Boris Mikhailovich Iofan ( rus, Борис Михайлович Иофан, p=ɪɐˈfan; April 28, 1891 – March 11, 1976) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

architect of Jewish origin, known for his Stalinist architecture buildings like 1931

House on the Embankment The House on the Embankment (russian: link=no, Дом на набережной) is a block-wide apartment building on the banks of the Moskva River on Balchug in downtown Moscow, Russia. It faces Bersenevskaya Embankment on one side and Serafim ...

and the 1931–1933 winning draft of the

Palace of the Soviets The Palace of the Soviets (russian: Дворец Советов, ''Dvorets Sovetov'') was a project to construct a political convention center in Moscow on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The main function of the pa ...

Background

Born in

Odesa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...

, Iofan graduated in 1916 from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

's ''Regio Istituto Superiore di Belle Arti'' (now ''

Accademia di Belle Arti This is a list of the tertiary-level schools or academies of fine art in Italy that are recognised by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, the Italian ministry of higher education. Accademie di Belle Arti The offic ...

'') in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

with a degree in architecture, initially following the Neoclassical tradition. His first major work was a

Barvikha Barvikha (russian: Барви́ха) is a village in Odintsovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is the site of the Barvikha Sanatorium, the health resort of the President of Russia. During the Soviet era, Barvikha was known as the site of ...

sanatorium for the Party elite (1929), which introduced him to clients at the top of the state. In 1931, Iofan completed the elite block-wide ''House on the Embankment'' (official name Дом Правительства, ''Government Building''). The structure, containing 505 apartments, two theaters and retail stores, became an iconic example of early Stalinism. Boris Iofan was a lifelong resident of this building.

Palace of Soviets

Iofan's entry to the

Palace of Soviets The Palace of the Soviets (russian: Дворец Советов, ''Dvorets Sovetov'') was a project to construct a political convention center in Moscow on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The main function of the pa ...

contest won in 1932 (first prize was actually split among three competing entries, but eventually

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

awarded the job to Iofan). His design was awarded a gold medal during the 1937 International Exposition dedicated to Art and Technology in Modern Life in Paris. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, a monument initiated by

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...

(and consecrated by Alexander III), was razed for construction of the palace (before the contest began). Construction proceeded slowly; in response to the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union as part of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, in June 1941 construction work was halted at a time when the structure's steel frame stood 50 metres high. The frame was subsequently disassembled and scrapped for weapons production. In 1958, the Moscow Swimming Pool was erected at the site, after construction of the palace was abandoned. This open-air pool was eventually shut down and the cathedral was rebuilt at the same location in 1994–1995. Iofan designed the Soviet Pavilions at the World Expo in Paris (1937) and New York (1939). Later, he bid for the

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

skyscraper project in Moscow (1947); the job was awarded to

Lev Rudnev Lev Vladimirovich Rudnev (russian: Лев Владимирович Ру́днев; – November 19, 1956) was a Soviet architect, and a leading practitioner of Stalinist architecture. Biography Rudnev was born to the family of a school teach ...

. In his later years, Iofan was awarded the title of

People's Architect of the USSR People's Architect of the USSR (russian: Народный архитектор СССР), also sometimes translated as National Architect of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to architects of the Soviet Union; it was established on August 12 ...

(October 20, 1970).www.promedali.ru ''История почетного звания «Народный архитектор СССР»''
(accessed in September 2010)

Projects

*1925 - Building on Rusakovskaya Street, 7 *1927 - Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, Administrative building, Kolkhoz building *1928-1931 - First House of Soviets of the CEC and SNK of the USSR (

) *1931 - Designing the

*1935 - Sanatorium of the Medical and Sanitary Management of the Kremlin "Barvikha" (now clinical sanatorium "Barvikha") *1937 - Pavilion of the international exhibition in Paris and the idea of the sculpture by V. Mukhina ''

Worker and Kolkhoz Woman ''Worker and Kolkhoz Woman'' () is a sculpture of two figures with a sickle and a hammer raised over their heads. The concept and compositional design belong to the architect Boris Iofan It is 24.5 metres (78 feet) high, made from stai ...

'' *1938 - ZiS Culture House (then the cinema and branch No. 1 of the Amo Palace of Culture "ZiL", now the Leisure Center in the Zyuzino area on Simferopol Boulevard, 4) *1939 - Soviet pavilion of the exhibition in New York *1938-1944 - Baumanskaya metro station *1944-1947 - Laboratory of Academician

Pyotr Kapitsa Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa or Peter Kapitza ( Russian: Пётр Леонидович Капица, Romanian: Petre Capița ( – 8 April 1984) was a leading Soviet physicist and Nobel laureate, best known for his work in low-temperature physics ...

*Reconstruction and restoration of the Vakhtangov Theater *1947-1948 - Projects of Stalin high-rises, buildings of the Moscow University *1957 - Moscow Central Clinical Hospital, 15 Marshal Timoshenko Street, Kuntsevo District, Moscow *1962-1975 - Complex of apartment buildings in Moscow on Shcherbakovskaya Street (houses No. 7, 9, 11, co-authors D. Alekseev, N. Chelyshev, A. Smekhov) *1972 - Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism (last implemented project)

Literature

* Berkovich, Gary. Reclaiming a History. Jewish Architects in Imperial Russia and the USSR. Volume 2. Soviet Avant-garde: 1917–1933. Weimar und Rostock: Grunberg Verlag. 2021. P. 145.

References

External links

Boris Iofan, Project for the People's Commissariat for Heavy Industry, Moscow, perspective drawing
an
photographs of various projects

Canadian Centre for Architecture The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA; french: Centre Canadien d'Architecture) is a museum of architecture and research centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 1920, rue Baile (1920, Baile Street), between rue Fort (Fort Street ...