East–west dialogue: The case of residential architectural and urban planning concepts in Kharkiv (1920s–1930s)

Abstract

The article is devoted to exploring parallels in the architectural and urban planning practices of Western and Kharkiv modernism in the 1920s to early 1930s, analyzed through the lens of residential concepts in the capital city of Kharkiv. The study attempts to define key global architectural and urban planning trends of the 1920s–1930s and highlight their distinct realization in Kharkiv. This city served not only as an experimental platform for implementing avant-garde concepts tied to the creation of the “new Soviet person” but also as a venue for incorporating Western modernist approaches to design and socio-architectural concepts. In Kharkiv, these concepts were implemented in the sequence: the “garden city,” the “house-commune,” the functional-spatial model of the “residential combine,” and the “socialist city.” In the context of significant destruction caused by the war initiated by Russia against Ukraine, identifying these implemented concepts in Kharkiv greatly enhances the value of individual architectural objects and entire urban ensembles. This recognition also facilitates their integration into contemporary heritage preservation strategies.