Frédéric Chaubin: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed

Spotted this slab of hardback in my local Waterstones, quite by accident, whilst looking for bargains. Sealed in shrink-wrap and with no price visible, I was really intrigued but as it was just after Christmas, I had a budget to stick to. Twenty pounds, I told myself. After queuing for ten minutes and my arms elongated under the weight, on scanning, it came up at £35. I might as well have offended both the assistant and queue personally by muttering that it was too much and promptly put it back. Appetite wetted, Amazon, then, came to the rescue, nearly matching my price but delivered for free, too. As others have said, there's little text but enough. The photographs themselves are mostly impressive and convey the grey concrete monuments to USSR Communism well. As a photographer myself, I felt that a few were uninspired in their taking but generally it's a solid body of work and not knowing the conditions and pressures (permission, secrecy etc) the photographer faced, it's petty to criticise. Considering also their geographical spread, it's fascinating, as one would expect for all the buildings to be in Moscow or other big cities, but a good many weren't. The book has now been lent to several families who have had sons, daughters, people of all ages, from far and wide, coming home and who've found the whole topic fascinating. The size of the pages themselves almost demand respect, as if an old manuscript is being lovingly studied. I won't be thinking of buying another book on Russian brutalist architecture again. "CCCP" covers the subject amply and superbly and its interest may be more universal than you might initially think and others will want a peek. Recommended.

I'm not an architect, but I like history of art and this book caught my attention. The book, as other reviewers point out, is a great showcase of the later soviet architecture. A whole range of buildings, from camps for the reeducation of young offenders (built by themselves) to scientific institutes or to "wedding palaces". The constructions are not so different from the "futuristic" or "op art" constructions of the western countries in Europe or South America: vast concrete expanses, curving or polyedrical façades and roofs, concrete sculptures and abstract decorative motives... Adaptating or merging with the surrounding landscape was not an issue. It was an era of experimentation for "new forms". Some of them are naïve and useless, some of them are truly good solutions and even extraordinary technical solutions. Quite familiar with the booming architecture of the Spanish dictatorship in those years. One usually imagines the architecture of the soviet era as a uniform mass, oppresive, grey, poor quality, but this book discovers that USSR architects had their own progressive views, they tried to build original structures. Probably this was an attempt to "lightening" the political opression, or the feeble trials at making communism more palatable to the population, showing that the soviet system could match the experimentation and mores to be found elsewere in the world. The photos are numerous and large, but have an eerie quality of decay, neglect, abandon that clutches your heart. It is a pity that so many buildings have been despised and abandoned. The book is well docummented and has a lot of written information.The only (minor) drawback is that the photos have a "coarse grain" look, much like those to be found in a 70's book, that sometimes make difficult to appreciate details. A good buy for the curious and the professional.

Ugly Russian Buildings I must confess that I bought this expecting it to be good, a Russian twist on our current penchant for really ugly Brutalist buildings like Trellick Tower, with a dash of that decaying Detroit look. I was however really surprised by just how good these buildings actually are. Clearly they are not all entirely to Western tastes, but they are far far better than just po faced Stalinist monstrosities. It is to our shame that these buildings are not better known in the West, they are world class examples of great architecture, and it is our loss that we do not know them better. In common with other reviewers, I will add that the book is incredible value, the photos are stunning, it is slightly irritating that some of the images are marred with being double page spreads, the text is functional and the book is a real must buy. Get it now or regret it.

This book had some gorgeous photos and beautiful quality. Nice hardcover book, quite large and heavy. The only thing I would like is if they added more information and history about the buildings and structures shown. I purchased a copy for my dad and boyfriend. Nice coffee table book.

Hace tiempo que lo tenía en el radar, esperando que hubiera srock. El libro es de gran formato, de un tema que me gustaba mucho. La arquitectura que muestra es sorprendente, como de otro planeta a veces. El trato del vendedor, y la preparación y envío, excelente.

Très bon livre sur le monument de l'ère communiste. Des informations historiques passionnantes, des photos de qualité pour des bâtiments à couper le souffle. Seul bémol, le livre est TRÈS lourd. vraiment très lourd.

Un libro fotografico meraviglioso, come solo la collana Taschen riesce a fare. Fotografia ad alta definizione e di formato grande per poter godere appieno dell'arte-architettura Brutalista di stampo Sovietico. Immense costruzioni, spesso ricavate in mezzo al nulla che si determina al paesaggio circostante e all'immaginazione delle persone che le contemplano. Archeologia industriale che serve a tenere viva la memoria, di un tempo non tanto passato, che si è determinato alla storia dell'umanità. Avendo avuto la fortuna di viaggiare per i paesi Sovietici ho incontrato diverse volte queste meravigliose e imponenti costruzioni, fredde a vedersi ma perfettamente riuscite e di un fascino unico. Un libro fotografico meraviglioso e anche se non sono un architetto, lo conserverò gelosamente e per sempre nella mia libreria.

The book has an excellent quality, has amazing pictures and good content. A simple way to describe it is very good product.