Alexey Dushkin
| Alexey Nikolayevich Dushkin | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 24 December 1904 Alexandrovka, Kharkiv Region |
| Died | 8 October 1977 (aged 72) Moscow |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Awards | Stalin Prize 1946 |
| Buildings | Moscow Metro stations |
| Projects | Palace of Soviets, 1932 |
Alexey Nikolayevich Dushkin (24 December 1904 – 8 October 1977) was a Soviet architect, best known for his 1930s designs of Kropotkinskaya and Mayakovskaya stations of Moscow Metro. He worked primarily for subway and railroads and is also noted for his Red Gates administrative building, one of Seven Sisters.
Alexey Dushkin studied chemistry in Kharkiv for three years since 1921, then transferred to architectural college and graduated in 1930. Dushkin worked in city planning, setting up zoning plans for Donbass towns; he co-designed a college building in Kharkiv in 1932. Dushkin associated himself with VOPRA, a left-wing artistic association led by Arkady Modrvinov and Karo Alabyan. In 1932, Dushkin applied for the Palace of Soviets contest. His draft did not win the main prize, but earned an invitation to Moscow to join the Palace design team, and later Ivan Fomin's Workshop No.3.
This section is based on "Moscow Metro. 70 years" (World Architecture Magazine no.14, 2005, see References)
His greatest chance came with the first stage of Moscow Metro. Dushkin and Yakov Lichtenberg, two junior architects, were awarded the honorable task of designing the Palace of Soviets metro station (now Kropotkinskaya).
The choice of young, unknown architects for the most important station is a mystery. Authors of Moscow Metro. 70 years speculate that Dushkin was spotted by Lazar Kaganovich, project manager for the Metro, during the Palace of Soviets contest, or even earlier, in Kharkiv (when Kaganovich headed Ukrainian branch of the Communist Party).
Basic triple-span, columnar layout was fixed by the Metro master planners. Dushkin worked within this framework and very tight construction schedule (half a year from earth pit to completion). Later, in 1973, he summarized the experience: "Optical illusion is worthless. Under ground, light is the most vital structural element that livens up materials and underscores shapes... My creed is Kropotkinskaya. We referred to the Egyptian subterranean legacy, where column tops were lit by oil lamps. This choice is the best answer for the underground reality". This work earned him a Stalin Prize in 1941 and Grand Prix awards at expositions in Paris (1937) and Brussels (1958).
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