Levinson E.A. (1894-1968), architect

Categories / Architecture/Personalia
Categories / Tsarskoe Selo and town of Pushkin. The digital chronological reference book/Pushkin personality
LEVINSON Evgeny Adolfovich (1894-1968, Leningrad), architect and artist, Associate of the Academy of Architecture of the USSR (from 1941), Doctor of Architecture (1946). He studied at Civil Engineers' Institute (1915-1916), and graduated from the Academy of Arts (1924-1927). In the early 1920s, he worked as a stage designer in Odessa. His architectural activity is mainly connected with Leningrad. He followed the norms of constructivism in his early works, such as the building of the preventorium (32 Elizarova Avenue, 1928-1930, together with L.V. Rudnev, I.I. Fomin et al.), residential houses at 55 Kamennoostrovsky Avenue (1929-1930, together with A.M. Sokolov) and 20 Pesochnaya Embankment (1930-36). The forms of the late constructivism can be seen in the first apartment house of Leningrad Soviet (13 Karpovka River Embankment; 1931-35, together with Fomin), which is characterized by the dynamics and sculptural expression of curved and right-angled dimensions, Leningrad Soviet Recreation Centre (42 Kamennoostrovsky Avenue; 1931-1938, together with V.O. Munz) and the House of Light Industry (44-46 Voznesensky Avenue; 1932-1935, together with Fomin) which has ornamental details of the facades a la Art Deco. Since the mid-1930s Levinson was involved in the modernization of the city's classical heritage, thus contributing to the establishment of his original Neoclassical style. The dominating point in the buildings of Nevsky District Soviet (163 Obukhovskoy Oborony Avenue, 1936-1939), buildings on Ivanovskaya Street (1937-1940), residential-houses at 8 Petrovskaya Embankment (1938-1940) as well as 145 and 147 Moskovsky Avenue (1938-1940, all of them built together with Fomin et al.) is constituted by the rows of high pylons which accentuate the monumental and large-scale character of the composition. In the 1940s, he took part in the building up of Magnitogorsk, built residential houses in Moscow as well as blocks of low buildings on Krupskoy Street in Leningrad. His post-war works consists of enhancing the retrospective character and ornamentation, such as the apartment house on 1/12 Pestelya Street (1947-1949), the Railway Station in Pushkin (1948-1950; Stalin Award of 1951), Avtovo Metro Station (1950-1955, all of them built together with A.A. Grushke). At that time Levinson paid special attention to the synthesis of arts. His turn to the integrating lapidary forms can be seen in the ensemble of Piskarevskoe Memorial Cemetery (1955-1960, together with A.V. Vasilyev, sculptors V.V. Isaeva, R.K. Taurit et al.). The last stage of his works is represented by neo-constructivist forms, revealed in his return to a strict functionality and laconicism of clear-cut three-dimensional compositions: Sovetskaya Hotel (43/1 Lermontovsky Avenue, 1963-1968), Nevsky Recreation Centre (32 Obukhovskoy Oborony Avenue, 1968-72) etc. Based on the methods of industrial house-building Levinson directed the development of residential blocks in Nevsky District. He also taught at the Leningrad Institute of Municipal Building - Leningrad Building Engineering Institute (1940-46), and was also in charge of a workshop in the Academy of Arts (1941-68; professor from 1947). He lived at 55 Kamennoostrovsky Avenue (1931-68; memorial plaque). He was buried at Serafimovskoe Cemetery.

References: Оль Г. А., Левинсон Е. Э. Евгений Левинсон. Л., 1976.

B. М. Kirikov. Fomin Igor Ivanovich
Grushke Andrey Alexandrovich
Isaeva Vera Vasilievna
Levinson Evgeny Adolfovich
Munz Vladimir Oskarovich
Rudnev Lev Vladimirovich
Sokolov Alexander Mikhailovich
Stalin (real name Dzhugashvili) Iosif Vissarionovich
Taurit Robert Karlovich
Vasilyev Alexander Viktorovich
Elizarova Avenue/Saint Petersburg, city, house 32
Ivanovskaya Street/Saint Petersburg, city
Kamennoostrovsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 42
Kamennoostrovsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 55
Karpovka River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 13
Krupskaya St./Saint Petersburg, city
Lermontovsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 43/1
Moskovsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 145
Moskovsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 147
Obukhovskoy Oborony Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 32
Obukhovskoy Oborony Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 163
Pesochnaya Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 20
Pestelya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 1/12
Petrovskaya Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 8
Voznesensky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 44
Voznesensky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 46
Оль Г. А., Левинсон Е. Э. Евгений Левинсон. Л., 1976 Academy of Arts
Academy of Arts
Seraphimovskoe Cemetery