One of the magnificent monuments of Soviet-era constructivism in Ivanovo is the Ship House, built in 1930 to the design of the Moscow architect D.F. Fridman.
At that time, the city was developing rapidly, being the largest textile center of Russia. To provide workers with housing, construction was constantly underway, and the best architects and designers in the country worked in Ivanovo. But simply building concrete and brick boxes was still considered bad form then. Revolutionary ideas were flying across the country, including in the construction industry. Gradually, many quite avant-garde and unusual buildings appeared in Ivanovo.
The Ship House really does look like a fantastic vessel sailing through the waves of the city's streets. The glazed ground floor only heightens this unusual effect. The second and top floors are encircled by a continuous row of balconies with railings, like a ship's decks. The middle floors are equipped with "lifeboats" - small balconies. The pointed corner of the house is painted a darker color, and the "stern" has a superstructure, rising above the overall volume like the bridge of a large cargo ship.
It is hard to believe that functionally this is an ordinary residential building. Nevertheless, that is the case - there are 212 apartments here, home to happy residents of Ivanovo.
