Fifth Façade re-evaluates Soviet international style architecture with a drone
Photographers Denis Esakov and Dmitry Vasilenko set to the skies above the former Soviet Union with the use of a drone to capture previously unseen views of soviet international style architecture. The project – suitably named the Fifth Façade – reveals the hidden geometries of these monumental buildings, forcing a re-evaluation of the works themselves and the architects that conceived them. The images expose an intriguing composition of shapes and proportions, sparking a query as to whether there is hidden symbolism within the plans. An example of this can be found in the design of one of the ten buildings photographed by the duo, the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry located in Moscow. From a person’s perspective standing at ground level, the complex appears as a monolithic composition of interconnecting tower blocks which span the length of the site. Only from above is the true form of the building revealed. Is it a coincidence that the structure closely resembles the weaving logo of the institute, inspired by a strand of DNA? And, could there be more to the geometries of the other nine buildings than initially meets the eye? 
Residential area Severnoye Chertanovo by M.Posokhin and L.Dubek
Orlov Museum of Paleontology by Y. Platonov
V. I. Lenin Museum by Leonid Pavlov
Pioneer Palace by V. Egerev, V. Kubasov, F. Novikov, B. Palui, I. Pokrovsky, M. Khazhakhyan and Y. Ionov
Druzhba Multipurpose Arena by Y. Bolshakov
Photos courtesy of Denis Esakov and Dmitry Vasilenko