Ivan Leonidov: the complete works

Abstract

"It is sad that the vast majority of sketchbook plans and competition entries reproduced in this album were never built. Ivan Leonidov (1902-1959) was surely one of the most innovative and humanistic architects to come out of early Russian modernism. His Constructivist-inspired projects embody the same revolutionary spirit as Vladimir Tatlin's celebrated 1919 tower. In his later buildings, medieval Russian motifs mingle with pyramids, amphitheaters, pagodas, to reflect his love of Eastern and classical cultures. Many of his visions were quixotic: his United Nations headquarters, for example, or the Island of Flowers park in the Dnepr River, but all are inspirational."--PW.