* 19. 12. 1886 Moscow, Russia
† 29. 01. 1959 Moscow
Architect
Viktor Dmitrievich Kokorin was a prominent figure of the Moscow Architectural School and a renowned pedagogue. After training at the Stroganov School of Art, from 1901 he studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (МУЖВЗ), graduating in 1912 with a first-class diploma and the title of architect. From 1913 to 1921, he worked as an ‘assistant architect’ for Alexei Shchusev on the construction of the Kazan railway station in Moscow. From 1918 he worked as Shchusev’s assistant and teacher at the Second Free State Architecture and Art Workshop (SGHM), which was transformed into the famous VKHUTEMAS School in 1920 (position ‘Acting Professor’), and later known as VKHUTEIN. At the same time, he worked with Alexei Shchusev as an architect in the II studio of the MosSovet Architectural Bureau. In the years 1933-1941 Viktor Kokorin was head of the X studio of the same bureau, from 1946 professor at the Moscow Architectural Institute (MAI), from 1949 head of the department ‘Residential and Public Buildings’ of the same institute and vice-rector for scientific work. In the years 1934-1948, Kokorin taught in the ‘Architectural Design’ department at the Postgraduate Institute of the Academy of Architecture. From 1919 Kokorin taught at the several Technical and Higher Engineering Schools (e.g. MIGI). In the years between 1932 and 1938 he was head of department and professor at the Military Academy of Engineering, etc. In 1953-1956 he published a textbook for architectural colleges ‘Architectural Design of Residential Buildings’, which summarises his pedagogical work.
Viktor Kokorin received the title of Doctor of Architecture (1948), was a corresponding member of the Academy of Architecture of the USSR, received the Lenin Prize for his pedagogical work (1951) and the title of Honored Artist of the Georgian SSR.
Competitions
– Project of the People’s House of the Factory in the Nizhny Novgorod Governorate – second prize, 1915
– Competition of the Moscow Soviet Theatre (Viktor Kokorin and Vladimirov, with the participation of Basilevich) – second prize, 1934
– Projects of the Moscow underground stations ‘Komsomolskaya’ and ‘Arbatskaya’, 1935
– Palace of the Government of Georgia, Tbilisi, (Kokorin, with the participation of Vladimirov, Adrianov, Churakova and Giorgi Lezhava) – first prize, 1934
– State theatre in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan (Viktor Kokorin and Vladimirov) 1936
– Building of the People’s Commissariat of Justice, Moscow – first prize, 1938
– Pavilion of the Moscow Region at the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy in Moscow – first prize, 1939
– Government Palace of Georgia, Tbilisi, (Viktor Kokorin, Giorgi Lezhava) – first prize, 1946
Major projects
– Several country houses near Moscow, from 1913
– Kazansky railway station, Moscow (Alexei Shchusev’s studio) 1913-1940
– Main pavilion, theatre, cattle pavilion, smithy, etc. Projects as part of the First Russian Exhibition of Agricultural Crafts and Industry (under the direction of Zholtovsky and Alexei Shchusev) 1922-1923
– ‘Mechanisation’ pavilion at the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy, Moscow (Zholtovsky, Viktor Kokorin, Parusnikov), 1923
– New buildings of the ‘Krasny Proletary’ factory, Malaya Kaluzhskaya 15, Moscow (Boldyrev, Viktor Kokorin) 1927-1928
–Oil Institute, Lenin Prospekt 33, Moscow (Wutke, Viktor Kokorin) 1931
– Project sketch for the Crimean Bridge (Viktor Kokorin, Mariam Jandieri, Giorgi Lezhava) 1935
– Building of the scientific institutes of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Lenin Prospekt, Moscow (Shchusev’s studio) 1936-1938
– Government Palace of the Georgian SSR (now Parliament), upper building, former Atarbegov Street, Tbilisi, (Viktor Kokorin, with the collaboration of Giorgi Lezhava), 1938
– Government Palace of the Georgian SSR (now Parliament), main building, Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi, (Viktor Kokorin, Giorgi Lezhava), 1953
– Palace of Socialist Culture, Ufa, Bashkir ASSR (Viktor Kokorin, Bazilevich), 1934-1936
– Reconstruction of the main house (recreation centre of the Union of Architects) in the Sukhanovo district, Moscow region, 1936 and 1946
– Small Krasnokholmsky Bridge, Moscow, Russia (engineer: Imenitov) 1936
– Large Krasnokholmsky Bridge, Moscow, Russia (engineer: Vakhurkin) 1936
– Novgorod reconstruction project (Alexei Shchusev, Viktor Kokorin) 1943-1944
– Komsomolskaya metro station (roundabout), Moscow, Russia. (After the last, sketched project by Alexei Shchusev. Viktor Kokorin, Zabolotnaya)1951-1956
– Residential building (Dom Gidroprekta), Sadovaya-Chernogryazskaya 11-13, Moscow, Russia, 1940
– Residential building, Smolensky Boulevard 14-22, Moscow, (Viktor Kokorin, Mariam Jandieri) 1940
– Project for the reconstruction of Chkalov Square, Moscow, 1939
Literature/Links
Authors’ Collective, Works of Architectural Studios. Vol. 2. Studio N° 10, 1936 (rus) Работы архитектурных мастерских. Т 2. мастерская N° 10, 1936
Larisa Ivanovna-Veen, Dedicated to the 130th Anniversary of V. D. Kokorin’s Birth (rus) Л.И. Иванова-Веэн, В. Д. Кокорин – Педагог Московской архитектурной школы. К 130-летю со дня рождения архитектора. МАИ (государственная академия), Москва, Россия
Anastasia Firsova, Mosproekt. Studio N° 10 (rus) МОСПРОЕКТ. МАСТЕРСКАЯ № 10