Frédéric Chaubin: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed

Frederic Chaubin, in his book, has managed to capture some of the ugliest modern buildings in the world. Page after page of structures that were a product of the failed Soviet state. They seem devoid of any discernable style other than, mostly, being big and brutal. I wonder if this has anything to do with the Soviet planners and their Five Year Plans which had a quirky view of production, in lots of cases it was based on weight rather than quantity, which is why Soviet products tended to be chunky and heavy. Factory managers could achieve their output goals by making heavier but fewer units. Maybe architects got their plans approved by using as many bags of cement and tons of steel as possible.The author, in his rather rambling essay, mentions the Soviet obsession with the future, especially space travel. The design of many buildings seems to be inspired by flying saucers with another influence Saarinen's curvy TWA terminal (now demolished) at JFK, New York. Soviet architects of the brutalist school couldn't keep things simple, they had to add bits and pieces to the external walls or cut oblong and circular shapes into them. So much of this appears to be just decoration for the sake of it.Chaubin's photos reveal an interesting side to Soviet buildings, a lack of attention to the finish. Moisture stains appear on walls, walkways have badly fitted concrete blocks, railings with supports that aren't upright, tiled floors that have not been laid in a straight line, gutters aren't upright, big patios outside buildings are not flat. As the only client was the state why should the builders worry about the look of the finished place ("So long as the bosses pretend to pay us, we'll pretend to work"). Though some of the structures are less than forty years old they are crumbling, probably through lack of attention because they are uneconomic to use now that the state doesn't cover their costs.The book is perhaps as monumental as it's subject. I found it too large (ten inch square would have been ideal) because the photos are big enlargements and most don't reveal lots of detail to take advantage of the book's size. All the buildings are captioned for location, date, architect, place and sometimes a comment from the author.Chaubin's photos of ninety Soviet buildings is a fascinating record of structural failure.

Looking at these structures is to see in concrete terms how Soviet philosophy (and Marxism in general) is not simply an economic framework, but an attempt to create a different kind of human being. If that aspect of 20th century totalitarianism is of interest to you, this will be a good book to meditate upon.

I'm not an architect, but I like history of art and this book caught my attention.The book, as other reviewers point out, is a great showcase of the later soviet architecture. A whole range of buildings, from camps for the reeducation of young offenders (built by themselves) to scientific institutes or to "wedding palaces".The constructions are not so different from the "futuristic" or "op art" constructions of the western countries in Europe or South America: vast concrete expanses, curving or polyedrical façades and roofs, concrete sculptures and abstract decorative motives... Adaptating or merging with the surrounding landscape was not an issue. It was an era of experimentation for "new forms". Some of them are naïve and useless, some of them are truly good solutions and even extraordinary technical solutions. Quite familiar with the booming architecture of the Spanish dictatorship in those years.One usually imagines the architecture of the soviet era as a uniform mass, oppresive, grey, poor quality, but this book discovers that USSR architects had their own progressive views, they tried to build original structures. Probably this was an attempt to "lightening" the political opression, or the feeble trials at making communism more palatable to the population, showing that the soviet system could match the experimentation and mores to be found elsewere in the world.The photos are numerous and large, but have an eerie quality of decay, neglect, abandon that clutches your heart. It is a pity that so many buildings have been despised and abandoned.The book is well docummented and has a lot of written information.The only (minor) drawback is that the photos have a "coarse grain" look, much like those to be found in a 70's book, that sometimes make difficult to appreciate details.A good buy for the curious and the professional.

Spotted this slab of hardback in my local Waterstones, quite by accident, whilst looking for bargains. Sealed in shrink-wrap and with no price visible, I was really intrigued but as it was just after Christmas, I had a budget to stick to. Twenty pounds, I told myself. After queuing for ten minutes and my arms elongated under the weight, on scanning, it came up at £35. I might as well have offended both the assistant and queue personally by muttering that it was too much and promptly put it back.Appetite wetted, Amazon, then, came to the rescue, nearly matching my price but delivered for free, too.As others have said, there's little text but enough. The photographs themselves are mostly impressive and convey the grey concrete monuments to USSR Communism well. As a photographer myself, I felt that a few were uninspired in their taking but generally it's a solid body of work and not knowing the conditions and pressures (permission, secrecy etc) the photographer faced, it's petty to criticise. Considering also their geographical spread, it's fascinating, as one would expect for all the buildings to be in Moscow or other big cities, but a good many weren't.The book has now been lent to several families who have had sons, daughters, people of all ages, from far and wide, coming home and who've found the whole topic fascinating. The size of the pages themselves almost demand respect, as if an old manuscript is being lovingly studied.I won't be thinking of buying another book on Russian brutalist architecture again. "CCCP" covers the subject amply and superbly and its interest may be more universal than you might initially think and others will want a peek. Recommended.