This issue of Archiproba magazine is a part of a research work of Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design.

The project was developed in Studio Preservation Next.

Research program director - Rem Koolhaas, supervisers - Anastassia Smirnova, Nikita Tokarev.

dedicated to the memory of S.O. Khan - Magomedov

Khan - Magomedov’s Planet

by Natalia Dushkina

His name became a legend already during his lifetime. Several generations of people called him “the Khan” behind his back. His terse, aloof, curt locution, his Orientally aristocratic sound and meaning packed an enormous punch, they bespoke his nearly fanatical firmness of purpose and will, his tremendous diligence, love of and commitment to the cause of his entire life - the study of architecture. Without those personal qualities that determined the strength of his talent, the phenomenon that might be rightfully called “Khan-Magomedov’s planet” would never appen.
We mean this both literally and metaphorically.

His contribution into the humanities and the history of world architecture was so significant, his “knowledge” of man’s physical environment so great, the central subject of his research - Russian avant-garde - so marked by its skyrocketing break with the “traditional” architecture and by its specific vision of the future as to make his whole activity a breakthrough of cosmic dimensions. We might presume that someday a newly discovered heavenly body will bear his name, which would only correspond to his academic magnitude and international importance. This is no exaggeration. S. O. Khan-Magomedov - and, through him, Russian architecture in the contest of our country’s recent history - are known to architects worldwide. His books started a never-ending flow of architectural pilgrimage to Russia.

http://archiproba.com/archiproba/03_issue___2011.html