Sketches of unrealized monumental works
The creative legacy of Kafengauz contains a large number of sketches that participated in competitions, but for one reason or another were never implemented. Among them: sketches for the design of the Circus lobby on Vernadsky Avenue, the interior of the Central House of Writers, the Universitet metro station, stained glass windows for the Baku restaurant, at the entrance to Moscow from Domodedovo Airport, the facade of the Transplantation Research Institute, and others.
Sketches for the mosaics of the Circus vestibule on Vernadsky Avenue. 1969.
In this series, I would like to especially note the sketches of mosaics for the Circus on Vernadsky Avenue (1969) with their variety of characters, bright colors and graceful lines. Few people know now that initially the inner wall of the lobby of the Circus on Vernadsky Avenue was supposed to be decorated with mosaics in such a way that the image would be visible not only from the inside, but also from the street through the outer glass. Yuri Kafengauz participated in the competition with his sketches, and they were approved by the architect Yakov Belopolsky. However, later the architect was forced to abandon this idea, since the lobby turned out to be too narrow for a person inside this room to perceive the mosaic. As a result, in order to visually expand the space, the inner wall of the lobby was decided to be covered with a mirror. Yuri Kafengauz considered this decision correct. But his sketches remained.
