Boris Mikhailovich Iofan (, ; April 28, 1891 – March 11, 1976) was a Soviet architect of Jewish origin, known for his Stalinist architecture buildings like the 1931 House on the Embankment and the 1931–1933 winning draft of the Palace of the Soviets. DNN Iofan

Background

Born in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

, Iofan graduated in 1916 from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

's ''Regio Istituto Superiore di Belle Arti'' (now '' Accademia di Belle Arti'') in

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with a degree in architecture, initially following the Neoclassical tradition. His first major work was a Barvikha 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 contest won in 1932 (first prize was actually split among three competing entries, but eventually

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

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 The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (, ) is a Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskva River, a few hundred metres southwest of the Kremlin. With an overall height of , it is the ...

, a monument initiated by Alexander I (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 was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, 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 Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

skyscraper project in Moscow (1947); the job was awarded to Lev Rudnev. In his later years, Iofan was awarded the title of People's Architect of the USSR (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 ( House on the Embankment) *1931 – Designing the Palace of the Soviets *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'' *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 at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

*1938–1944 – Baumanskaya metro station *1944–1947 – Laboratory of Academician Pyotr Kapitsa *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)

Bibliography

* Gary Berkovich (2021). ''Reclaiming a History: Jewish Architects in Imperial Russia and the USSR.'' Volume 2: ''Soviet Avant-garde: 1917–1933.'' Weimar / Rostock: Grunberg, , p. 145. * Deyan Sudjic (2022). ''Stalin's Architect: Power and Survival in Moscow.'' Cambridge: MIT Press, . *Vladimir Sedov (2022). ''Stalin's Architect: The Rise and Fall of Boris Iofan.'' Berlin: DOM Publishers, .

References

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