Lets Go Shopping: The Mostorg Department Store

Front view of the Mostorg Department Store, now occupied by United Colors of Benetton

Current view of the Mostorg department store occupied by United Colors of Benetton

This is the Mostorg Department Store, completed in 1927! As you can see it is still in use today, but United Colors of Benetton did not always own the building.

The structure was designed by the Vesnin brothers; Alexander, Victor, and Leonid. Alexander Vesnin was one of the founders of the Organization of Contemporary Architects, or OSA for short, which was one of the subgroups of Constructivism. OSA architects had three goals: to radically transform the current architectural concepts, to command and use the latest technical data, and to command a correct form and provide solutions for the area's problems.

As the first Moscow store for the proletariat, and additionally the first public constructivist building built in Moscow, the Mostorg Department Store did just that. As you can see, the smooth and glazed exterior of the building was inviting and expressed an availability of shops for the common worker. Similarly to Tatlin’s tower, the materials used were a combination of steel and glass, functioning in practical use to display the contents of the store to passersby, and to make use of the new materials set forth by Tatlin. Symmetrical and roomy on a cramped corner lot, the three storied building provided much needed shopping space in a new kind of market.  

The Mostorg Department Store in the 1920s

While the design was unique at the time, the building—following OSA guidelines— played to functionality instead of to emotion. The glass and steel and accessibility was for use of the shoppers to access the stores, as the building itself was aesthetically quite plain, and designed for practicality on its awkward lot.

The store was reflective of the boom in private commerce at the end of the New Economic Policy period. Amongst a backdrop of 19^th century brick buildings at the time, it looked modern and new, and was therefore symbolic of the new peoples’ Russia. In Constructivist form, the building emphasized its use of modern materials, and operated to create a better market environment between the stores and the shoppers, crafting a better all around society. Additionally, the building simbolized the new, emerging modern and advanced Russia; a nation that believed that it would dominate the western capitalist nations in providing more for its citizens, in this case providing modern leisure and shopping experiences.

Still standing here today on its awkward corner, the site now serves a modern shop: the United Colors of Benetton. While much of the area has been inevitably modernized, the building still remains as a welcoming spot for shoppers, still showcasing products through its glass windows. While the building may be almost 90 years old, perhaps it still symbolizes a new, consumer oriented modern Russia, functioning as a perfect spot for shoppers to purchase items, and stores to showcase their goods. 

Now we will check out the next OSA style spot, the Narkomfin building. 

Alifragkis, Https://structurae.net/photos/79463-mostorg-department-store-in-moscou, and Fran çois Penz. "Power of "Reconstruction:" Dziga Vertov's Cinematic ..." Power of "Reconstruction:" Dziga Vertov's Cinematic Socialist City of the Future. Cambridge Architecture Journal, June 2009. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. http://www.academia.edu/2953067/Power_of_Reconstruction_Dziga_Vertovs_Cinematic_Socialist_City_of_the_Future.