Centrosoyuz Building

Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret won in 1928 the international competition for the design of the Central Union of Consumer Cooperatives' headquarters, the Centrosoyuz. They completed the entire design plans but didn't take part on the construction works, due to disagreement with Soviet's authorities. The direction of the work was carried out by Nikolai Kolli, who was in contact with Le Corbusier by mail. The completed building was faithful to Le Corbusier's principles, it reflects clearly the five points of architecture, but suffered changes in the interior claddings according to the new taste of the Stalinist era. The building's site was between Myasnitskaya Street and a new planned avenue, Prospekt Sakharov which was not opened until 1960's. The layout is composed by three rectangular volumes for the offices and a fourth curved volume facing the new avenue for the hall and the auditorium. The building shows big curtain wall surfaces and the walls clad with red Armenian tuff stone.