The Shabolovka Tower Model
Reconstructed by Henry Milner
31 May — 12 June 2014
FREE ENTRY
Located in Moscow and designed over 90 years ago by the engineer Vladimir Shukhov, the Shabolovka Radio Tower remains an iconic feature of the city’s skyline. Henry Milner’s scale model of the original structure was commissioned by the Shukhov Tower Foundation for the Science Museum’s new Information Age gallery, which will open in London this autumn. It is on display at GRAD in six sections, as a model in progress, for a limited preview period.
The Shabolovka Tower Model
31 May — 12 June 2014
Curated by Elena Sudakova
Exhibition design by Katya Sivers
Photographs by SOPHIA SCHORR-KON
After its completion in 1922, the 150-meter-high Shabolovka Tower was hailed as a landmark in architectural history, drawing comparisons to the work of Gustave Eiffel and attracting the interest of Aleksandr Rodchenko, who photographed it multiple times. Shukhov was the inventor of the diagrid hyperboloid structure, which he first used in 1896 for a water tower in Polibino. For the Shabolovka Tower, he stacked six steel-lattice hyperboloids, each of which was built on the ground inside the others and then raised into place. Milner’s six-part scale model allows a rare chance to appreciate first-hand the remarkable geometry, intricate latticework and inherent beauty of the structure’s design. Complementing the display are digital prints illustrating the workings of the modelmaking process, Milner’s own photographs of the original structure, as well as a selection of historical images.
Naum Granovsky
A view of Mytnaya Street in Moscow in the 1950s
Courtesy The Schusev State Museum of Architecture
Shukhov’s original design was for a 350-metre-tall structure that would dwarf the Eiffel Tower but would have only a third of its mass thanks to its innovative engineering. The use of the hyperboloid structure would give it an elegant, slim appearance, while guaranteeing strength and wind-resistance. The shortage of steel in the post-Revolutionary period did not allow Shukhov to fulfil his full ambition, but the Shabolovka Radio Tower became that rare thing: a revolutionary vision realised, unlike many idealistic Constructivist projects. It has since provided inspiration for countless architects, from Le Corbusier and Gaudi, to Niemeyer and Pei, and its influence continues in the digital age.
Despite its iconic status the tower currently faces demolition and an appeal to save it is supported by an array of prominent architects, engineers and arts professionals including Rem Koolhaas, Sir Nicholas Serota and Lord Norman Foster. The preview of the Shabolovka Tower model at GRAD aims to emphasise not just the importance of the tower to Russian culture but also Shukhov’s invaluable contribution to the history of design on an international level.
A view of Moscow from the Donskoy Monastery with the Shabolovka Tower in 1935
Courtesy The Schusev State Museum of Architecture
The shabolovka tower MODEL EVENTS
To mark this special sneak preview of the model, GRAD played host to a celebration and to an academic discussion, both of which brought some illustrious guests.
SEMINAR EVENT: SHUKHOV'S RADIO TOWER
12 June 2014
6.30pm – 8.30pm
FREE ENTRY
Our closing event for the Shabolovka Tower Model exhibition brings together several experts who will discuss the significance of Vladimir Shukhov's achievement.
Amongst our guest speakers will be:
Prof. John Milner, Courtauld Institute;
Lutz Becker, Independent Art Historian;
Xenia Vytuleva, Columbia University;
Vladimir Shukhov, great-great-grandson of the tower's original creator and an architect himself;
Henry Milner, maker of the Shabolovka Tower model.
The talks will be followed by a panel discussion and drinks in the gallery, as well as a final opportunity to view the exhibition which closes the following day.
Opening night
30 May 2014
GRAD joined forces with Russian Art and Culture to celebrate the opening of Russian Art Week and to present the Shabolovka Tower model to an invited audience. The evening was opened by an address from HE the Russian Ambassador, who was joined by Vladimir Shukhov, the grandson of the tower's creator.