Melnikov House

On a side street near the Arbat, the home of Konstantin Melnikov still stands as testament to the innovation of the Russian avant-garde in the 1920s. This plot of land was granted to the architect on the grounds that the house was a social experiment that would then be applied to mass housing. (It never was.) He created his unusual new home – the only private house built during the Soviet period – from two interlocking cylinders. It is an ingenious design that employs no internal load-bearing wall and has a self-reinforcing wooden grid floor. The house was also experimental in its designation of living space: the whole family slept in one room, painted a golden yellow and divided by narrow wall screens. Melnikov softened the corners in the room, even those on the hexagonal windows, to create a soothing environment for peaceful sleep. This house, an icon of the Russian avant-garde, is inhabited by the architect’s granddaughter, Ekaterina Melnikova. Ekaterina is attempting to execute her father Victor’s will, which states that the house should be turned into a state-run museum. Unfortunately, Ekaterina is not the sole owner of the house, and her colleague – a senator and business developer and patron of the arts – is at odds with her end goal. When she is not in the courtroom, Ekaterina is at home. If you knock on the door, you may be lucky and be given a tour (in Russian only). The interior has largely been kept intact since the death of Victor, who tried to keep the house exactly as it was when his father lived there, down to the tubes of paint scattered across his desk. The place reeks of authenticity and artistry and it remains one of the most important architectural sites in the country.