Polytechnic Museum
In 1931, Soviet officials inquired Le Corbusier's opinion on the reconstruction of the city of Moscow. While in Moscow in 1928, he had taken some quick, hidden (it was prohibited to draw in the streets for fear of espionage) sketches on the city and noted that its plan was “that of the age of the horse.” At the packed conference held at the Polytechnic Museum, he had discussed the significance of city planning and the city's future, yet at the time Le Corbusier had not been interested in Moscow itself. After his trip, the Soviet Union seemed a central preoccupation. Le Corbusier responded with a 59-page report, “Response to Moscow,” in which he sketched his ideas for the city. Unfortunately, his initial response is not yet available, hidden in private Russian collections. Nevertheless, his response to such inquiry produced the theoretical basis for Ville Radieuse, the Radiant City. That such an important concept for urbanism derived from Le Corbusier's answer to the Soviet questionnaire suggests the important imprint of the Soviet Union in his career.