image source Gibson, Eleanor. “Denis Esakov uses drone photography to capture Moscow’s landmark buildings from above”. Dezeen. August 24, 2017. October 9, 2017. https://www.dezeen.com/2017/08/24/spying-on-moscow-a-winged-guide-to-architecture-moscow-architecture-via-drone-denis-esakov-photography/

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image source Esakov, Denis. “Interior: Melnikov house” Denis Esakov Architectural Photographer. 2015. http://www.denisesakov.com/blank-1

image source Quirk, Vanessa. “Melnikov House Listed As Cultural Heritage Site”. Archdaily. March 21, 2014. October 9, 2017. http://www.archdaily.com/363621/famous-architects-petition-to-save-the-melnikov-house#_=_

image source Davies, Colin. Key Houses of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections and Elevations. New York, London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.

image source Davies, Colin. Key Houses of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections and Elevations. New York, London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.

image source Davies, Colin. Key Houses of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections and Elevations. New York, London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.

image source Bell, Jonathan. “Model home: a new book surveys Konstantin Melnikov’s totemic Moscow house”. Wallpaper*. August 21, 2017. October 9, 2017. https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/book-the-melnikov-house-icon-of-the-avant-garde-family-home-architecture-museum#206010

image source Kuznetsov,Pavel. The Melnikov House: Icon of the Avant-Garde, Family Home, Architecture Museum. Berlin: DOM Publishers, 2017.

Built in 1929, Melnikov was given permission to build his family house from the Moscow authority only because they saw the potential in the project as a prototype. The house has a very innovative spacial design — the building mass is in the form of two overlapping cylinders, with a spiral staircase that provides vertical circulation. The exterior walls are the only load-bearing walls and the structure is built entirely with masonry and mortar. Bricks are left uncut. Double-height living room and uninterrupted interior space are lit by 60 hexagonal windows. Melnikov wanted to embed new ‘materials’, like lights and shadows, into the overall design in order to heighten the experience of living. The Melnikov House was a hugely Avant-Garde, bold and experimental design at that time, yet, the innovative, formal attempt has inspired a lot of architects later on to create experiential living environment.

by <MAK CHING YAN, BAAS, Group D>