EL LISSITZKY

The Russian constructivists have been a cultural influence upon use here in the West. Many of the current famous architects developed their first architectural responses in the guise of constructivism. I am thinking of Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhas.

As with all architecture movements, the constructivists were concerned with purity, appropriate cultural responses, and the rationality of form. El Lissitzky was a prime thinker and drawer in this movement. In fact, if you want one designer that represents the constructivist movement, it would be El Lissitzky; his work embodies the fully developed constructivist mindset. He was the first to make the constructivist principals known in German in 1920. In 1928, he attempted to summarize the movement in his native Russia.

“A work of architecture comes into being only when the whole thing springs to life as a spatial idea, as a form that exercises a definite effect on our psyche. To do this it is not enough to be a modern man; it is necessary for the architect to possess a complete mastery of the expressive means of architecture.”

As they were obsessed with the concept of function, utility was a key constructivist term. He wrote that merely to provide an architectural solution that works hand in hand with the purpose of the building is only half of the battle. The other half is to “…organize the materials correctly, to solve the constructive problem.”

The resolution of the utility, function, form and structure as one whole. That might summarize El Lissitzky’s position. It also summarizes our purpose with transparent drawing.