Soviet Avant-Garde – Origin of New Materials and Construction Methods or Extension of Europe's Modern Movement?

This paper exclusively refers to the time between 1920 and 1934, when a revolution in construction technology hit Europe. The Architectural Avant-garde of the former Soviet Union is well known for its unique icon buildings, such as the Narkomfin Commune House (1930, arch. M. Ginzburg), the House and Studio of Konstantin Melnikov, both in Moscow, or the Gosprom House of the State Industry in Kharkov/Ucraine (1925–35, arch. S. Serafimovich, M. Felger, S. Kravets). However, few is known about the materials and construction methods that were used to erect constructivist buildings during the years 1920 -1932 in the Soviet Union. Slag concrete, peat mull, shotcrete-concrete are typical materials of the 1920s early Modern Movement. At the time experiments to minimize the external wall by inserting insulation materials such as peat mull or wooden chips were carried out in several countries. Who was first? Did soviet architects take part in this process? What was their philosophy of materiality? Does the term Avant-garde just refer to the unique design of the buildings or does it also refer to the materiality of Russian Constructivism? These questions are discussed based on results of the research project The Architecture of Russian Constructivism (Moscow 1920-34). Building materials, Construction Methods and Preservation of Buildings at the Berlin University of Technology, sponsored by the German Research Community (DFG).