Where did the "Khrushchevs" come from in the USSR, and What were they like according to the original (non-Soviet) project?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

There is no person in Russia who has not been to the Khrushchevs. The apartments in these houses are known for micro-kitchens, low ceilings and thin walls. Many people think that the famous five-story buildings are an invention of Soviet architects. However, this is not at all the case. Read where such buildings first appeared, why the idea of an openwork house failed, how the buildings were rejected due to excesses and where the plastic house was built.

"Parents" of Khrushchev, built in New York at the beginning of the 20th century

Typical prefabricated houses first appeared in the distant 1910 in the suburbs of New York. During the construction, large parts made of reinforced concrete were used. Until the 1920s, such experiments were carried out from time to time in different countries of the world. After the First World War, the demand for homes that could be built very quickly increased dramatically. In the twenties in Europe, the first neighborhoods were built up entirely of simple prefabricated standard houses. In Amsterdam in 1921, thanks to the efforts of the architect Martin Wagner, the so-called "Concrete Village" was created. The same architect in 1926 erects a similar typical building in Germany.

But France was ahead of the rest this time, and all thanks to the architect Le Corbusier. In 1925 he presented a certain "residential unit of an apartment building" at the International Exhibition. She can be called a real great-grandmother of the Soviet Khrushchev, although the apartment was two-level. But just as tight as the Soviet options. More than 20 years have passed, and only in 1947 did the French begin to build up the areas with such buildings. Therefore, for rapid development in the Soviet Union, they used the experience of French architects and builders.

An openwork house on the Leningradskoe highway, which could have become a Khrushchev, but did not

The USSR tried to build prefabricated housing back in the days of Stalin. For example, you can remember the so-called "openwork house". It was erected in 1940 by architects Burov and Blokhin and was located on Leningradsky Prospekt in Moscow. Large concrete blocks were used in the construction. Of course, this was not the usual Khrushchev building today, since the apartments had high ceilings (3, 2 meters), and the facade delighted with beautiful reliefs and balconies with openwork gratings. What was "Khrushchev's" was very small kitchens and combined bathrooms.

By the way, Burov planned that the tenants would not use the kitchen for cooking, but would order it in the cafe located on the ground floor. But this American experience did not catch on. They wanted to make the "Openwork House" standard, but the Great Patriotic War prevented these plans from being realized.

House on Khoroshevskoe highway, rejected due to excesses

The experiments continued. Architects diligently came up with typical housing that could be built everywhere. In 1950, on the Khoroshevskoe highway, a house was erected using frame-panel technology, the project of Posokhin and Mndoyants. They were the authors of the Stalinist skyscraper on Kudrinskaya Square. So, on Khoroshevskoe highway, they tried to create a prototype of the Khrushchev. Vitaly Lagutenko became the engineer of this unrealized project.

During the construction of the building, panels with open joints were used for the first time. Right at the construction site, special forms were installed in which the frame of the house was made. All this was supposed to significantly speed up the construction process. This is not to say that the house was ugly - pilasters were used to mask the seams between the panels, and the space under the windows was decorated with garlands. Outwardly, it looked very attractive and stylish enough. Actually, the appearance did not allow such houses to appear in all districts of Moscow, since in 1953 Khrushchev issued a strict decree "On the elimination of excesses in design and construction." The idea of "breeding" at home has failed.

Experimental houses in Cheryomushki and houses erected in 12 days according to the project of Vitaly Lagutenko

But it was necessary to build houses, since there was not enough housing. The group of the architect Osterman built various variations of panel houses in the Cheryomushki area (now the Academic district of the capital). The houses were four or five stories high, some with tiled roofs and others with slate. Only small size and inexpensive construction were common. In the future, the projects were finalized, and the time has come for the production series. The very first real Khrushchev was a house commissioned in 1957 at 16 Grimau, which has 4 floors. Uniquely small kitchens (area 4, 7 square meters) and ceilings 2, 6 meters - that's what it was. When the final version was approved, a fifth floor was added. It was believed that every resident of the city could easily climb to such a height without an elevator. In the courtyards there was a lot of greenery, gazebos, fountains, paved paths. In the future, this was no longer the case.

And Vitaly Lagutenko continued to work on projects of panel houses, and the K-7 series was the first implemented option. In fact, this is a copy of French panel houses with five floors. Such Khrushchevs still stand in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Murmansk, Apatity and Saratov. It was a real breakthrough. The house could be built in just 12 days. A completely uninteresting outwardly five-story house with small apartments and thin walls, but the demand for housing was partially satisfied. In 1966, the so-called "Brezhnevka" was replaced by the Khrushchevs. They were a little cozier and more comfortable.

Plastic house for 850 rubles

The struggle for the best people's home continued. Architect Boris Iofan proposed a project that was even more economical than the K-7 series without a balcony from Lagutenko. Iofan suggested using special high-strength plastic. The experiment was supposed to be carried out in the area of Northern Izmailovo. Yes, everything is plastic, even floors and ceilings. Soundproofing was out of the question.

Colleagues supported Iofan and suggested making such houses one-story. So, what is a plastic house: it is a total area of 49 square meters and a very large window for light transmission to save energy. The walls of the house were 14 centimeters thick. A strange building, but it could have been erected for only 850 rubles. Such a house was nevertheless built, but not in Moscow, but in Leningrad. It did not live up to expectations (and perhaps it would have taken root in Brazil) and was demolished two years after its erection.

These days, experiments with housing can hardly surprise anyone. However, there are places where no one would seem to build houses - in the mine, on the roof, on the tower.