The Beginnings of 1980s Soviet ‘Paper Architecture’ and the Circumstances of its Existence

Abstract

History of Soviet ‘Paper Architeture’ of 1980s is mostly oral: its fragments are scattered in architecture magazines, critical articles and interviews. It seems that it has come from nowhere — this phenomenon has a very weak connection with what was going on in ‘built’ architecture. Nevertheless, Paper Architecture is a prominent part of Soviet culture of 1980s that is impossible to neglect. Conceptual architecture in the 20th century has certain regularity: to totalitarian myths of 1940s and once again as the part of the ‘Space Age’ aesthetics of 1960s. Paper Architecture wasn’t supported by ‘real’ architecture except from a very small number of projects; nevertheless it has answered the postmodernist challenge — to make architecture talk. Restoration of events chronicle may be the key to understanding the development of Paper Architecture: its duality between art and architecture, weak interest of its authors in ‘real’ building and disbanded nature of working groups can be explained by outer circumstances, not some program of the group. This article tries to connect this puzzle from recollections and events to describe the beginnings of this phenomenon.