Le Corbusier entered the competition for the Palace of the Soviets in 1931.
The proposed palace was intended as a monumental political and convention center in Moscow, on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. An international competition opened in July 1931, attracting entries from prominent architects including Walter Gropius, Erich Mendelsohn and Le Corbusier.
Le Corbusier submitted a striking modernist design: a low complex of circular and rectangular buildings with a large meeting hall suspended from a sweeping, rainbow-like arch. Although his proposal was admired by some professionals, Soviet leaders ultimately favored Boris Iofan’s monumental historicist approach. The final decision was announced in 1933.
The Palace of the Soviets was never completed. Construction began in the 1930s but stopped during the Second World War, and the site later became the location of an open-air swimming pool before the cathedral was reconstructed.