Who Built the 'Bachelor's House' in Moscow and Why?

Undoubtedly, you have seen this huge building in person or in photos. 'The Ship', 'Titanic', 'Lying Skyscraper'—the number of nicknames is growing towards infinity: we explain why it received each of them.

Address: Moscow, Bolshaya Tulskaya St., 2
Construction Year: 1970–1990s
Project Authors: architects Vladimir Babad and Vsevolod Voskresensky
Style: constructivism

The 'Ship' House on Moscow Map

Nicknames: 'Ship House', 'Titanic'—how else to name a building that looks like a cruise liner? Another name for this architectural wonder is 'House of Atomists': it was built at the order of the Soviet Ministry of Medium Machine Building, which dealt with nuclear industry.

Another name—'Bachelor's House'—appeared because it was here that single men were given one-room apartments. And the name 'Lying Skyscraper' came about due to its great length.

Photo: Denis Esakov

Concept to Reality: who originally came up with the idea of the 'Ship House', is unknown for sure. The most popular version: the building was constructed based on a Finnish project adapted by Soviet architects Vladimir Babad and Vsevolod Voskresensky.

However, there are critics who claim that the 'House on Tульская' is a continuation of the concept of constructivist architect Moisey Ginsburg, who created the famous 'Narkomfina House' on Novinsky Boulevard. Indeed: in the house there are many different types of apartments (from small 'one-room' flats to two-level four-room ones), plus a kindergarten, laundry, gastronomy, and café. Construction took no less than 20 years.

Interesting Fact: it was first the southern entrances that were built, then the northern ones, and the central parts were completed last. It ended up so that people already lived in the southern part of the building, while only the lower floors were being built in the northern section.

What Makes It Special: the house stretches 400 meters along the street. It has 9 entrances and 18 actual floors, of which the first one (as tall as a five-story building) is occupied by non-residential spaces: from a kindergarten to a supermarket.

Photo: Evgeny Chesnokov

Number of Apartments: 980

Layout: even two-level flats are not particularly spacious or convenient in layout. Kitchens are up to 9 square meters, and due to narrow stairwell openings, it is problematic for owners of two-level flats to move furniture.

Apartment Price: from 7.5 million rubles for a one-room flat of 31 square meters to 19.5 million rubles for a two-level one with average renovation.

Rent Price: prices range from 35,000 to 55,000 rubles for a one-room flat—depending on furniture and renovation.

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