Georgii Krutikov. The Flying City and Beyond

The Tenov editorial (dir. Llorenç Bonet) has recently published, in English and Spanish, an extraordinary and careful study by Selim Omarovich Khan-Magomedov, entitled 'Georgii Krutikov. The Flying City and Beyond.' A particularly attractive and contemporary title if we remember the first sentences of 'The History of the Pool' by Rem Koolhaas, text included in 'Delirious New York'.
 

'Moscow, 1923. At school one day, a student designed a floating swimming pool. Nobody remembered who it was. The idea had been in the air. Others were  designing flying cities, spherical theaters, whole artificial planets.'

"Delirious New York", by Rem Koolhaas. Oxford University Press. New York, 1978. P. 253.

In 1928, while a student of architecture at the Moscow Vhutemas, Georgii Krutikov presented a vision for a flying city. More than just a flight of architectural fancy, Krutikov’s flying city was a utopian dream, a plan to solve the seemingly intractable problems of overcrowding and resource depletion by moving humanity’s living quarters to space. Inspired in equal parts by sci-fi dreams of space travel and the revolutionary idealism that still percolated in the Soviet Union at that time, Krutikov created an incredible amount of detailed information about his city: sketches, drawings, plans, and more.

Calling down Krutikov's city from the clouds, eminent scholar S. O. Khan-Magomedov separates myth from fact to uncover a wealth of previously unseen visual and documentary material, affording insight into this truly revolutionary work, its fascinating creator and a varied later career that spanned influential membership of Nikolai Ladovskii’s rationalist Association of Urban Architects (ARU), his contributions to urban planning, his post-constructivist designs for the Moscow Metro and his passion for preserving Russia's architectural heritage.

Krutikov’s flying city has been cited as a major influence on Russian modernism for decades, yet little has been written about the design, its creator, or his subsequent architectural career. This beautifully illustrated book fills that gap, presenting a detailed study of Krutikov’s scheme and its underlying ethos, then tracing Krutikov’s later work as an architect. It will interest—and amaze—all fans of the avant-garde, architecture, and Russian history.

Contents
 

A Sensation at the Vkhutemas (Instead of an Introduction)
Dreams of Aeronautics
Tackling the Problem of “Mobile Architecture”
The Psycho-Technical Laboratory at the Vkhutein
The Investigation of Moving Forms (The Analytical Component of Krutikov’s Diploma Project)
Discussions of Krutikov’s Diploma Project
Georgii Krutikov’s ‘Flying City’
The Problems of Flexible Town Planning
The Town-Commune ‘Avtostroi’
Perfecting the Cosmic Theme: The Monument to Columbus
Exhibition Design
Tackling the Architectural Problem of the New Theatre
The Palace of the Soviets (The First Preparatory Phase of the Competition)
Post-Constructivism
The Flight to Preserve Architecture Landmarks
Notes
Bibliography

GUEORGUI KRUTIKOV. The Flying City and Beyond/ S. O. Khan-Magomedov
Translated by Christina Lodder

Cover.- Soft cover
Language.- English and edition in Spanish
Size.- 21 x 16 cm - 6 1/4 x 8 1/4
Pages.- 160. Images.- 100 images B&W
ISBN.- 978-84-939231-9-0
Year.- 2015
Price.- $ 25,00

Translated by CHRISTINA LODDER

Professor Christina Lodder is an established scholar of Russian art. She is currently an honorary fellow at the Universities of Edinburgh and Kent, Vice-President of the Malevich Society, and co-editor of Brill’s Russian History and Culture series. Among her publications are numerous articles and several books. She has also been involved with various exhibitions such as Modernism (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2006) and From Russia (Royal Academy, London 2008).