Under the Sign of the Struggle Against Grayness and Uniformity

The 1970s were a period of significant professional growth and creative achievements for the architects of the republic. The first graduates of the architectural department (since 1978 — the faculty) of the Frunze Polytechnic Institute joined their ranks. There was a numerical increase in the membership of the Union of Architects of the republic, and at the same time, the creative potential of architects was developing.
During this decade, the architectural fund of Kyrgyzstan was enriched with a number of works that received high creative and public recognition. The State Prize of the Kyrgyz SSR named after Toktogul Satylganov in the field of literature, art, and architecture was awarded in 1976 to the building of the Museum of Fine Arts in Frunze (architects D. Yryskulov, V. Nazarov, Sh. Djekshenbaev; engineer A. Yusupov), and in 1980 — the planning and construction of the Toktogul settlement (architects B. Umambekov, A. Kudelya; engineers S. Lopatins, Sh. Elchibayev, A. Semenov, and others). The Lenin Komsomol Prize of the republic in 1974 was awarded to the Main Pavilion building at the VDNH of the Kyrgyz SSR (architects V. Lyzhenko, A. Nezhurin, G. Mulyavin; engineers I. Petrov, L. Erlichman). The State Prize of the Kyrgyz SSR in the field of science and technology in 1978 was awarded to architects E. Pisarsky, V. Sedov, and engineers V. Anistratov, A. Afonin, A. Mozgovoy, and others for the development and implementation of five- and nine-story large-panel residential buildings of the "105" series for seismic areas.
These and many other achievements testify to certain successes of Kyrgyz architecture over the past decade.
In 1974, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR set the task for Soviet architects to put an end to the monotony of construction and the lack of expressiveness in architectural and urban planning solutions. Therefore, the tenth congress (1975) of architects of Kyrgyzstan was held under the sign of the fight against grayness and uniformity in the construction of populated areas of the republic. The speeches of the congress delegates addressed the issues of forming expressive urban ensembles, creating a comprehensive residential environment, improving the construction industry's performance, and enhancing the quality of standard design. There was also talk about improving the conditions for the creative activity of architects and increasing their role and responsibility in the design and construction process.
These issues gained particular urgency at the eleventh congress (1980) of the architects of the republic, which was held under the direct influence of the decisions of the XXVI Congress of the CPSU. The congress paid great attention to the problem of further improving the quality of architectural and urban planning solutions while adhering to a strict regime of saving material and labor resources.
A particular emphasis was placed on rural architecture. The congress aimed architects working in this area to create new types of village residential houses and projects for rural populated areas based on modern scientific principles, with a focus on low-rise private housing development.