Stagnation (1964-1986): Circle Structures as Insular as the USSR
For an era named after its harsh laws, economic disparity, and political isolationism, it is no shock that its most iconic buildings are modeled after a Panopticon, a historic type of self-contained prison. Eugene Stamo's Circle House is one of many buildings built during the Stagnation period that follow his iconic style, which includes an outdoor commonspace inclosed within a circular ring of appartments (1). As the structure suggests, this era was one with minimal freedom of individuality and, as history had shown before, such tyrannical systems don't succede in Russia (2). The main proponent for this radical political shift after Khrushchev's thaw (1953-1964), was Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982), followed by short-lived leaders in Yuri Andropov (1982–1984) and Konstantin Chernenko (1984–1985) (2). This era has minimal architectural signifigance because there was very little money and most of the construction went to cheap, efficient appartment buildings, thus allowing Eugene Stamo's unique take on such a building to stand out (1).
"(Stagnation) was as if there had been a zombie appocalypse." - Mikhail Gorbechav
Fun Fact: The Building was supposed to be 1 of 5 as a symbol of the 1980's Olympics in Moscow but due to a lack in fundings from the 'Stagnation', they could not finish the project and only built this one. Later on, the Russian government came to like the insular communal nature of the structure and built more throughout the USSR.
1. "Round Moscow Home." Samstroy. Samstroy, 2015. Web.
2. Reid, Susan E. "Cold War in the Kitchen: Gender and the De-Stalinization of Consumer Taste in the Soviet Union under Khrushchev." Slavic Review 61.2 (2002): 211. Web.