Shchusev was not a committed Constructivist theorist, and is best known for his design of the Lenin Mausoleum. This building, however, is a particularly well preseved example from the Constructivist era, although the depth of Constructivist principles here is limited.

The Narkomsem is located on the Sadovaya Ring in a neighborhood that was redesigned according to the general plan for Moscow by Shchussev. Although the urban planning proposals were never executed in full, the Narkomsem is still one of the most distinctive buildings in this district and is located adjacent to Le Corbusier's Centrosoyus building and Formin NKPS, two buildings that were built simultaneously.

Some of the most striking features are the cylindrical corner tower, the overall asymmetry, the ribbon windows (particularly on the top floor), and the corner details, where the glazing is continuous around both internal and external corners. The Narkomsem, now the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, overlooks the Garden Ring on the corner of Orlikov Pereulok and Sadovaya-Spasskaya Ulitsa.