V.G. Shukhov was born in 1853 in the city of Grivoron of Belgorod province. He
was dead in 1939 and buried at Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.
In 1871 Shukhov entered Moscow Technical School and graduated it with excellent
results having received the diploma of mechanical engineer. After the graduation
Shukhov took part in a trip through the USA in order to gather information about
the latest technical achievements in this country.
Ater his arrival from the trip Shukhov works as a design engineer of steam
locomotive depots in the railway society Warsaw - Vienna. From 1878 to 1880 he
is an employee of Bary’s design office in Azerbaijan.
From the year of 1880 Shukhov is the chief engineer in A.Bary’s design office.
After the revolution of 1917 A.Bary’s firm was nationalized and transformed into
the organization Stalmost (actually the closed joint-stock company The
Melnikov Institute ), and the chief engineer V.G. Shukhov was elected its
director.
From 1918 Shukhov is a member of the State Committee for oil industry. From 1927
he is a member of the Soviet Government. In 1927 Shukhov was elected a
corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Russia. In 1928 he is a
merited Scientist and Technologist. In 1929 he becomes a honorary member of the
Academy of Sciences of the USSR and Lenin prize laureate.
V.G. Shukhov is one of the remarkable design engineer at the end of the XIXth-
beginning of the XXth century, making part of the pleiad of Russian outstanding
engineers. Together with G.Eiffel, P.Melart, E. Fraci, Shukhov is a founder of
modern building structures.
In 1878 Shukhov constructed an oil pipeline, being the first in Russia,
developed a structure of cylindrical tank with a thin bottom resting on sand
cushion and a stepped shell thickness (construction of modern tanks is based on
the same principle) and a fuel combustion nozzle.
During the following years Shukhov created various pumps, designed and
constructed oil tankers, oil processing plants, he also discovered the principle
of oil cracking, constructed the Moscow water supply system (1887 - 1890).
Shukhov invented a new water pipe boiler in two versions: horizontal and
vertical ( the famous Shukhov’s steam boilers .) Their full-scale production
began in 1896.
In 1892 Shukhov constructed his first railway bridges. Then he
designed several types of bridges (with spans varying from 25 to 100 m), on the
basis of these standard structural conceptions 417 bridges were constructed
under his management for various railway lines.
Shukhov developed roof structures of the most various use. The well-known arch
roofs of Moscow shops: the State Department Store(GUM) and Petrovsky passage,
hotel Metropole , Kievsky railway station building platform
in Moscow and others.
In 1895 Shukhov makes a patent application for grid roofs (grids from strip and
angle steel with rhomb-shaped meshes). A.Bary’s firm constructed for the All-
Russia exhibition 4 pavilion buildings with suspended roofs which had been
designed by V.Shukhov .
Using the principle of the grid structures Shukhov developed the design
conception of a hyperboloid-type grid tower and widely used this structural
conception for water towers supports of power transmission lines, masts of
warships. Among the hyperboloid towers the highest was a lighthouse tower in
Herson.
The further modification of the idea of grid hyperboloid structures was a radio
transmission tower located in Shabolovka (Moscow), that was constructed by
Shukhov in 1919-1922. The initial 350-m high tower project due to metal shortage
was substituted for the constructed 150-m high tower project, being in service
nowadays.
The last work performed by Shukhov in the field of construction techniques was
the conservation of an architectural monument: a minaret of the famous medrasah
in Samarcand (XV century).In accordance with the design developed by Shukhov and
under his management the minaret inclined to one side after an earthquake was
restored by means of an special rocker.
Shukhov published 25 works and held 11 patents.
The structures designed by Shukhov which remained in Moscow.
 |
1 | Kievsky railway station building.
The 48-m span covering over the platform. (1912-1917) |
| 2 | Miussky tram depot. The arch roof, 69õ28.25 m (1908). |
| 3 | Bakhmetievsky bus park.
The framework roof (1926). 19a Obraztsova St.19à. |
| 4 | The truck garage.
The framework roof (1927 - 1929). 27 Novoryazanskaya St. |
| 5 | The general post-office. Metal and glass roof over the cash hall (1912).
26 Myasnitskaya St. |
| 6 | The appendix to the picture-gallery building. Metal and glass roof ( after 1900).
21 Myasnitskaya St. |
| 7 | Petrovsky passage. Metal and glass roof.(1902). 2 Petrovka St. |
| 8 | The hotel Metropole . Metal and glass roof over the main hall (1889-1903).
1 Okhotny ryad St. |
| 9 | The upper trade rows (The State Department Store - GUM).
Cylindrical metal and glass roof over 3 passages, each with size 250x15m (1889-1893). 2 the Red Square. |
| 10 | The tram depot. The pavilion-type structure.
The corner of Shabolovskaya St. and Donskaya St. |
| 11 | Shabolovskaya television tower. The hyperboloid-type 6-tier steel tower h=152 m (1919-1922).
Bary’s firm buildings (actually the Dynamo plant). |
| 12 | The forge building. The shatyor roof, structures made of steel trusses L=42m (1902). |
| 13 | The oil storage (actually the warehouse).
The cylindrical steel tank with wood roof (before 1890). |
| 14 | The presidium building of the Academy of Sciences of Russia.
The roof of the conference hall. 14 Leninsky avenue |
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