, in accordance with the spirit of the times, was supposed to be minimal, but their internal arrangement had to be as ergonomic as possible, all furniture - built-in, internal partitions - sliding, lamps - along the entire plane of the ceiling.
The compactness of personal space was to be generously compensated for by a developed system of consumer services and a wide variety of opportunities for leisure activities. So that the tenants did not have to worry about household issues, a kitchen-dining room was designed on each floor, instead of tiresome washing and ironing, linen could be handed over to the laundries located in the house itself, and children - to the kindergarten set up right there.
From an architectural point of view, the House of New Life is closely connected with the principles of Le Corbusier and with the first wave of modernism in general. First of all, attention is drawn to the tape windows, the pillars of the first floor and the thin pillars-columns. Of course, in terms of its structure, this is still not a house, but a complex consisting of two 16-storey buildings, connected by a passage, and side 2-3 storey blocks.
The buildings housed apartments (and dining rooms at the ends), and in the passage and low-rise blocks there were several cafes, a gym, a swimming pool, a library, club rooms, a clinic, clothing and footwear repair, laundries, a winter garden - in general, the residents were provided with all the opportunities for a comfortable life, leisure and recreation.
Apparently, such a plan was too good to become reality. Even during the construction process, it was decided to abandon some of the pleasant, but optional functions, and at the same time the building was transferred to Moscow State University for a hostel for students, graduate students and young teachers. Well, at least someone was lucky. Although now even this cannot be said - the building is not in the best condition. However, of course, the House of Postgraduate Student and Trainee of Moscow State University deserves the status of a historical and architectural monument and deserves thoughtful scientific restoration."
