Introduction

Taken from Soviet constructivist architectural theory, the social condenser is a concept of social space applied to architecture. At the inaugural conference of the first OSA group in 1928, Moisei Ginzburg said that "the main objective of [...] Constructivism is to define the social condenser of the age." The only building that embodies this idea well is the Narkomfin in Moscow, begun in 1928 and completed in 1932.

Body

The central idea of ​​the social condenser is to affirm that architecture has the ability to influence social behavior. The intention of the social condenser to influence the design of public spaces with the aim of breaking the perception of social hierarchies in favor of socially equitable spaces.

Derived from Soviet constructivist theory, the social condenser is an architectural form defined by its influence on the spatial dynamics of society. In the opening speech of the OSA Group's inaugural conference in 1928, Moisei Ginzburg stated that "the main objective of constructivism... is the definition of the social condenser of the time."[1]​.

The building most associated with this idea is the Narkomfin Building in Moscow, construction of which 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 behavior. The primary goal of the social condenser was to affect the design of public spaces, with a view to deconstructing social hierarchies in an effort to create socially equitable spaces.

The approach to creating the built form of a "social condenser" includes the overlap and intersection of programs within a space through circulations. For example, shared circulation nodes create collision zones of different constitutions. Creating these interactions is a key goal of social condensers.

In the book Content by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, a social condenser is described as a "programmatic layer on an empty plot of land to encourage the dynamic coexistence of activities and generate, through their interference, unprecedented events".[2]​.

Through these “interferences,”[2] Vladimir Lenin hoped that social condensers would aid the emergence and advancement of a higher Soviet consciousness that valued collective interaction above all else. Driven largely by the desire to differentiate post-revolutionary Russia from pre-revolutionary Russia, the social condenser style was part of the vanguard of new Soviet thought and reflected the Leninist desire to do away with individualized experiences and behaviors. The constructivist theory that dictated much of the discourse in Soviet Russia helped drive this agenda of reform and ideological reinvention, ultimately cementing the position of the social condenser as an architectural allegory for socialist ideals.