«Big Sverdlovsk» in the Historical and Architectural Dimension of the 1920s — 1930s

The paper analyzes the processes of urban planning and architectural shaping that took place in the administrative center of the Ural (since 1934 — Sverdlovsk) region, the city of Sverdlovsk in the 1920s — 1930s. The paper notes that the new architectural and spatial structure of one of the largest cities in the Urals, which arose during the implementation of the general plan «Big Sverdlovsk», was based mainly on the ideas of the architectural avant-garde, the main creative trend of which was constructivism. The paper also indicates that Sverdlovsk constructivism, which led to the creation of a large number of unique structures, was formed and developed under the influence of famous architects representing the avant-garde centers of Moscow, Leningrad and Tomsk, as well as the German Bauhaus school, which was considered the founder of this style. The paper draws attention to the fact that the practical implementation of the plan of architectural and urban development of Sverdlovsk led to the creation of a polycentric urban system within which, along with the reconstruction of the central core of the city, on the basis of large factories, surrounding industrial and residential areas («socialist cities»), regulated by systems of consumer services, transport and landscaping, arose. The paper concludes that these architectural and construction processes of the 1920s — 1930s, which took place in Sverdlovsk within the constructivist avant-garde, and then evolved towards decorative constructivism and neoclassicism, allowed the city to take a serious step in the development of urban planning, led to the creation of an architectural aura that formed its unique image.