In my quarters, they catch my eye as soon as I arrive: Concrete elements with geometric, three-dimensional, diamond-shaped cassette pattern. As it turns out, they can be found all over the former Soviet Union and have become something of a cult. They are even available as a souvenir pin. As with many things, the actual author is hardly known: Boris Lachmann, who worked at the institute for technical aesthetics. He was supposed to design a fence. Nobody knew then that this would become the most replicated architectural element in Russia. The main interest was in the fact that it is quasi self-cleaning due to rainwater.
