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| Social Condenser | |
|---|---|
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| Practice information | |
| Founders | Moisei Ginzburg, OSA Group |
| Founded | 1927 |
| Affiliations | Soviet Constructivism |
Inspied by the ideologies of Soviet Constructivist theory, the social condenser (Russian: социальный конденсатор) is an architectural form defined by its influence over spatial dynamics. In the opening speech of the inaugural OSA Group conference in 1928, Moisei Ginzburg claimed that "the principal objective of constructivism... is the definition of the Social Condenser of the age."[1] The single building most associated with the idea is the Narkomfin Building in Moscow, for which construction began in 1928 and finished in 1932.
Central to the idea of the social condenser is the premise that architecture has the ability to influence social behaviour. The primary objective of the social condenser was to affect the design of public spaces, with a view to deconstructing perceived social hierarchies in an effort to create socially equitable spaces.
In the OMA book Content, a social condenser is described as a "Programmatic layering upon vacant terrain to encourage dynamic coexistence of activities and to generate through their interference, unprecedented events."[2]
Through their inherent “interference”,[2] Lenin hoped that the Social Condensers would aid in the emergence and advancement of a higher Soviet consciousness which valued collective interaction over all else. Largely driven by a desire to differentiate post-revolutionary Russia from pre-revolutionary Russia, the Social Condenser style was in the vanguard of new Soviet thought and reflected the Leninist desire to do away with individualised experiences and behaviours. The Constructivist theory that was dictating much of the discourse in Soviet Russia helped to propel this agenda of ideological reform and reinvention, ultimately consolidating the Social Condenser’s position as an architectural allegory for socialist ideals.