"In this house the walls will teach," proclaimed the Soviet news agency Pravda in 1962 at the opening of the Palace for Young Pioneers in Moscow. In passing, this statement reveals a recurring motif in the history of architecture for youth: the claim to be able to educate through the built environment. Youth were seen as an ideal target group for this social-constructivist approach because of their ambivalent position: objects of social legislation but not yet subjects of political rights. The design of youth centers focused on leisure activities partially concealed but at the same time reinforced their educational purposes. The pedagogical power of this architecture is reflected not only in the design but also in the mode of use, appropriation and residence.