Towards Paper Architecture: Tallinn and Moscow

Paper Towards A rch ite c t u r e : Ta l l in a nnd Moscow AndresKurg "P aper archite ctu re"was t he nam e us ed in t he Sov iei Uni o n i n t h e 1 9 8 0 st o d e s c r i b ea b o d y o f w o r k t hat coun tere dinfle xib lebuilding r egulat ionsand nor m s b y u s i n g i m a g i n a t i v ed r a w i n g s 's y m b o l s , narrationa nd alle go ry,and s aw gr aphic wor k as it s end r e s u l t C r i t i c i z i n gt h e m o n o t o n ya n d a n o n y m iiy ot the ind ustriallypro duc ed c it y , pr ac t it ioner sof papera r c h i t e c t u r ee m p h a s i s e da r c h i t e c t ur e a s part of th e cu ltura l sp he r e r at hert han c ons t r uc t ion indust r y ,a n d u s e d p u b l i c a t i o n sa n d e x h i b i t i o n s as the me dia fo r d issemi nat ingt heir ideas . G aining in tern atio na lrec ognit ionas a m ov em entd ur ing P e r e s t r o i k ai n t h e l a t e - 1 9 8 0 st ,h i s a p p r o a c h was ofte n see n a s a with dr awalf r om olf ic ial des ign pr ac t i c e ,u n d e r s t a n d i n gw i t h d r a w a l t h r o u g ht h e dominan tdicho lomo usm odel o. fop pr es s ionv er s usr es is t a n c e ,w h e r et h e a l l - p o w e r l uI s t a t e w a s cou nte red b y a n e scap et o pr iv at eli{ e. ,Fur t her u nder linedb y t h e p o s t m o d e r nc r i t i qu e i n t h e w e s t , oaoerarchitecturewas s een as a t u r n awayf r om r at ional i s ta n d c o l l e c t i v ev a l u e s ' I am {ollowin ga d ilfere nt t r ajec t or yf or des c r ibing t he pap e r p f o j e c t s a n d a r gu e a g a i n s tt h e n o t i o n of w ithdra wal,pro po sin gins t eadan ac t iv ed ialoguewit h th e t r a n s f o r m a l i o n so f t h e l a t e - 1 9 7 0as n d 1980s,an d a d esireto en gaget he public ,t hr ough ex hibit i o n s .T h e i r p r a c t i c e sw e r e i n t e r t w i n e dw i t h otflcial institutio nsan d of t en gr ew out of t hem ;t heir wor k r e p e a t e d l yi n t e r p r e t e de a r l i e r i t e r a t j o n so f modernizatio n,an d se v er aloJt he wor k s c ou ld be r ead as a d e t e r r i t o r i a l i z a t i o no J ,r a t h e rt h a n e s c a p e {rom, t he pre va ilingmod er nis m . I will look at t wo gr ou ps o f a r c hi t e c t s t h a t w o r k e da l m o s t i n p a r a l l e l in t he 1970sand ' 80s ,and whos e b r o a d e n e dn o t i o n o f a r c h i t e c t ur e w e n t o n t o in T allinn a nd l\,4 osco w havesign ifica ntrep ercus s ionson t he pr oc es sof r edef in i n gt h e p r o f e s s i o n T allinn On May 22, 1978,the A rchitectuftlExhibition28,com p rised of fo urteen architects-artists-designers, opened in the foyer o f th e Ac adem yof Sc ienc esLibr ar y in T a l l i nn [ F j g ur e 1 ] . A l t h o u g h t h e p r e m ises for th e exhib ition wer e of f lc iallyor ganiz edt hr ough t h e y o u t h s e c t i o n o f t h e U n i o n o f E s t o n i a n A rchite cts,the sho w d if f er edlr om t he us ual s ur v eyex hib i t i o nb y p r e s e n t i n gt h e w o r k o f a g r o u p o f archite ctswho sha reda s im ilareduc at ionalbac k gr ound( a l l h a d a t t e n d e dt h e s t a t e A r t I n s t i t u t ei n T allinn) ,a s well a s a critic al at t it udet owar ds ex is t ingar c h i t e c t ur a l p r a c t i c e s .T h e p ar t c i p a n t s L sr : : t he exhib itionas a pla tfor mf or pr es ent ingt h eir r ejec t ion o t t h e s t a n d a r d i z a t i on o l br .irl di ng p r a c t ices and mo de rnistu rba n planningand t o launc h a dialog u ea b o u t a r c h i t e c t u r e 'sr o l e i n t h e c u l t u r a l s phere .L eo nha rd La pin ,one of t he init iat or sof t he ex hibit i o n , r e t r o s p e c t i v e l yw r o t e i In 19 78we pre s ent ed"pur e ideas , "as our aim wa s t o s h o w a r c h i t e c t u r ea s a n i n d e pe nd en tform o { ar t , a m anif es t at ionof t he s pir itu a l ,b u t a l s o a s a n i n d e p e n d e n t an d influ en tial f eat ur et hatplay eda par t in s oc ia l p r o c e s s e s . ' T h is coexiste nceb etwe ena des ir elor t he aut onom yof ar chi t e c t u r e( p ur e i d e a s )a n d i t s e n g a g e m e n t (playinga pa rt in so cia l pr oc es s es )was c har ac t er is t icol t h e w o r k s i n t h i s e x h i b i t i o n ,a s w e l l a s t h e various ind ividua l pre ler enc esof it s par t ic ipant s ,and t he o t h e r p r a c t i c e so f t h e s o - c a l l e dT a l l i n n S chool thro ug ho utthe 1970s . P arallelto the ir wo rk in th e des ign of f ic e of t he c ollec t iv ef a r m c o n s t r u c t i o nc o mp a n y ,K E K ,s e v e r a l archite ctsin th is gro up publis hed polemic al ar t ic les in t he c u l t u r a l p r e s s o n u r b a n i s s u e s a n d t h e bu ilt en viro nme nt,d iscus s ingt hes e t opic s in a s t y le and m a n n e rq u i t e d i f f e r e n tf r o m p r e v i o u sp r a g matic m od es o f writing , The c r it iq! e and dis s olut ionof So v i e ta r c hi t e c t ur a l p r a c t i c e sc o r r e s p o n d e d t o wider pu blic dissa tistac t ionwit h lar ge- s c ale,s y s t em - b u i l th o u s i n gt h a t w e n t h a n d i n h a n d w i t h t he emerging d iscourse about t he alienat ionc aus ed by t he s e p r e f a b r i c a t e ds u b u r b s , T he exhibitio no f 1 97 8wa s in m anyway s a c u lm inat ionof t h i s c r i t i qu e , d i s p l a y i n gp r o j e c t st h a t directlyad dre ssedthe pr ef abr ic at eds ubur bsand als o, oc c a s i o n a l l y u , t o p i a n p r o p o s a l sf o r r e d e velopin g citie s. The exhi bit ionwas div idedint o t wo, wit h p h o t o g r a p h so J b u i l t w o r k s h a n g i n gn e a r t he entran ceo n a white wall,and pr ojec t sand c onc ept ualp r o p o s a l sp l a c e do n h i g h s t a n d s l i n e d u p along th e g lazedJo ye r. T he exhibited wo rks we r e,f or m al' y ,s ur pr is ingly dit f er entf r o m o n e a n o t h e r ,a n d b e c a u s et h e part icipa ntsdid no t mak eany pr jor agr eem ent son c ont en t ,t h e d i v e r g e n ta p p r o a c h e so f i n d i v i d u a l members were o ccasion allyquit e pr onounc ed,For ex am p l e ,H a r r y S h e i n s h o w e da l l e g o r i c a i black-a nd -white ph olo m ont agesoJt he pr elabr ic at edhous i n g a r e a s i n T a l l i nn w i t h a c o r p s ea n d a vandalizedca r in lron t of a par t ly r uined panel hous et hat h a d e i t h e r a c c i d e n t a l l yc o l l a p s e do r h a d int ent ion allyb ee n le lt to c ollaps e[ Figur e2] . Th is dy s t opia ns t r e e t s c e n ec o u l d h a v eb e e n d o c u m e n t ing an im a gese en af'te ra r ev olt( e. g. ,t he Par is r iot s ot 196 8 )o, r t h e d e g e n e r a t i o no f t h e a r e a i t s e l J (in t he au tho r's own inte r pr et at ion,t he c or ps e was an alc o h o l i c s l e e p i n go n t h e s t r e e t ) .I n a c o m _ pletelydifferent direction,T6n is Vint's wotksfot Mandalahouseused floors to representdifferent phaseso f th e me dita tivepat h,O ne o{ t he c ent r al wor k s in th e A c a d e m yo f S c i e n c e se x h i b i t i o n ,i n terms o{ the attention it garneredand its political relevance,was Lapin's fhe Clly oflhe Living-The Cit yof th eDea d,wh ich iro nic allyc omm ent edon t he m ono- f u n c t i o n a lh o us i n g d i s t r i c t s w h e r e p u b l i c areaswe re usua llyle {t un f lnis hed af t er t he apar t m entbloc k s h a d b e e n p u t u p I F i gu r e 3 ] . T h e p r o j e c t placeda ce mete ryin on e of t hes e em pt y pu b lic c o ur t y ar dsi n t h e m i c r o - di s t r i c t s o I p a n e l h o u 6 e s , which u sua llyserveda s car par k s or ar easf or peoplet o wa l k t h e i r d o g s , H e r e ,h o w e v e r ,g a r a g e s becameto m bs, a nd b od ieswer e bu r ied in c ar s , The ar ea w a s a l s o m e a n tt o l u n c l i o n a s a c h i l d r e n 's playgrou nd .In this way,as one ex hibit ionr ev iewm oc k ing l y p u t i t , p e o p l ew o u l d t a k e b e t t e r c a r e o f t he area,an d pa ren tswould not allow t heir c h ildr en t o v an d a l i z ei t s e q u i p m e n t . !T h e d r a w i n g ,w h i c h was ins p iredby su pre mat is taes t helic sand bas edon a v ie w t r o m a w i n d o w i n L a p i n 'so w n h o m e , include dse ve raldire ct a nd indir ec tallus ionst o r epr es en t a t i v e so f t h e a r c h i t e c t u r a le l i t e :t h e c e n t r a l o beliskcomme mora tedthe longs t andinghead oJt he Ar c h i t e c t 's L J ni o n , w h o h a d b e e n i n c h a r g e o f all t hree mass ho using pr ojec t s in Tallinn;t her e was a c om m o n g r a v eJ o rt h e U n i o n o f A r c h i t e c t s , and a const.uctivistgra v es t onem ar k ingt he r es t ing plac eo f L a p i n h i m s e l f. T hese re fere ncesto mod er nis t ex pans ionand t he ex hjbit i o n 'su s e o Jt h e a v a n t - g a r d ea e s t h e t i cp o s e a questio nreg ard ingthe r elat ions hip t he Tallinn ar c hit ec t s h a d w i t h t e c h n ol o gi c a l r a t i o n a l i t ya n d progre ss.Th ro ug ho ut t he 1970sLap , in dem ons t r at edin h i s w r i t i n g s a s o m e w h a ta mb i v a l e n ta t t i t u d e toward s modernization and t he m achine, not c o nt r ad ict i ng d o mi n a n t S o v i e tt e c h n o c r a c y y, e t k e e pi n g a distan cefrom lt. Inst eadof ar c hit ec t ur et hat was pr od u c e db y a m a c h i n e ,h e l o o k e df o r a r c h i t e c t u r e ihat co u ld pe rformas a machine in t he s er v ic eof t h e use r . .l t i s , t h e n , n o t s u r p r i s i n gt h a t i n h i s d e s i gn Jor t he ceme teries in i he c ou r t y ar d s am ong t he panel ho u s e s ,L a p i n d l d n o t d e m o l i s ht h e n e w t o w n s (w hich ha d occurred ln Shein' swor k ) b ir t pr ef er r ed t o d e t e r r i t o r i a l i z et h e m t h r o u g h t h e i n s e r t i o no f w hat h ad so far b ee n ex c uded f r om m odef nis t ur banit y . F ouryea rsla ter,in l9S 2, anex hbit ionof t enar c hit ec t s f r o m t h e s a m e g r o u p t o o k p l a c e a t t h e T a l l i n n A rt Salon. Initia tedb y Lapin and des ignedby J r ir iO k as , i t d o c u m e n t e dd i s c u s s i o n sh e l d a t t h e tu rn o f th e de ca dea nd new wor k s by t he a r c hit ec t s . 'lt a l s o r e f l e c t e dt h e n e w a t t i t u d e o f t h e T a l l i nn S cho ol,in flu ence d, a m ong ot h er t h ngs , by t h eir br eak t hr o ug h i n t o t h e A r c h j t e c t s ' l J ni o n b o a r d , T here was an aspira t on t o es t ablis ha band of des igne r sa s a g r o u p ( w h o n o w p r e f e r r e dt o p r e s e n t themse lve sas th e "Ta l inn Ten": ) ,and wit h t his a r et ur nt o t r a d i t i o n a l w a y so f p r a c t i c i n ga n d r e p r e sentin ga rch itect!re,a "s t r iv ingf or a c er t ain c las s ic alo r d e r a n d c l a r i t y , "a s V i l e n K i l n n a p ue x p l a i n e d in t he exh b ition ca tal og.M uch at t ent ionwas giv ent o t h e e x h i b i t i o nd e s i g n i t s e l f ,w h i c h f o r m e d a n if depe nd en t installa t ion ins idet he galler yt hat was r ein f o r c e db y s e v e r a l" a r c h i t e k t on s " - o r t e m p o rat y sc ulp ture s-re fer enc ng t em ples or c las s ic alc olum n s . In both exhibitio n s, th e ar c hit ec t s 'aim s m ay hav ebeent o i n c r e a s el h e f o r m a l v o c a b ul a r y o f a r c hi t e c ture a nd to "h uma nize"t he env ir onm ent .Howev er t, he m e a n sf o r a c h i e v i r gt h i s w e r e e n t i r e l yd i f i e r ent: in th e flrst case, in 1978,ar c hit ec t ur ewas opened up t o n e i g h b o r i n gd i s c i p l i n e s ,w h i l e t h e 1 9 8 2 exhibitio n with d re w ins idet he f lx ed bor der s . lvloscow S imilarJy, a t th e e nd o f t he 1970sa, gr oup oJy oung ar c hit e c t s e m e r g e di n l v l o s c o wp o s i t i n ga c r i t i qu e of t he archite ctu rale s t ablis hm ent and dis play inga s h if t i n a p p r o a c ht o d e s i g n p r a c t i c ei n t h e i r w orks.Tra ine din the l\ los c owAr c hit ec t ur elns t it ut e,t he s e p r a c t i t i o n e r sa l r e a d yb e c a r n ek r o w n du ring the ir stu die s fo r t heir s uc c es s f ulent r ies in int er n a t i o n a a l r c hi t e c t ur e c o mp e t i t i o n s ,i n i t i a l l y those org an ize dby UN ESCOand t he I nt er nat ional As s o c i a t i o nf o r S c e . o g r a p h e r s ,b u t l a t e ra l s o i n conceptualcom petitions sponsored by jo wnals likeJapanArchitect(lA) ot AtchitectuRtDesign(AD), w her e no restrictio nsin t er m s o{ budget ,s it e, or buildin g s y s t e m sc o u l d r e i n i n t h e i r f a n t a s y .I n 1 9 g 1 , the A rchite cts' Un ion s t ar t edt o appr ov epar t ic ipat ion in t h e s e c o m p e t i t i o n sf o r i t s m e mb e r s , m a k i n g the send ingo f wo rks abr oadeas ier( pr ev ious lyt,h is was d o n e i l l e g a l l y ) i;n t h e s a m ey e a r ,M i k h a i l B elova nd lvlaxKha ritonovwon f lr s t pr iz ein t he J A r es id e n t i a ld e s i g n c o m p e t i t i o n ,g i v i n g r i s e t o a su dden increa sein e nt r iesf r om lhe Sov ietUnion and t e a m s w h o c o n c e n t r a t e ds o l e l v o n " o a o e r " oro t ects, T he pa pe r pro jectsa tt r ac t edat t ent ionf or t heir det aileda n d t i m e - c o n s um i n g g r a p hi c s t y l e a nd f o r unex pe cte dan d ifratio nals c enar ioson { ut ur e us e of t he b ! r i l d i n g s ,o c c a s i o n a l l yp r e s e n t e di n c o mi c strips o r storybo ard s,Alt hough t he c onc ept ualand olt e n a b s t r a c tc o m p e t i t i o nb r i e f s p l a y e dt h e i r ro le ; n th is, it wa s spe c if ic allyt he nar r at iv eappr oac hand u s e o f f i c t i o n t h a t b r o u g h t s u c c e s st o t h e young lMosco warchitec is . As Belovexplained,t he k eyt o t h e i r a p p r o a c hc a m e f r o m p r o f e s s o rl l y a Lezhava a, leg en da ryr ef or m er of ar c hit ec iur e f r om t he 1 9 6 0 sw , h o t a u gh t t h e m t o t h i n k i n p a r a d o x e s and d o th e op po siteo f what was ex pec t edi"ev er y oned r a f t s , w e d r a w ,e v e r y o n ed r a w s p e r s p e c t i v e s , w e build an en ormo usm odel. "' On Aug ust 1, 1984,th e exhibilionPapetAtchlleclulewas opened in the premises of the editorial of f ice of the yo uth ma gaz inef uDos l,wher ea s elec t ionoJc o m p e t i t i on e f t r i e s {r o m m o r e t h a n t h i r t y archite cts were p ut o n d is play .The s pac ef or t he s how w a s o r g a ni z ed b y B e l o v ,w h o h a d p r e v i o u s l y collabo rate dwith the m agaz ine;t he exh ibit ion was put t o g e t h e r b y Y u r i A v v a k u m o v w , ho asked his collea gue s a nd lrie nds t o c ont r ibut et heir r ec entwor k s o r p r o p o s a l sf o r t h e u r b a n c o n t e x t ,i n 124 ELAVATELI N N. SU PNUTE LI N N''" tl l tl l |II r y... EE /a additionto compe tition des igns . I n c ont r as tt o Tallinn,t h e M o s c o w6 h o w d i d n o t i n c l u d ea n y b u i l t w orks.Th ere Jo re,th e nam eoJt he ex hibit ion,dev is edb y A v v a k um o va {e w n i g h t s b e f o r et h e o p e n i n g , w as simulta ne ou slya n ir onic r ef er enc et o t he s am e phr a s eu s e d p e i o r a t i v e l yi n t h e 1 9 2 0 sb y c r i t i c s o J the avan l-ga rdea, s well as a c r it icis m d ir ec t edat an ar ch i t e c t u r ep r o f e s s i on s u b j e c tt o t h e p l a n n e d econo mytha t rne asur eds uc c es ss o lely on t he bas is of b u i l t o u t p u t , A s M i k h a i lB e l o vl a t e r w r o t e j n Yunostmaoazirel IT]h is incompat ibilit yol t he t er m har bor s both a c h a l l e n g ea n d a n j r o n y ,A l l t h e s e wofks we re r elat edin t hat t hey dr ew u p ar c hit e c t Lrle a s s e e n b y t h e i r a u t h o r s i n the ir d rea m s . : T he cha llen geto the ex is t ingar c hit ec t ur epr of es s ionw a s u n d e r l i n e db y t h e l o c a t i o n o f t h e e x h i b i tion ve nu e:the ed itor ialof f ic e was loc at edac r os st he st r e e tf r o m o n e o f t h e c o u n t r y 's l a r g e s ts t a t e designo fflce s,Mospr ojek t ,whos e num er ousar c hit ec tsv i s i t e dt h e s h o w o v e rt h e c o m i n g w e e k sa n d becamethe p f ime in ter locut or s in dis c us s ionsov ert he l u n c t i o n o Jt h e s e w o r k s .S o m e w e r e s h o c k e d . sayin gat th e d iscu ssionev ening f ollowing t he openingt h a t t h e y o u ng a r c h i t e c t ss h o u l d " s t o p f o o l ing arou nd an d ge t to wor k "i ot her m or e f av or able c r it ics p r e f e r r e dt o i n t e r p r e tt h e p a p e r p r o du c t i o n as a lab ora loryof ide asand r ef er r edt o t he genr e of ar chi t e c t ur a l f a n t a s i e st h a t e x i s t e di n t h e p a s t , , T he exhibitio n was display edalong t he c or r jdor and in th e t w o s m a l l e rh a l l s o f t h e e d i t o r i a lo f f l c e , w ith works a nd ph oto gr aphshu ng along t he walls bet w e e nt w o p l a t e so f g l a s s . Wi t h t h e v a r y i n gs i z e and med ia u se d in th e wor k s ( it c om bined bot h or iginal sa n d c o p i e s ) ,w i t t y m o d e l sa n d r a n d o m l y placedre d n ametag s , t he s how gav ea s pont aneousand e v e n r e b e l l i o u si mp r e s s i o n .T h i s w a s f u r ther emp ha sizedby the m ix of d iv er s es t y les and appr oa c h e sa d op t e d b y t h e d i f f e r e n t p a r t i c i p a n t s , MikhailBelo v,lg or Pic houk ev ic h,and Dm it r i Velic hk in'sc o l o r e d c a r d b o a r dm o d e ll o r a L J NE S C O competitionfor architeclure students-Ihe Architectas Enablerof UserHousePlanningandDesignw as a pro po sa lfor re building a t y p ic al m u lt is t or ySov ie t p a n e l h o u s es e t i n a f l c t i o n a l p e o p l e 's republic in Africa IFig ure 4]. Called Village Housein a Metropors,it presentedthe sto ry of peasants w ho h ad re ce ntlymo v edt o t he c it y and neededt o adjus t t h e p r e l a b r i c a t e db u i l d i n gt o t h e i r e v e r y d a y needsith e rig id ou ter wall panelswer e r eplac edby f r ee l y p o s i t i o n e dp a n e l s ,t h e i n n e r w a l l s w e r e not s tra igh t,ea ch ap ar t m enthad a t er r ac e,t he s t air c as ew a s r e p l a c e db y a r a mp o n t h e f a c a d e ,a n d the roof b ecamea g ather ingplac ewher ea s anc t uar ywo u l d b e p l a c e di n t h e f u t u r e . l v l e a n w h i l ea, w ate rco lorby l\4 ikh ailFilippovand Nadez hdaBr onz ov af o r a s c u l p t u r em u s e um ( c o m p e t i t i o ne n t r y for, . A)sho weda gla ss pav ilionin an eight eent h- c ent u r yB a r o q u ep a r k ,w h i c h w o u l d a c t a s a s p a c e Jor gr o wing flo wers in t he winler and dis play ings now s cul p t ur e s i n t h e s u m m e r . A ndr ei Sa vin 'se ntry for t he J , 4c ompet it ion,"Dwelling i n H i s t o r i c i s ma n d L o c a l i s m , "p l a c e dh a n gi n g gard en sbe twee nl\4a nhat t an s k y s c r aper s .ln an ent r y t o t h e s a m e c o m p e t i t i o n ,A l e x a n d e rB r o d s k y and llya Utkin su bmitted a hous eJ or W inn ie t he Pooh t h a t i n s e r t e da n o c t a g o n a lp r i v a t eh o u s e betwe ena pa rtmen tbl oc k s in a lar ge c it y - lo r peoplewh o e n i o yt h e u r b a n l i f e , b u t t e e l a , , n o s t a l g i a for a h ou seof on e's ow n. "' 0The buildingwas , nev er t he l e s sc, o n n e c t e dt o t h e c i t y 's e l e c t r i c i t yn e t w ork an d op era tedb y a "Ver y M oder n lv lac hine"t hat s up p l i e d i l w i t h t h e n e c e s s a r yc o m f o r t s . T his a mbig uo usrela tions hipt om oder niz at ionc ou ld be I u r t h e r l o l l o w e d i n y u r i A v v a k u m o v 'sa n d S erg eyPod emshiko v'ss elf - er ec t inghous e of c ar ds ,a p o p - up t o y l i k e b ui l d i n g ,c o n s t r u c t e df o r the / D Do lls' Ho use com pet it ionin 1983,out of "play ingc a r d s , s c o t c h t a p e , a n d r u b b e r b a n d s . " r r T his p roje ctwas, in fa c t , a par aphr as e ot a s elf - building h o u s e b y V y a c h e s l a vK o l e i c h uk ( w h o w a s A vvakumo v'sco llea gu ein VNllTE,a r es ear c hins t it ut eo { t e c h n i c a la e s t h e t i c s ) ,r e p r e s e n t i n gt h e 1960su lop ian d iscou r s et hat c ou pled panel bu ilding with c y b e r n e t i ct e c h n o l o gi e s : l e a v i n gt h e f a c tory in a flat Iorm an d e quipped wit h aut onomous c ont r o l s y s t e m s ,t h e s t r u c t u r ew o u l d h a v eb e e n capa b leof be ing asse m bledon s it e wit hout hum an par t i c i p a t i o n . r : A v v a k u m oavn d P o d e m s h i k o v 's designdid no t so mu c h s at ir iz epanel buildingsas uns t a b l eh o u s e so f c a r d s a s p r e s e n ta n a t t e m p t 126 to aliena tethe de no un ce danony m ouspanelc ons t r uc t iona n d a b s l r a c l t e c hn o c r a t i cl a ng u a ge b y jntrodu cin ga n un ca nn ym as s - c ult ur alelem ent . T his rela tion sh ipto e xp er im ent alm oder nis l pr ojec t sof t h e p a s l b e c o m e sm o r e c l e a r l ya r t i c ul a t e d . f o rt h e Y e a r2 0 0 1 " in A vvaku mov'sa nd MAr c hl s t udent s ' pr ojec t ,a pr iz e- win ni n g e n t r y i n t h e " S t y l e competitio norg an ize db y t he m agaz ine, 4+ U[ Figur e 5] . 1rT h e p r o p o s a lr e c l a i m e dt h e R u s s i a na v a n t . o c u s i n go n s i m i a r gardea e sth eticby re de f ininga 1960spr ef abr ic at edpanel h o u s ea r e a i n l v l o s c o wF c o n s t r u c t i v i 6 te l e m e n t sw e r e c e m e l e r y , t h e lor t he in Lapin' s des ign h ou s es , as w astelan dsbe lwee n l h e u s e r s t h e m s e l v e sc o u l d c o m e u p w h e r e s t r uc lur es and t r ans f or m able used t o b uild o pe n-e nd ed , n d p a v i l i o n s .T h e a l t h o r s e x p l a i n w ith possib lefu nction sram at eurc lubs , dov ec ot es ,m init h e a t e r s a , h i c h l o r t h e m i s " a n a g i t a t i o n a la r c hi this para do xicalrein terp r et at ionoJt he 1920sav ant - gar dew "a r at he|t h a n a t h e a t r e ,a x o n o m e t r i cd r a w i n g r a t h e r fro m its o rigin an d way oJ lif e, " as c ir c us tect ure than perspe ctive,a ba rric ader at hert han a c olonnade. "l{T h e r e f o r e ,i t i s n o t r e v i v e do n l y a s a p a s t aestheticlan gu ag e,b ut s t ill c ons ider eda v alidt or m f or ex p e r i m e n t a t i o ni n t h e n a m e o f e n g a gi ng local inha bita ntsin the rebuildingpr oc es s , F ollow in gth e e xh ibitio n,paperar c hit ec t ur equic k lym ade i t s w a y t o w a r d s b r o a d e rr e c o g n i t i o na n d w as used in se ve ralexhi bit ionsr epr es ent ingnew Sov ieta r c h i t e c t ur e : i n 1 9 8 5a t t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l in 1986in Ljublja n a ,i n 1 9 8 7i n H e l s i n k i ,S t o c k h o l m ,a n d fest ivalo fyo uth a nd stu dent s in lVI os c ow, it ions of t he paper pr o j e c t st o u r e d i n P a r i s ,M i l a n , L o n d o n' a n d m ajor ex hib A mst erd am.Sin ce 19 88 , dis c us s ionev eningf ol l o w i n gt h e e x h i b i t i o no p e n i n g i n M o s c o w i n F ranklurt.In the ab ove- m ent ioned p romin en t p oe t ar c hit ec t ur egr aduat e,A n d r e i V o z n e s e n s k yc, a l l e d t h e a p p r o a c h and J or m er 1984,a p ap er ite cts a "s ublim at ion of des pair "- it was a n e s c a p e{r o m a r c h i t e c t ur a l r e a l i t yf o r o, fthe a rch t r om r eal ar c hit ec t ur ea n d r e m a i n i n g'a l o n g s i d e 'a r c h i t e c t u r e" " archit ectsfee ling exco m m unic at ed Already two years later,in 1986,architecturecritic Alexei Tarkhanovwrote, however,that paper , f a mi l i a r t h a t i t w a s a l r e a d yd i f f l c u l tt o archilecture a s a p he no m enonhad bec om es o k nown and quest ion it c ritically,"Th er e is no one t o c onv inc e,J am eha s b e e n a c hi e v e d ,i t s r e c e n te n e mi e s h a v e calmedd own an d evenlh e m as t er sof t he older gener at io n. . . s t a r t s t e p b y s t e p t o u n d e r s t a n da n d use their sub text,iro ny,gr ot es que,m u lt ipI icit y of m eanin g s" '6 Late-S o cia listPublic H ow t he n, in th e case of t he ar c hit ec t s in Tallinnand M os c o w ,s h o ul d w e u n d e r s t a n dt h i s p o s i t i o n , w hich, on th e o ne h an d,alloweda dis t anc ingf r om t he dom i n a n l a r c h i t e c t u r a le l i t e a n d r o o m t o crit iciz eth e re du ctio no f ar c hit ec t ur eas an appendageoI t h e c o n s t r u c t i o ni n d u s t r y ,b u t , o n t h e o t h e r hand,a llo wedan in tervent ionin t he ins t it ut ion of ar c hit ec t u r ei n o r d e r t o a l t e r t h i s v e r y s y s t e m ? ln a recent book, gverything WasForever,Until it WasNo More: The LastSovietGenerallon(2005),anthropologis t Alexei Yu rch akhas addr es s edt he s pec if lclile pr a c t i c e so f t h e l a t e - S o v i e tp e r i o d - t h e fascinatio nJor rock music ,t elling jok es and anec dot es ,or s i t t i n g i n t h e c a f 6 s o c i e t l e sw i t h t h e i r specif icatmo sp he re-cr it ic iz in g t heir wides pr eadr epr ese n t a t i o nt h r o u gh b i n a r i e sl i k e d i s s i d e n t versusactivist,official ver s usunof f lc ial,or a hom ogeneo u s" u s " v e r s u st h e o p p r e s s i v ep o w e r s t r u c tures of "the m," Instea d,he pr opos est hat t hes e pr ac t ic e sb e l on g t o a s o c i a l i t yo f s v o / '( " u s "o r " o u r s " in R ussian )tha t d id n ot r un in oppos it iont o t he s t at e but w a s p r o d u c e do u t o f m u t u a l l ye m b e d d e d notions-o t "u s," "no t u s , " "t he s t at e, " "t he s t at e r epr es e n t a t i v e s ,a" n d " t h e p e o p l e . " r r It was also th is so c iality oJs v o/t hat of f er edt he m os t pr odu c l i v e r e l a t i o n s h i pi n t e r m s o Jc u l t u r e a n d know led gein society.In Yur c hak ' swor ds ,t h is was done t h r o u g h a p e r J o r m a t i v es h i f t i n r e l a t i o n to aut horita tived iscou rs ein t he lat e- Sov ietper ; od:t h is la n g u a g ew a s f o l l o w e d a n d r e p e a t e da s a rit ualize da ct, witho ut its m eaning being t ak en as t r u e or la l s e ; r a t h e r ,i t f u n c t i o n e da s a d y n a mi c w ay o{ brin gin gforth n ew m eaningsand pr ac t ic es .As a r e s u l t ,t h e d o m i n a n td i s c o u r s es h i f t e d , a n d the sys tem itselJde terri t or ializ edin a pec uliarway ,wit h s e v e r a lo { t h e v a l u e so Js o c i a l i s mr e t a i n e d T h us , evenif th e rheto r ic was f o llowed if o nic ally ,t he et h i c s u p h e l d b y t h e s o c i a l i s t( a n d m o d e r n t s t ) syst emweretaken se r ious ly : LJnike th e d is s idents t r at egiesof o p pos ing t h e s y s t e m 'sd o m i n a n tm o d e o f s i g ni flca tion ,d eter r it or ializ at ion r epr oduc edt hls m o d e a t t h e s a m et i m e a s i t s h i f i e d , built u po n, and added new m eaning s t o it . : T h is n ew de terr to ria iz edway of lif e ex s t ed ne t her "in s d e " n o r " o u t s i d e " t h e s y s t e m : r e i n t e r p r e t i n g andap pro pria ting the m eans andk nowledgeav ailable , t h e s e m i l i e u s o f s / o l w e r e g r e a t l y d e p e n d e n t on bo th th e system'sflnanc ialand ins t lt ut ioir als uppor t ,a n d t h e h i e r a r c h i e sa n c lc u l t u r a l i d e a l st h e syslem s e !, I n ma fy ways,th e a cti v it iesof bot h gr oups - t he ar c hit e c t sw o r k i n gi n T a l l i nn a n d M o s c o w - f l t w e l l wit h the d escrip tionof t he pr od! c t ion of t he det er r it or ia l i z e p d u b l i c o Js y o i .C o u n t e r i n gt h e a u t h o r i t a t ivedisco urseo fthe gov er ningar c hit ec t ur aleit e, t hey p r o d u c e d t h e i r a l t e r n a t i v e d i s c o u r s e - p a r t l y appr o pria ting the au t hor it at iv et er r ns andf or m at s , bu t e x t e n d n g t h e m a n d u s i n g t h e m f o r n e w m e a n , ings.Th is in clu de dno t only v er ballanguage,but als o ex h b t i o n s a nd v a r i o u sf o r m s o f r ep r e s e n t a t i o n . I n so me cases,po sitio ningones elfout s ides oc iet ywas cl e a r l ym a r k e d( e . g . ,l n T 6 n i s V i n t 's p r o j e c t s f a( Ih e Man da lah ou seor Br ods k yand Ut k in' sim agjnat ived r a w i n g s ) I. n o t h e r i ns t a n ce s ( e . g . ,L a p n 's desig nfo r the cern ete r yor Av v ak um ov ' shous eof c ar ds a n d c o ur t y a r d s ) a , v a n t - g a r d ea es t he t i cs blurredthe bo un da riesbet weenwit hdr awingt o an "out s i d e "a n d e n g a g e m e n tt:h e i r e m p h a s l so n suprema tisrna nd con s t r uc t iv is membodied t he v aluesof e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n a nd u t o p i a ni s m i n a gr e e mentwith th e so cia lis tc ount r y ,but t heyals o believ ed t ha t r a d i c a la e s t h e t i c sc o u l d c o u n t e rt h e d ul l nessof o{fcia l bu ildin gpr oduc t ionby ir onic aliyadapt in g ,w h i l e s t i I m a i n t a i n i n gs, o c i a l i s tv a u e s . Conce ntra tingits crit q! e ar ound is s uesof hous ing,liv in ge n v i r o n m e n ta, n d e v e r y d a yu r b a ns p a c e s , t he exhibitio nsplayed a r o e in t he pr oduc t ion of t h is new p ub l i c ,w h i c h w a s f u r t h e r r e i n f o r c e db y s i mi lar d iscu ssion sarn ong wr it er s ,ac t or s ,and ot her int e lec t u a l s .R a t h e rt h a n b e i n go p e n l ya n t a g o n i s t i c , t his n ew disco !rse was c ons t r uc t edwit hin,and in c ont ig u i t yw i t h t h e o f f l c i a lo n e . il., ffii$"- il IF'eue4] I ml tlrr' l l F i q u @5 1 I F o r d i l l e re n ta cco u n tso tth e IMoscowpaper ar chtr ecr ssee: H6lene Lairoche,ed.,.4.criieclue de Papiet.r'URSSlpa sl Edirions du ReOard,1988)i/Vostalgia of Culturc,Conlenparaty Sayjel 11Alex.iywcnak,Evetlkins W6 forcvet, UntitttWasNo Mote: rhe LaslSovietGeneralionlPtinceton: Princeron lJnivers iy Press, 2005 ) ,103. VisionatrArchitecIure(torda n: T he A rc h itect u rat Asso c iatio n, 1988);Heinric h Klot2, e d., P aperA,chitecturc.New prcjectsfrotu rhe Sodel Urro, (New York: Rizzoli, 1990). zLeo n hard La p in, Prineydesla vataan, Vion Iajleeh ahn.saroe neuvostoniehilr*seh aikana(Helsinki: Otava, 1996),122, 3 l ' / a t iU n t,'? rh i i e ktu u ri n a i i !s,"Sir pi? yasaa June9, 1978,8. I Se e : l e o n h a rd L a p i n , Ma si naajasiuja kun5r ,,'/( ltuul /, E/,, io. 9 ( 1 9 7 3)r5 5 -5 6 . t seet rathonaSeninar (lattinniunion or Estonian Architects, 1 s 8 0 ) u, n p u b l i sh e dma f u scri pi, lVus€umolEsionian 6See:Kar n Winter,ed.,Iro atknekl* ta. Talinn (Slockhotnl l M u s e !n o l S we d l sh A rch i i e .1uf6, 1990) , t l M i k h aiA l e l o v," Ra ssrzh d e nijam olodogochelovekapo povod! a r h i t e ktu ry,"l u r6 l , 0 0 .8 (1 9 81) r 82, ! M i k h a i lB e l o v,'Z a me tki , " b u mazhnoqo'ar hiiektor a,' Yur 6t,.o. 2 ( 1 9 8 6):1 0 7 , 3Se € :Al e kse i T a rkh a n o v, B umazhnajaar hiteklur ap! ee soslojaiiju na 1986s.," in Godarh,{,ert,.x(MoskvarStrojizdat, 1 9 8 7 1 ,7 7 . r 0"W i n ne rs i n i h e S h i n ksn ch ikuResidentiatDesgn Competition 19A3, JapanArchilecl322\February, 1984)r30. r"'Dolls' Houses,".4/chileclu.a/Desbr 53, no. 3-4 (rgss): 5?. r?Vyacheslav Koleichuk, Mobil'naja ah itektuta lM osw at CNr t, 19?3), 13Fun ih iko Ma k i, ed., ,4 sryle the Yeat20A1. lA a^d A+U jaitr1 fu e x i r a e di ti o n (T o kyo :S h i n k6 nchiku,1985) , ! 'Panorama molodyh.l2 novyh imen," Delo.aliyroe 6*usst/o 361, n o , 1 2( 1 9 8 7 ):1 1 , ' 5l \ , l i k h a iTl u ma rki f , " B !ma zh najaar hiiekiufar pikntkna obochine i l i z a d e i n a b u d u sh h e 6 , l .r/te ltua, no. 1 ( Jaiua.y, t9s5) :4- 5. r 5A l e k se i T a rkh a i o v, " B u ma zhnajaa,hiieki!fa po ee sosiojaniju n a 1 9 8 69 ,," 7 7 . l