Buildings for the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R

Abstract

A LARGE plaster-of-Paris model of the main new buildings of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. is now on view at the Academy's premises in Bolshaya Kuluzhskaya Ulitsa in Moscow. The buildings were designed by A. V. Shchusev. The site for the buildings most favoured is on the Frunze Embankment of the Moscow River. The new buildings of the Academy, according to the plans, consist of five blocks with a volume of 880,000 cubic metres. In the centre of the architectural ensemble is the main block for the presidium of the Academy. The hall is large enough to seat 2,000 persons. There are also four smaller auditoriums. Near the main hall are rooms for the demonstration of films and for broadcasting; also a post and telegraphic office and an information bureau. A block has been set aside for the library and storage premises for fifteen million volumes. On either side of the block for the presidium are buildings to accommodate two museums, one of which will be the Natural History Museum.