The city of the future “Peshegrad” by Leo Epple: perception and evaluation of contemporaries

Abstract

The article analyses the public reaction to the architectural project “Peshegrad” by L.A. Epple. The study is based on documents from private archives and publications in the Soviet press. The bright idea of an amateur architect aroused the interest of many representatives of Russian culture. In the 1970s, B.S. Ryabinin and B.A. Dizhur wrote about the “Peshegrad”. The project was supported by artists D.A. Shmarinov and V.F. Dyachenko, professional architects I.M. Smolyar, G.I. Dubrovin, O.L. Volkhin. Film director B.D. Galanter told about the idea of L.A. Epple in the film “Where your Home is” (1971). Also in the film story of S.A. Gerasimov “To Love a Man” (1972), whose heroes are the architects of that time, the credits go against the background of the project of the city of the future. Pesegrad was the brainchild of its time. It clearly reflects the culture of the early sixties with their “thaw” freedom and illusions. Most contemporaries perceived Epple's ideas not so much as a national urban planning concept, but as a protest against dullness and bureaucracy, cultural limitations and lack of spirituality.