Leo
Vladimirovich Rudnev

Academician Of The Acad. architecture of the USSR (1939-55). Graduated from. AH (1915), where he taught from 1922 a Professor. From 1924 he worked in the Studio of I. Fomin in Leningrad. From 1942 he lived and worked in Moscow. In 1948-52 Professor MARCHI. Author of projects of a monument to victims of revolution on Mars field in Petrograd (1917-19), the building of the Military Academy. them.Frunze (1937), NGO Union building on Shaposhnikov (1934-38) and on Frunzenskaya embankment (1938-55), a complex of buildings of Moscow University on Lenin hills (1948-51, et al.), The Palace of culture and science in Warsaw (1951-53) and other buildings. The Winner Of The St. St. (1949).

Rudnev had a special gift to create a large monumental form in architecture. Constructed buildings bear the imprint of a bright, original talent. Their images are impressive, clear and presents all the clear architectural language. They are remembered for a lifetime.

Lev Vladimirovich Rudnev was born on March 13, 1885 in the town of Opochka in a family of teachers. Real school and art school he graduated from in Riga. Then in 1906 he entered the Academy of arts in St. Petersburg. The years of study for Rudnev was also the beginning of practical architectural design and construction activities.

First independent construction student Rudneva drew the attention of the society of architects-artists and was published in the "Yearbook of companies".

Along with the lessons at the Academy, Leo worked as an assistant in the workshop Fomin, deeper learning classical forms of Russian architecture. But he wanted to see the ancient and genuine historical monuments. And, accumulating a little money, Leo decided to go to Italy to learn from the architects of ancient Rome.

Trip it couldn't be long. It was only a few weeks of a student's summer vacation. From morning till night, and often at night he rode around the ancient city and ruins with a book of Sebastian Serlio, bought in an antique shop, checked against published her drawings from nature and then a pencil to make corrections and comments.

Two months later he returned to the Academy and finished it already quite Mature master, confirmed his thesis project "of the University." In this work, he widened his knowledge and skills. The grandeur and power of the idea was expressed in the layout of buildings, in sequence and commensurate reasonable main and secondary hall, in the monumentality and grandeur of the architectural forms of the building. Quest Rudnev artistic images in architecture led him to attempt new ways to Express Russian classicism.

From 1911 Rudnev she participated with success in architectural competitions. In 1913 he worked on the construction of the Church-school in Seleznivka Ekaterinoslav province. In this work, despite the fact that it was made on someone else's project, it is quite clearly revealed a heightened sense of young architects to the beauty and possibilities of plastic building material, its ability to use natural stone to give the building the necessary scale. In 1915, Rudnev was awarded the title of artist-architect.

In February 1917 there was the famous revolutionary events, and a month later, in March, Rudnev made at the competition of the monument to Victims of revolution on Mars field. He won the first prize. The Petrograd Soviet of workers ' deputies approved the project and made a bookmark.

In the open field, the architect proposed to build out of granite blocks the fence in several stages with four inputs. Everything is simple, strict, harsh. The only decoration is a beautiful and solemn on the content of the inscriptions on the stones at the entrances. Harsh monumental forms do not suppress the person, but the mighty plastic of stone blocks form the internal space of the monument, and at the same time linking it with the surrounding architectural body and with the space of the Neva.

From the first days of the October revolution Rudnev was at the center of events of architectural life: he was a Professor at the Academy of fine arts, worked in the architectural subdivision of the people's Commissariat.

In the years 1923-1925 Rudnev participated in competitions for project Propylaea of Smolny, a monument to Lenin on red square and Lenin monument in Kyiv. In the late 1920-ies Rudnev headed the design Bureau of the Leningrad Stroikom subcommunity engaged in construction of residential and public complexes. For the architect this period was marked by a revaluation of the creative experience, the beginning of a persistent search for new answers to proposed life objectives.

During these years, Rudnev brings together a number of his close views of the architects with whom performs at contests with the projects of large public buildings is looking for new methods of compositional construction of their complexes.

Functional complexity, defined by the specification on the project of the Palace of culture of Proletarsky district of Moscow (1931, co-author Y. Svirskiy), leads the authors to the idea of partition of the building into separate volumes and on free composition structure plan. However, Rudnev managed to present the whole complex as a single body, enriching it with fragments of the historical structure of the Simonov monastery.

In the project of the building of the state Bank in Novosibirsk (1931, co - authors- V. Munz and J. Svirsky) Rudnev is clearly in contrast to previous works demonstrating their understanding of the tectonic possibilities of modern materials - concrete and glass, contrasting matching geometrically in an easily identifiable form of the building concrete planes and Grand-fragile transparent volumes in the operating area, achieving dramatic expression structures.

Style in architecture has been to Rudneva not its main characteristic. He believed that "it's not about what works or that the architect, but how meaningful the whole structure, is it clear to read the image whether it is perceived by the viewer, evoking the joy of life and cheerfulness".

In these projects revealed a wide range of talents Rudnev, who managed to move freely from the romantically elevated tracks of the first years of the revolution to design complex rich complexes.

A new step towards the creation of works, which embodies broad social ideas of the time, Rudnev made in the early 1930-ies, and he was associated with the construction of a number of buildings in Moscow for the jobs of the red army.

The building of the Military Academy named after Frunze (1932-1937 years, co-author Munz) has become a landmark for great creative way Rudnev and rightfully took its place among the outstanding works of Soviet architecture. In the competition for the building project in addition to Rudnev and Munz attended brigade ASNOVA, SASS, VOPRA, architects Fomin, Melnikov, Minkus and others. According to the requirement of the competition program, the building must have "for its architectural and artistic decoration to Express the strength and power of the red Army, and in the internal layout to ensure the highest political and military training of the red army commander".

In this building, forming a major urban node urban design are organically merged with the architectural and artistic image of the building. As in several previous works, this work has no composite center, its main axis facing to the Park, oriented towards the Lenin hills.

The building of the Academy resolved a single monolithic volume strictly rectangular main body resting on the projecting forward deep stylobate. Asymmetrically elongated base rests on the powerful pillars of polished black Labrador and its movement is oriented to accent the corner of the building, a massive stone cube, which before the war stood the image of the tank - the symbol of the advanced military technology of those years. The geometrically clear layout of the main volume of the building, its neutral compartmentalization of caissons embedded with in them Windows contribute to the perception of the wall as a single mass, the opposing dynamics of the stylobate. This comparison is born and the emotional structure of the perception of the building: strength and serenity, openness to movement and concentration, tension.

For the design of this building when APU was the red army created a special architectural workshop under the direction Rudnev, later she was entrusted with the design of the building Narkomaania on Arbat square. Rudnev was not limited to design only the building, but offered the solution of complex area, which oriented the main facade, in the form of a Grand triumphal arch.

Competitive project of the Theatre of the red Army remained unfulfilled. This project is interesting in its own way, despite the traditionalism of three-dimensional design: the architect considered the building of the theatre, especially its facade, monumental decorations made to the area and as though anticipating the action on stage. The center of the composition of the complex, as in several previous works, is the space in front of the theater.

Current in designing these large structures, the team of architects and engineers (L. Rudnev, V. Munts, V. Teacher, I. Chernyavskiy, A. Echeistov, engineer P. Gnedovsky and others) were valuable in the creative plan of the architectural cell, and in the mid-1930s, this group of experts was transferred to the composition of the Voenproekt.

After the great Patriotic war Rudnev participated actively in the restoration of the ruined cities of Voronezh, Stalingrad, Riga, was built near Moscow a farm. In postwar Moscow, he erected a number of houses, including in Valadarski street (co-author Cherniavsky), on Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya street (1945-1948 years, co-authors Munts and ACE).

In these buildings reflected the desire to capture a monumental architectural forms the pathos of the great victory of the Soviet people. Designing these houses, Rudnev paid special attention to their comfort. He said: "If you want to create good housing, imagine that you are building the home for themselves, provide all the details that are needed to man".

The top creative Rudneva, his most remarkable architectural work was the building of the Moscow state Lomonosov University on the Lenin hills (1948 - 1953, co-authors: S. Chernyshev, P. Abrosimov, A. Boars, and engineer V. Nasonov).

Creative success masters is made possible due to the fact that the construction of the University campus, was a topic near Rudnev throughout his life, starting with the graduation project. On the other hand, long before the great Patriotic war, the project of the Military Academy and the House of Soviets in Baku and in the project of the House of the red army and Navy in Kronstadt was clear the attraction of the architect to high volumes. He conceived the high building, not because he had little space to plan, and because I wanted to emphasize the power and greatness of the building its volume and silhouette. His desire and aspiration got a decent app. The government instructed Rudnev construction building of the State University in Moscow on Lenin hills, occupied the highest point of the capital over the Moscow river. It was part implemented in a short time the plan for the construction of a system of high-rise buildings, giving Moscow a new scale and a new picturesque silhouette.

The complex of buildings of Moscow state University decided emphatically sculptural. Rudnev belief that "the air surrounding a building, not less involved in the composition than the building itself", it found practical expression. The unity of a complex nature, underscores an architectural medium height Lenin hills testify to the Mature skill of an outstanding architect.

Allocated for the construction of the University area on a high plateau on the banks of the Moscow river provided a unique opportunity to form a new architectural ensemble. The compositional core of the University - its main building, crowned with a spire and a star, dominates the whole complex. Significantly lower side wings, adjacent to the main building, creating a stepped transition to the side wings, where are located the dormitories of students and apartments for teachers. Detached housing chemical and physical faculties along with the main building forming a large courtyard facing South West district of Moscow, and provide a ceremonial approach to high-rise building. From the side of the Moscow river not less solemn approach organized in the form of green lanes, squares and parterres with fountains.

"If you asked me, wrote the master, - what is the basis of architectural creativity, as you need to begin creating a different life, I would have said forget you "architect"; try not to think about your architectural baggage (and you must be considerable), forget his affection for thee beloved motifs and architectural forms, the heritage of the past or to the achievement present day. Do not be a slave of your favorite motive, don't look at it as a Canon, think about the task set before you as an outsider, not a "specialist". First of all find the idea of building his soul, his character, his image..."

19 Nov 1956, three years after the completion of the MSU, Rudnev did not.

Based on the book "100 greatest architects"