Who Actually Invented Khrushchyovkas?

Khrushchyovkas are one of the most distinctive features of the Khrushchev Thaw: before the mid-1950s, mass housing was not built in the USSR. People moved into five-story buildings that we now look at disdainfully from barracks. These were not just houses, but the largest social project. And it had more than one author.

1. German Genius

In the early 1930s, about 100 German architects worked in the Soviet Union, including a group of Bauhaus graduates. These were the people who invented experimental panel construction in Germany. All of them were "more communists than Russians themselves," dreaming of relocating Soviet people to bright modern cities and creating several projects that were never realized. In 1936, almost all Germans left, and traces of those who remained were lost in 1937.

Settlement "Uncle Tom's Hut" near Berlin, designed by Bruno Taut in 1926–1932

2. American Conveyor

American architect Albert Kahn was invited to the USSR in 1929 and designed over 500 factories in a short time, including all tractor plants, that is, tank plants, earning an unprecedented honorarium for those times – 200 billion dollars.

There are documents confirming that Kahn's company not only designed factories but also homes for workers, at least initially, until an order was issued to stop building housing and punish those who diverted attention to this nonsense. Regardless, the mass-conveyor method of design was developed by Kahn’s company, which built conveyor systems for Ford.

General Motors Headquarters, designed by Albert Kahn

3. French "Radiant City"

Although Le Corbusier was able to build only one building in the USSR—the Central Union House—he was expelled not only from the country but also from Soviet architecture textbooks. However, his influence is clearly visible: reinforced concrete panels, flat roofs, and lack of ornamentation—all ideas of his.

According to legend, the ceiling height of 2 meters 48 centimeters in khrushchyovkas is also due to Le Corbusier—he set this as the minimum for human existence.

Marseilles "Living Unit" – Le Corbusier's first mass housing project

On the cover: "Ideal City," built by Le Corbusier in India

Read also:

• Transforming a Khrushchyovka into a Comfortable Studio: Project in Nakhodka
• 10 Interesting Facts About Khrushchyovkas
• What Can Be Done with a Khrushchyovka: 5 Examples