What the study found
The study finds that Russian Suprematist architecture was not just an unrealized offshoot of avant-garde art, but a coherent and rigorous speculative approach to world-making. It argues that Suprematist planits, architectons, and aerocentric projects were used to rethink spatiality beyond Earth-bound gravity, human-centered use, and historical architectural categories.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that Suprematist architecture should be understood as an epistemic experiment, meaning a way of producing and testing knowledge about architecture itself. They suggest this redefinition matters because these projects connect to broader discussions of cosmic space, ecological responsibility, and post-human architectural thought.
What the researchers tested
The article examined architectural propositions associated with Kazimir Malevich and later developed by Lazar Khidekel, Ilya Chashnik, and Nikolai Suetin. It used close analysis of formal strategies, pedagogical frameworks, and theoretical writings, and placed these projects in the context of Russian cosmism and early aerospace thought.
What worked and what didn't
The analysis shows that Suprematist architecture intersected with philosophical, scientific, and technological ideas about reorganizing cosmic space and transforming human corporeality. It also identifies internal variety within the movement, including ecological proto-urbanism, hovering settlements, and magnetic and cruciform spatial systems. The paper treats the historical non-realization of these projects not as failure, but as part of their speculative method.
What to keep in mind
The summary does not provide experimental data or a conventional empirical test of outcomes. Its claims are based on interpretation of architectural propositions and related texts, and the abstract does not describe limitations beyond the historical non-realization of the projects.
Key points
- The study reinterprets Russian Suprematist architecture as a coherent speculative practice.
- It argues that Suprematist projects explored space beyond gravity, utility, and historical typology.
- The article links these architectural ideas to Russian cosmism and early aerospace thought.
- Close reading of formal, pedagogical, and theoretical materials reveals a range of Suprematist architectural ideas.
- The paper says the projects' non-realization should be seen as part of their speculative methodology.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Suprematist architecture is framed as speculative world-making
- Authors:
- Kornelija Ičin
- Institutions:
- University of Belgrade
- Publication date:
- 2026-04-03
- DOI:
- 10.3390/arts15040070
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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