ABSTRACT
Introduction In 1922, as Vladimir Tatlin, Liubov’ Popova, Aleksandr Rodchenko, and other Russian Constructivists eager to support the new state through their art were gaining critical attention, Georgii Tikhonovich Krutikov (1899-1958) moved from his birthplace of Voronezh to Moscow. For Krutikov the newly reappointed capital city-the socialist metropolis after the October Revolution-constituted not only living space, but also space for the artistic imagination, a provocative launching pad for what would become his representation of a utopian future megalopolis. Six years later, Krutikov presented his diploma project, titled City of the Future [Gorod budushchego],1 executed in the studio led by Nikolai Aleksandrovich Ladovskii at VKhUTEMAS/VKhUTEIN.2 Although Krutikov referred to his work as a proposal for a future city, it subsequently became known as the design for a “flying city” [letaiushchii gorod].3 Actually, the only flying element in Krutikov’s vision was an independent “cabin” [iacheika], a unit that served a twofold function: that of a vehicle and that of a partial dwelling. Though the inhabitants rather than the city itself would fly, Krutikov designed the entire spatial structure of the City of the Future with aerial transportation in mind.
