"Space, Not Stone, is the Material of Architecture." — Nikolai Ladovsky, Founder and Educator of Rationalist Architectural Thought/ “空间，而非石材，是建筑的材料”——理性主义建筑理念 的开创者与教育家尼古拉·拉多夫斯基

This paper examines the creative work and educational philosophy of spatial perception by Nikolai Ladovsky, founder and educator of the rationalist architectural movement. It explores the contributions to rationalist architectural theory made by key figures of the New Architects' Association (ASNOVA) – Nikolai Ladovsky, Vladimir Klinsky, and El Lissitzky – with particular emphasis on the influence of Kazimir Malevich's Suprematist abstract painting and its theoretical underpinnings on rationalist spatial modelling and colour construction. It examines El Lissitzky's PROUN (Project for Unification of the Arts) theory and methodology in advancing rationalist architectural spatial form creation, whilst also analysing and comparing the similarities and differences between Constructivism and Rationalism within the Soviet avant-garde architectural movement of the 1900s. Nikolai Ladovsky's “rationalist” architectural pedagogy gained significant traction in Khutemas, where a systematic analysis of its core characteristics—educational principles of abstract spatial perception and formal composition alongside experimental training—proves crucial for comprehending rationalist architectural ideology. By examining the outcomes of the ‘Space’ course teaching system over more than a decade in the 1920s, this paper discusses rationalist architectural pedagogy's exploration of spatial innovation, structural rationality, and perceptual experience in modern architectural education, alongside Ladovsky's educational innovations. Ladovsky's architectural teaching legacy is not only reflected in nurturing numerous distinguished architects, but more significantly in his pioneering of a unique educational paradigm centred on spatial perception and formal experimentation, integrating scientific rationality with artistic creation. This paradigm exerted a sustained and profound influence on the construction of subsequent modern architectural education systems and the development of design thinking. It continues to hold significant historical reference value and academic inspiration for theoretical research and practical exploration within contemporary architectural education.