Vyacheslav Konstantinovich Oltarzhevsky (, 17 March 1880 – 24 April 1966) was a Russian and Soviet architect. He was one of the first Soviet experts in

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

construction, notable for his collaboration with

Arkady Mordvinov Arkady Grigoryevich Mordvinov (; born Mordvishev (), January 27, 1896 – July 23, 1964) was a Soviet architect and construction manager, notable for Stalinist architecture of Tverskaya Street, Leninsky Avenue, Hotel Ukraina skyscraper ...

on Hotel Ukraina (Moscow). Oltarzhevsky, one of the few architects hit by the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

in 1938, survived it and returned to active practice in 1940s.

Biography

Vyacheslav Oltarzhevsky was born in a family of a government official in Moscow. He studied architecture at

Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (), also known by the acronym MUZHVZ, was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow ...

(1901–1908) and in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

under

Otto Wagner Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau mo ...

(1905). He assisted older architects

Ivan Rerberg Ivan Ivanovich Rerberg (October 4, 1869 – October 15, 1932) was a Imperial Russia, Russian civil engineer, architect and educator active in Moscow in 1897–1932. Rerberg's input to present-day Moscow include Kiyevsky Rail Terminal, Central Te ...

, Illarion Ivanov-Shitz and

Marian Peretyatkovich Marian Marianovich Peretyatkovich (; 23 August 1872 – 22 May 1916) was a Russian architect of Polish descent. His premature death at the age of 43 limited his career to only eight years of independent practice (1908-1916), however, he managed t ...

, and completed his first independent commission in 1909. His most visible building before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

was the Northern Insurance in

Kitai-gorod Kitay-gorod (, ), also referred to as the Great Possad () in the 16th and 17th centuries, is a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow in Russia, defined by the remnants of now almost entirely razed fortifications, narro ...

(shared with Rerberg and Peretyatkovich). In 1924–1934, Oltarzhevsky lived in

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with an official mission to study and evaluate modern construction technology, becoming the leading Soviet expert in highrise steel frame construction. Peretiatkovich

In 1935, Oltarzhevsky was appointed to be the chief architect of

All-Russia Exhibition Centre Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy (, ''Vystavka dostizheniy narodnogo khozyaystva'', abbreviated as VDNKh or VDNH, , ) is a permanent general purpose trade show and amusement park in Moscow, Russia. Between 1991 and 2014, it was a ...

; in April 1936, his plan was officially approved. By 1938, Oltarzhevsky completed most of this plan, notably the ''Mechanisatsia'' stepped tower, a predecessor of late

stalinist architecture Stalinist architecture (), mostly known in the former Eastern Bloc as Stalinist style or socialist classicism, is the architecture of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, between 1933 (when Boris Iofan's draft for the Palace o ...

towers. The fall of Commissar for Agriculture, Mikhail Chernov, arrested in 1938 for

Bukharin Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin (; rus, Николай Иванович Бухарин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ bʊˈxarʲɪn; – 15 March 1938) was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and Marxist theorist. A prominent Bolshevik ...

conspiracy, caused a domino effect in the Commissariat for Agriculture which supervised the Exhibition. Oltarzhevsky was arrested, too, but spared from death penalty and served his term in

Vorkuta Vorkuta (; ; Nenets languages, Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner") is a coal-mining types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin a ...

, as a town architect, until 1943. Meanwhile, his work at the Exhibition was branded ''alien art''; some of his buildings were torn down and rebuilt from scratch. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Oltarzhevsky was assigned to the Moscow Skyscraper Project. His own plans were discarded, because all jobs were awarded in advance to most influential Soviet architects. Oltarzhevsky joined

on his Hotel Ukraina skyscraper in

Dorogomilovo District Dorogomilovo District () is a district of Western Administrative Okrug of the federal city of Moscow, Russia. The area of the district is . Population: Postal codes: 113000 to 119000. The district, adjacent to Presnensky, Arbat, and Khamovniki ...

; both architects were awarded Stalin Prize in 1948 for conceptual drafts, before actual construction began. Before ''Ukraina'' was completed, Oltarzhevsky compiled his "Skyscraper Construction in Moscow ("Строительство высотных зданий в Москве", 1953), which remains a principal information source on late stalinist high-rise project.

External links

* Skyscraper draft by Oltarzhevsky, 194
www.muar.ru

Sources

* https://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/groveart/abstract/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000063520 {{DEFAULTSORT:Oltarzhevsky, Vyacheslav Architects from the Russian Empire Architects from Moscow Soviet avant-garde Soviet architects Recipients of the Stalin Prize 1880 births 1966 deaths Soviet expatriates in the United States Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni