Socialist Modernism (1950s-1991) can be used to describe a cultural phenomenon, architectural style, art movement, etc. Its definition is complex as a history of those times overall. From a personal and national perspective, I do believe it is a relevant subject. Before leaving Ukraine in my early 20s, I did have a negative perception of the whole context around the time of USSR existence. Similar to most of our parent’s generation and most of the young age as well. Later, after expanding my world perception, getting artistic education, and traveling a lot, I understood the value and got sentimental about our undrawable history and cultural heritage. Most of the Social Modernist monuments in Eastern Europe are in a deterioration danger and largely ignored by local authorities.
Today I am inspired by the rising interest in the subject. This is mostly the merit of global initiatives like Socialist Modernism – is an initiative developed by BACU (Bureau for Art and Urban Research). Their approach focused on the protection of built heritage and the research within the borders of the former Eastern bloc, we advocate for the protection of the Socialist Modernism architecture erected in the period between 1955-91. Their research and investigation work is followed by dialogue and education purposes of local authorities and inhabitants of those protected areas, through a legislative program concerning the architectural stylistics of the buildings/districts erected in the socialist era.
It is essential to understand the context of those times and the efforts of the architects, city planners, artists, educators to bring some optimism back to society after the post-war times. A. Bykov and I. Gubkina did profound research on the Soviet Modernism Brutalism and Post-modernism between 1955 – 1991 in Ukraine in their fantastic book and the support video they have launched.
Kyiv, as a capital, vanguards city, gave rise to many projects, or concepts that have never made their way through the Ukrainian authorities of those times. It was an attempt by the architects, like Yuriev and Bilsky, in collaboration with artists like Rybachuk and Melnychenko, to create the projects that were the synthesis of art and architecture. They strived to bring the contrast to the cities typically constructed by the residential and administrative blocks. The goal was the materialization of the artistic thinking and new aspirations they wanted to bring to the people.
Hotel “Salute” (1976-84) is a perfect example of a complicated history of the interaction between architectural thought and bureaucratic party. The project was designed with significant know-how in the structural reinforcement and was cut more than in half during the construction phase. That resulted in total disproportionate capacities of the engineering and exploitation matters, as well as some elements like waterfall has never come to life.
A similar outcome had the Kyiv State Music and Ballet School (1964-67). It was designed as a single unit. Thus, various creative professions, different practices, and institutions had to coexist in the space of one complex. The facade of the concert had to be decorated with mosaics. Neither it nor the decorative pool was implemented. An attempt to create shared space for different music professions and institutions failed when the building was divided between multiple owners, and it ceased to exist as one single functional unit.
Many projects have simply stayed utopian.
The Kyiv Palace of Pioneers (1962-65) is an architectural attempt to develop a space precisely adapted to the needs of children and to move away from the standards of architecture as the embodiment of the “adult” world. That was not exactly the party interest, but strangely the project made it to its completion.
The other one has not – Housing estate “Vynogradar” (1971-1986) – this residential area for 60,000 people was conceived as an ideal residential area with the highest living standards which were possible in mass housing. The infrastructure of Vynogradar had to be exemplary not only from a technological but also from an aesthetic point of view: the external appearance of many of its facilities was designed in the author’s manner of Edward Bilsky. The location in the remote forest area provided perfect climate conditions. The collapse of the Soviet Union le” Vynogradar one step from its completion and left this unique project in the status of the utopia.
The project of the Crematorium or Memory Park (1968-1981) faced many obstacles on its way, starting from the misperception of the idea by the society, up to entirely different visions on the project among the project team. Artist and architects had two different aims – make the structure purely apt for the function, meanwhile, the last ones thought of making the crematorium a therapeutic environment. The plastic forms of the Halls of Farewell combined a complicated technical process with avant-garde artistic thinking, subletting the opposition between technology and humanities – typical of the Soviet 1960s. The centerpiece had to be a richly decorated mural, that once completed, was covered by the concrete and never revealed to the public.
The example of the Vernadsky State Library (1976-1989) shown below is one of the “well maintained” monuments. Still, nothing close to the attention and the new life the Barbican complex in London got recently. I do wish this could be a case one day.
Nowadays, more and more attention and initiatives come from the architects and designers communities in Ukraine. Balbek Bureau is an internationally rewarded design practice from Kyiv that I believe would be a perfect example of this.
Visiting their workshop, I have stumbled on one of the most prominent examples of Socialist architecture – the Institute of information (1971) It is right next to the metro station by the office.
The figure of architect and artist Florian Yuryev is representative of this fluid, interdisciplinary identity. In the early 1960s, during the campaign against “abstractionism”, his exhibition of abstract paintings in Kyiv House of Architects was closed, his works were destroyed, and Yuryev himself faced the threat of exclusion from the Union of Architects. Florian Yuryev was developing his vision of a “synthesis of the arts” through a project of a light music theatre that was supposed to be a platform for the development of a new artistic discipline called “music of colour”. Yuryev surpassed the artistic imagining of “Synesthesia” of that time, arguing that the “music of color” is an independent art form and the transfer of properly organized colors can cause the physical perception of sound among the public. With this aim, Yuryev created a light music orchestra and developed for it a hall with a perfect system of sound and light transmission. Under the close supervision of KGB instead of the color-music theater, this building became a hall for lectures and cinema of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information.
To see this fantastic building deteriorating every day shouldn’t be easy. Balbek Bureau came up with the initiative #SAVEKYIVMODERNISM that they have launched with a design and investment proposal for the building rejuvenation.
The studio came up with a multiuse vision for space. The proposal includes all the facade and interior details preservation proposals and emphasises the plan on visual noise reduction and architectural illumination. On the platform page, you can find even the costs estimation and business plans options. They are waiting for the investor to hop on it. Fingers crossed.
Fair to say that Balbek Bureau is very inspired by the Soviet design around them. The image below is the lamp in the same metro station. I took it just before I visited the studio. During the workshop, I had a chance to spot a project with a very similar lamp 🙂 The inspiration is all around!
32 Apartment by Balbek Bureau
Bursa Hotel is a historic building in the Podil – Kyivs Montmartre. It is a meeting point for the avant-garde, free-minded, curious people. Bursa Hotel has both – the past century flavour, same time, its design is super trend-picker of today.
Bursa Hotel by Balbek Bureau 
Most projects of Balbek Bureau deal with hints towards socialist architecture, have some soviet time references in a more or less obvious way. I find that they do it with a good sparkle of humour and still refined design language of its own.
Banda Agency, by Balbek Bureau 
Syndicat Retail, by Balbek Bureau
At the end of my trip, I was pleased to visit the exposition staged in the Central Train Station of Kyiv “WOW Ukraine”. It aims to popularize the topic of our cultural heritage – not only the national pride perspective that we all cherish from school but also the aspects of the culture in the last epoch before the fall of the USSR and the formation of independent Ukraine. Those trends are relatively recent and essential steps in the coming generation education.
If you happen to cheer up for the Social Modernism watching trip to Kyiv, please do take a chance visiting the two project of the same office – one next to each other. Hopefully, the time in one of the nicest areas of Kyiv + one of the best projects of Balbek Bureau won’t leave you disappointed. Molodist Bar (that means “Youth” Bar) is a fun exaggeration of the crazy youth of the 80s and 90s in my country. Enjoy!
Molodist Bar, by Balbek Bureau 
Kyiv Foodmarket, by Balbek Bureau 
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