Erich Mendelsohn's Red Banner Factory in Leningrad 1926–1928: Laboratory for Early Concrete Works in the Soviet Union

In view of the growing interest in contemporary architectural practice in the preservation and further utilization of the structures of the modern movement architecture (1920–1960s), there is a need to define clear criteria for analyzing and evaluating them. The current treatment of twentieth-century architecture as a subject of historical research in the humanities frequently fails to shed light on a basic aspect of its design method – the programme approach to planning and construction innovations, including constant experimentation with new construction materials. This summary, in line with current work to restore and develop the former Red Banner Textile Factory in Leningrad/Saint Petersburg, illustrates the practical and methodological potential of the engineering appraisal of historical structures from 1920 through the 1930s.