About

"Symbols of the Thaw: Architecture of Soviet Leisure" is a multimedia project created by Readymag in collaboration with the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. The online experience is based on the guidebook "Moscow: Architecture of Soviet Modernism. 1955–1991," authored by Anna Bronovitskaya and Nikolai Malinin, with photography by Yuri Palmin. The project focuses on three significant but overlooked buildings of the Soviet modernist era: the Central House of Artists, the Paleontological Museum, and the former cafe "Vremena Goda" (now home to Garage). It is dedicated to the English-language reissue of the book and aims to bring attention to the architectural and cultural legacy of the era.

Challenge

The task was to adapt printed research into an engaging, educational, and emotionally resonant online format. The goal was to give a wider, international audience access to Soviet modernist heritage, conveying its atmosphere and cultural context through a contemporary lens. We needed to reflect the depth and detail of the original guidebook while offering a seamless, visually compelling experience native to the digital environment.

Solution

We selected three chapters from the book and developed them into interactive longreads. Each digital story uses expressive typography, animation, layout techniques, and illustration to echo the visual rhythm of modernist architecture. The narrative unfolds in a cinematic flow, allowing the viewer to immerse themselves in the time period and the stories behind the buildings. The design leverages Readymag's tools to build a minimalistic, elegant, and historically sensitive presentation, allowing the viewer to both learn and feel the architectural spirit of the era. The project not only brings archival material into a modern context but also opens a dialogue about the value of mid-century architecture and the cultural identity it carries today.