Apartment in the largest house-commune in the USSR
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22 Mar 2023
Designer Natalia Shevchenko designed the interior in the Yekaterinburg "comb house" - a monument of the constructivist era
Office. Table, "Tatra", Czechoslovakia, 1970s, designed by Frantisek Jirak. Armchair Finland, presumably the Martela factory, 1990s. Floor lamp, La Redoute. Ceiling lamp, Germany, 2000s.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
Office. Table, "Tatra", walnut veneer, beech, Czechoslovakia, 1970s, design by Frantisek Jirak. Armchair, Finland, presumably the Martela factory, 1990s. The couch made of beech is made to order according to the designer's sketches. Floor lamp, La Redoute. Ceiling lamp, Germany 2000s.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
GENERAL PARAMETERS
Property type: duplex apartment in a house — an object of cultural heritage
**Where is it:**g. Yekaterinburg, "Comb House", a commune house of the Gospromural in the constructivism style of 1930-1937.
Square footage: 64 m2
Style: mid-century modern, Scandinavian, elements of orphism aesthetics
The main idea of the project: to make a comfortable and bright apartment for rent, as well as to move from the utilitarian concept of constructivism of the "commune house" to the idea of comfort and lightness of mid-century modernism
Color scheme: basic white with bright contrasting accents of deep blue, green, yellow, terracotta
Project authors: designer Natalia Shevchenko, T. +7 (912) 222-84-22, megavodonata@gmail.com
The main idea of the project is to make a comfortable and bright apartment for rent, as well as to move from the utilitarian concept of constructivism of the "commune house" to the idea of comfort and lightness of mid—century modernism
Office. Table, "Tatra", walnut veneer, beech, Czechoslovakia, 1970s, design by Frantisek Jirak. The couch made of beech is made to order according to the designer's sketches.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
In Yekaterinburg, formerly Sverdlovsk, more than a dozen constructivist residential complexes were built in the 1930s. These are not just houses, but whole blocks built up with separate buildings, so-called towns. In Yekaterinburg there is a town of security officers (Boris Yeltsin once lived there), police officers, a military town and so on. The house-commune of Gostyazhpromural also occupies an entire block, but in fact it is one structure, since six buildings are connected by land crossings. It was designed according to all the rules of the new way of life: the house had its own polyclinic, kindergarten and nursery, but they did not have time to organize a dining room.
Cabinet, fragment.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
This apartment is located in one of the buildings of the commune house. Two-level, with a kitchen—living room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, it was purchased for rent, so there was only one requirement for repair - to make it comfortable. Stylistic and decorative techniques were left to the discretion of the designer.
Kitchen-living room. Kitchen "Maria". Chairs, Cesca. Seashell chairs, vintage, Czechoslovakia, 1960-70s. Oswald Herdtl chair, "Ligna", 1960-70s.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
"I really wanted to get away from the cold idea of constructivist buildings," says designer Natalia Shevchenko. — Create a comfortable and bright apartment for living. But at the same time, I saw that it was necessary to rely on the DNA of the building of the early twentieth century. Therefore, it was decided, remaining within the framework of modernism as a carrier of the idea of lightness and comfort, to add life to the interior with the help of contrasting color dynamics. The aesthetics of orphism came in very handy here, as the embodiment of the brightness of life and creativity."
Kitchen-living room, fragment. Rosewood chair, presumably India, 2010 Chairs, Cesca. Lamp, vintage, Estoplast, Estonia 1970s. Candlesticks, IKEA. Vase, H&M Home.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
The rhythm of the whole interior was set by the reproduction of the avant-garde artist Sonia Delaunay's painting "Electric Prisms". The elements of this work, written in 1914, are reflected in the color of the rooms and geometric shapes, bright accents of lamps and decorative objects.
Kitchen-living room, fragment. Above the table is an Estonian vintage lamp of the 1970s. Chairs, Cesca, vintage.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
Kitchen-living room, fragment.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
Ladder. Vintage herons, teak and brass, India, 1960s.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
View from the corridor to the stairs.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
The furniture is almost completely assembled from vintage items that look like members of one big family in these walls. Some items were found in poor condition and brought back to life. For example, the desk in the office located on the first floor has fallen into complete disrepair. But after the layers of varnish were removed from the countertop, a well-preserved walnut veneer with a unique pattern was revealed.
Ladder. The panel is made of ceramic tiles.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
Ladder. The crystal pendants of the vintage lamp were replaced with bright blue plexiglass plates with geometric elements.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
Bedroom. The bed and the bedspread are made to order. Wall lamps, Fase, Spain, presumably the 1970s. The teak and brass herons are vintage.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
As Natalia recalls, the builder, who was engaged in repairs, could not put up with the furniture of the 1970s for a long time, calling the cabinets that she prepared for the bathroom and guest bathroom nothing but "cockroaches" and "bedbugs". He also found a time when such furniture was thrown out in the trash en masse, and it seemed to him madness to return them back. Vintage chandeliers also raised a lot of questions: "Wasn't it possible to buy a new one in the store!?" he wondered.
To some extent, this reflects the attitude towards buildings of the constructivist era in Yekaterinburg: historical and architectural monuments are being demolished in order to build residential high-rises in their place. The buildings of the house-commune of Gostyazhpromural are recognized as an object of cultural heritage, so they are not in danger of demolition, but they have not been restored for a long time.
"It is very sad to look at an unkempt complex with an interesting architectural solution and once conceived bright dreams," says Natalia. — Therefore, my main task was to breathe a breath of fresh air into this project, to make a light, bright and comfortable interior for life. I hope that this was one of the first steps towards the rehabilitation of the entire complex."
Guest bathroom. Vintage cabinet, Romania, 1960s. Sink, Maison. Ceiling lamp, Eglo. Wall lamps, Finland, 1970-80 Glass for toothbrushes, "Urshelsky glass Factory", 1960-70. Mixer, Vitra. The mirror is made to order.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
Bathroom. Vintage cabinet, walnut veneer, 1970s. Sink, Maison. Shower system and faucets Stockholm, Damixa. Vintage newspaper box, Kursk plant "Schetmash", 1970. Export wall lamps, USSR, 1970s. The mirror is custom-made. Towel hangers are made according to the designer's sketch from vintage hooks and plexiglass. Tile, Kerama Marazzi.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
Hallway. An armchair, shelves, a mirror, everything is IKEA. Reproduction of Sonya Delaunay's work "Electric Prisms", 1914, oil on canvas.
Photo
Evgeny Gurievskikh
