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The Zuyev Workers' Club in Moscow is a prominent work of constructivist architecture. It was designed by Ilya Golosov in 1926 and finished in 1928. The building was designed to house various facilities for Moscow workers, and utilises an innovative glazing treatment at its corner which has proved very photogenic and so the building has been seen as an iconic work of Soviet avant-garde architecture.
Golosov was an enthusiast for expressive, dynamic form rather than the logics of Constructivist design methods. The building facade is comprised of cylindrical glazed staircases interecting with stacked rectangular floor planes to create a dramatic composition. A sequence of club rooms and open foyers lead to an 850-seat auditorium. Today some of the fenestration has been bricked up, lessening the original perforated cubic mass into a more solid box.
The composition of this dramatic building is based on the intersection of a cylindrical glazed staircase and a stack of rectangular floor planes behind which are a sequence of club rooms and open foyers leading to a rectangular 850-seat auditorium. Although several windows have been bricked up, thus transforming the highly perforated cubic mass into a more solid box, the drama of the cylinder against flat planes remains immensely powerful. Like Melnikov, Golosov was an enthusiast for expressive, dynamic form rather than the logics of Constructivist design methods. The highly photogenic corner of the club has been widely published, making this club an iconic work of Soviet avant-garde architecture abroad.
How to visit:
The Zuyev Workers' Club is at 18 Lesnaya Ulitsa, just northeast of Belorusskaya Station, to the northwest of the city center along Tverskaya Ulitsa.
From the Belorusskaya metro station, head northeast on Lesnaya Ulitsa; the building is just 2-3 minutes' walk, on the righthand side, directly opposite the Holiday Inn Lesnaya – which has rather less architectural distinction, but is a more visible landmark as you approach. (Courtesy: Galinsky.com)
