Dwelling

A facsimile edition of Constructivist architect Moisei Ginzburg’s landmark 1934 book, which focuses on his iconic Narkomfin building in Moscow.

Moisei Ginzburg (1892-1946) was the founder of the Organisation of Contemporary Architects (OSA) group and lead architect behind the first Constructivist building ever built – the Narkomfin building in Moscow (completed in 1932), which is currently being restored by the architect’s grandson, Alexei Ginzburg. As part of this unique project, Ginzburg Design Limited has initiated the publication in English of Moisei Ginzburg’s four seminal works on architecture and the built environment. The third of these, Dwelling, is published by Fontanka in English for the first time, in a facsimile of the original Russian edition. Ginzburg’s first book, Rhythm in Architecture (1923) was quickly followed by Style and Epoch (1924) – the publication that came to be seen as the Constructivists’ manifesto, and which was hugely influential in terms of architectural theory, with parallels to Le Corbusier’s Vers une architecture. Dwelling, published in 1934, was written just two years after the completion of the Narkomfin building and provides a fascinating insight into the architect’s ideas about creating new housing for the socialist city, communal living, and the use of new materials and technologies.