Dwelling: Five Years’ Work on the Problem of the Habitation was the third of four groundbreaking works written by the Soviet modernist architect Moisei Ginzburg (1892-1946). Originally published in 1934, this facsimile edition is the first translation of the entire book into English, detailing Ginzburg’s work over a five-year period in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Starting with a broad survey of habitation in different cultures and traditions, Ginzburg elucidates the ways in which he and his colleagues tried to adapt and apply architectural solutions to the new demands of Soviet life. This includes a detailed analysis of the Narkomfin building in Moscow, now being restored by his grandson, the architect Alexey Ginzburg; a description of his work on the commune house; and the theories behind two major housing projects: Magnitogorya and Zeleny Gorod. The period covered by Dwelling represents the highpoint of Constructivism.

Published by Ginzburg Design with Fontanka

200pp, hardcover, 290 x 210mm, 238 illustrations

£29.95; $45.00

ISBN: 978-1-906257-25-5

Distributed by Thames and Hudson (Europe)

and Antique Collectors Club (North America)

The design by Ginzburg Design Limited of the current translation follows the original layout and format of the book, reproducing all the many photographs, architectural drawings and plans, with which the original was illustrated. The proximity to the original is certainly one of the assets of the current edition. And the translation comes at the right time, hand in hand with the launch [in 2017] of the restoration of the Narkomfin, headed by Ginzburg's grandson Alexey Ginzburg, after decades of decay (Book of the Month, The Architectural Review)