The Influence of Hannes Meyer and the Bauhaus Brigade on 1930s Soviet Architecture

Abstract

This paper aims to clarify the influence of Hannes Meyer′s concept of ″psychological effects″ on socialist cities and architecture in the Soviet Union by analyzing two 1930s projects: Meyer′s plan for the development and reconstruction of Greater Moscow, and the Bauhaus Brigade′s design proposal for the Palace of the Soviets competition. Meyer′s design, especially his idea to place skyscrapers in a widened Red Square, was intended to psychologically enhance the effect of mass demonstrations. Similarly, the Bauhaus Brigade′s design employed technologically augmented flexible spaces and wide swaths of greenery to accommodate mass demonstrations. The objective of ″psychological effects″ was that the Soviet population would be conscious of constructing a new society in the Soviet Union. These concepts were heavily influenced by Meyer′s early work in Weimar Germany, when he concluded that ″psychological effects″ elevated functionalism to a new level. A review of original design plans and unpublished documents yielded direct parallels with socialist realist architecture of the time, such as the People′s Commissariat of Heavy Industry and the general redesign of Moscow, suggesting the ideas of Meyer and the Bauhaus Brigade strongly influenced the fundamentals of 1930s monumental architecture in the Soviet Union.