Shop window and other unconventional solutions: what makes famous store on Krasnaya Presnya unique

The Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage has approved the list of to-be-preserved features of the department store at 48/2 Building 2 Krasnaya Presnya. It is a list of important historical elements and features of the building to be taken into account during any future works.

“The department store on Krasnaya Presnya is a bright example of a large trade center of a new type, which was the first constructivism style facility in Moscow created by brothers Leonid and Viktor Vesnins. Its main façade is a fully-glazed shop window and has always attracted attention of passers-by. The building is a cultural heritage site of regional significance and is state protected. Recently, specialists have completed the necessary research, described all the elements of the architectural landmark and we have approved a detailed list of features to be preserved. It also includes the trade function of the building,” says Alexey Yemelyanov, the Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage. 

The list includes the store location and the way it complements the district architecture. The document also covers the architectural and artistic design of the façade of the 1929 building, including the design of the main entrance canopy as well as window and door openings. Among other things, the list includes square double side openings on the upper floor, the pattern of the shop windows, the way glazing is divided, the material and method of the façade surface finishing of 1929 (plaster on top of brick), a two-line inscription in a chiseled block font on the façade of the fourth floor (the upper line has "MOSTORG" written and the lower has "UNIVERSALNY MAGAZIN" (department store)). Experts emphasized the value of the interior space planning. The building had trading halls on each floor, connected into a single space by a central triple-flight staircase. Besides, all building structures and ceilings were also included in the list. The historical functional purpose of the building is stated: it is a store.

The department store was constructed in 1929. The main façade was a giant fully-glazed shop window with beveled edges. The huge shop window facing the square was supposed to attract a lot of customers demonstrating the advantages of the new Soviet trade.

The building was erected in the constructivism style. Its shape, composition, and aesthetics marked a new stage in the city and its public space development. The building was small due to the small construction area. Entrances for customers and a wide main triple-flight staircase connecting all the trading floors were in the center of the building, facing the Krasnopresnenskaya Zastava Square. Near the main staircase was an elevator shaft.

The beam-and-column construction system was used to create a single trading hall space on each of the main floors.

The constructivism architecture and structural diagram of the building were dictated by its purpose. Three floors housed trading halls, while the basement and fourth floor were used as storage and administrative premises. Relatively simple and almost symmetrical, the building looks balanced, solid, and dynamic.

The department store on Krasnaya Presnya was a prominent example of a large new trading institution. Brothers Leonid and Viktor Vesnins were among the pioneer constructivism architects and leaders of this new movement who consolidated apprentices and like-minded fellows. The building on Krasnaya Presnya was their first constructivism work.

Construction of large department stores was typical of Moscow architecture in the second half of the 1920s. At this time, several department stores built in former suburbs on the initiative of Mostorg. 

Department stores were treated as centers of public utilities and community services. They were to become competitors of private traders. Their emergence enabled the state and cooperative trade to significantly reduce overhead expenses and lower prices. Department store buildings became the subject of architectural competitions. Often, prominent masters who could create expressive socially significant facilities matching their new functional purpose and urban role were entrusted to construct them.