Translated material
Openwork House of Architect Burov
Architecture - art is not visual, but creative. She does not portray objects, but creates them. You can portray anything from any material by any method. You can only build what justifies itself in practice.
A. Burov
The openwork house on Leningradsky Prospekt, 27 (construction of 1940) is well known to Muscovites; Those who are older know him as Burov's house. But that this wonderful house is panel, only architects remember.
The famous Soviet architect Andrei Konstantinovich Burov (1900-1957) was one of the last Russian universal architects. He combined different talents in himself and at the same time in the main man managed to realize himself during his lifetime. Of course, Burov did not exhaust the small share of what he could do, he lived for another fifteen years. Although it would most likely have not been given to build him - a well -known “Resolution on Eliminating Excesses” was published in 1955 [1, 2] .
S. Barkhina)
But Burov was also a scientist - a specialist in construction mechanics, the inventor of new materials and structures ... And he was also a brilliant historian of architecture and had an undoubted writer's gift. His book “On Architecture” was published in 1960 - and I bought it immediately, because with the name of Burov I was connected with this non -similar openwork house. Although the book was Burov was completed in 1943-1944, and the author’s preface to it was only in 1957, that is, shortly before his death, the “message” of Burov in its essence is not outdated. And this was the first serious work on architecture, which was addressed to me as if personally.
A.K. Burov was born in the family of the famous Russian architect Konstantin Fedorovich Burov (1854-1936), who built many solid private houses in Moscow; In a rebuilt form, some of them exist to this day. Burov’s mother was related to the family of the famous Russian Admiral Senyavin.
... At the end of 1921, we find Burov with a sortherman of the Faculty of Architectural Faculty of Vhutemas (Higher Art and Technical Workshops). He was lucky: he studied with architects and artists of a large scale - from A. Vesnin, N. Ladovsky, V. Krinsky, N. Dokuchaev, V. Favorsky, M. Ginzburg.
The natural form of activity of future architects was participation in large competitions. The project of the first agricultural exhibition in Moscow (1922) brought Burov the 3rd prize. The author was marked and involved in construction as one of the assistants to the chief architect.
Since then, large competitive projects of the drill have been represented almost annually - some of them are even implemented, and most importantly, they all attract attention in one way or another. Moreover, his diploma project of the Central Station in Moscow later migrated to the textbooks - and Burov was awarded a foreign trip for him.
Burov was left at the faculty as an assistant. He teaches, participates in architectural competitions, acts with reports. Considering its buildings and drawings of different years, you are convinced that Burov’s installation was formed early, according to which tectonics are primarily important for the success of the construction, the optimal ratio of masses and volumes. And the optimal ratio of shape and function is an element of architectural and engineering literacy, the initial position for a professional credo.
In 1928, to participate in the competition of projects for the construction of the Palace of Councils and the construction of the Central Union building on Myasnitskaya, Korbezier arrived in Moscow - and Burov was his translator. This was the beginning of their long warm relations.
I specially watched the film S.M. Eisenstein “General Line” [3] , where Burov in the credits is represented precisely as an architect: in 1927 he created a decoration of an exemplary dairy factory for this film. This is a very harmonious constructivist building, which I did not find “in kind” anymore.
Around the same style of “moderate” constructivism in 1930-1931, Burov developed the project of the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant: it was in connection with this work that he was sent to the United States at Detroit factories. For such an super -productive architect as Burov, life success was that he managed to embody and survive constructivism, creating a whole world of projects - both in kind and on Whatman. Constructivism was for Burov a real creative this, which he “outgrew”, maintaining, however, with Corbusier friendly relations.
In 1935, after graduating from graduate school at the Academy of Architecture of the USSR Burov, together with several young Soviet architects, he was sent on a large business trip to Europe - he saw Italy, Greece and France. In his book “On Architecture”, some author’s photographs from these trips are reproduced. If in parallel with reading the text to carefully examine the photo, then once again you can’t help but think about the scale of the author’s personality ...
Andrei Konstantinovich, of course, precisely as a person belonged to the European cultural tradition. Of the architectural properties of the acropolis, the villas of Adrian or the Chapel in San Sevelee, the restrictions imposed on the architect of the Dogmas of the next- Izma did not flow in any way. The function of the building and tectonics was important - Burov's favorite word. Burov taught students and graduate students.
The hero of my story was a scientist, inventor and tester of new materials, which is mainly known to architects, builders and material scholars. For a new type of building material using fiberglass (abbreviated - Swam) Burov in 1952 received a docto of technical sciences.
Do many know that the openwork house (the openwork ornament itself is made according to Taborsky's sketches) is one of the early examples of our large -panel construction?
The famous theater artist and books Sergei Mikhailovich Barkhin - Andrey Konstantinovich was left remarkable notes about Burov, was the scientific director of his mother, the famous architect E.B. Novikova, so it was a “homemade” acquaintance.
CM. Barkhin is too bright the master of the word to retell it, so I will quote: “He <Burov>, being a very resourceful and witty person, always performed and“ performed ”and did not miss the occasion to publicly expose and thereby humiliate the next boss in architecture with subsequent problems for himself. In short, in our architectural chamber he behaved immodestly, sometimes trying to run into another - to science and avoid revenge or seek protection there, in every possible way surrounding himself with stars (not plowers) of neighboring camps - Favorsky, Eisenstein, Kapitsa, Korbyuzier.
I can name Burov and I, as my main teacher of life, because He taught me not to give up and not agree with the generally accepted, intuitively feel the lie of our hierarchies. <...> Burov was one of those people who, having done or even saying something, discover the beauty before the unknown ” (italics mine.-R.F. ) [5] .
And you know, Barkhin did not exaggerate here at all.
1. Frumkina R.M. Alexey Dushkin, architect // TRV-hunger, No. 175 of March 24, 2015
3. YouTube.com/watch?v=3jhyw4asi64
4. http://barkhin.ru/knigi/zavetki/49- Arhitektory-ne-dolzhny-horosho-risovat- Arhitektor-a-burov
5. For Burov’s house , see also http://sergeybond.livejournal.com/71906.html