The Life and Works of Moscow Architect Nikolai Trankvillitsky (1902–1968)

Abstract

The career of Nikolay Ivanovich Trankvillitsky (1902-1968) spanned the late 1920s – 1960s, a period during which Soviet architecture underwent two radical shifts in direction. N.I. Trankvillitsky had the opportunity to design a wide variety of objects: residential buildings, social and domestic buildings (kindergartens, schools, hospitals, bathhouses and laundries, etc.), clubs, administrative buildings, and film factories. While working at Studio No. 7 of the Mossovet, headed by K.S. Melnikov, N.I. Trankvillitsky, along with Melnikov and several colleagues, was accused of formalism. However, unlike Melnikov, he was able to remain in the profession and continue his creative work. His life also took a dramatic turn during the war: the architect was taken prisoner of war by Germans.
Although N.I. Trankvillitsky cannot be considered a leader of Soviet architecture, his creative biography is interesting as a striking example of resistance to circumstances and an opportunity to identify some practical aspects of the organization of design work in the USSR. The article, based on previously unpublished materials from the archives of the family, attempts to reconstruct his biography and systematically describe his legacy.