Rusakov Workers’ Club Change this

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The Rusakov Workers’ Club in Moscow is a notable example of Constructivist architecture. Designed by Konstantin Melnikov, it was constructed in 1927-28. The club is built on a fan-shaped plan, with three cantilevered concrete seating areas rising above the base. Each of these volumes can be used as a separate auditorium, and combined they result in a capacity of over 1,000 people. At the rear of the building are more conventional offices. The only visible materials used in its construction are concrete, brick and glass. The function of the building is to some extent expressed in the exterior, which Melnikov described as a “tensed muscle”.

The building suffered insensitive renovations in the late 1930s and about the only maintenance performed since then has involved the replacement of exterior finishes during which the club’s name in low-relief stucco lettering was removed. The building was included in the 1998 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund to call attention to its very poor condition.

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