Freedom Square (the former Dzerzhinsky Square) in Kharkiv. In the foreground (from left to right): North building of Karazin University (former House of Cooperation), Derzhprom, Karazin University (former House of Projects), at the far end of the square - the building of the Kharkiv Regional Administration, on the left at the bend of the square - the Kharkiv Hotel building (former International). © Air Production, 2021.
Modernist Monuments of Freedom Square In Kharkiv

Destruction, Restoration, Reconstruction

Authors

  • Mariia Rusanova Kharkiv National University of Construction and Architecture image/svg+xml
  • Oleksandr Maimeskul Kharkiv National University of Construction and Architecture image/svg+xml

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52200/docomomo.70.05

Keywords:

Kharkiv constructivism, Avant-garde, Ukrainian Modernism, monument protection, Freedom square

Abstract

Since February 24, 2022, the architectural heritage of Ukraine has been exposed to dangerous destruction. The government center on Freedom (Svoboda) Square in Kharkiv - the largest urban development of early modernist architecture and its pearl, included in the Tentative UNESCO World Heritage List (2017) and provisionally inscribed on the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection (2023) - Derzhprom (The State Industry Building), were hit by a missile attack on March 1, 2022. In the conditions of non-cessation of hostilities and non-priority, the only means of protecting monuments in the city for months were, and in many places still are, sandbags, adhesive tape and plywood. The architectural research community and Government of Ukraine, together with international organizations, must take all possible actions to protect and restore the damaged architectural monuments. The article deals with the modernist monuments of Freedom Square, the chronology of their reconstruction since the Second World War and the damage received over the past almost two years. The paper raises important questions regarding their future fate with the possibility of restoring some objects of the square to their original appearance of the modernist era.

How to Cite

Rusanova, M., & Maimeskul, O. (2024). Modernist Monuments of Freedom Square In Kharkiv: Destruction, Restoration, Reconstruction. Docomomo Journal, (70), 36–43. https://doi.org/10.52200/docomomo.70.05

Published

2024-04-15

Issue

No. 70 (2024): From Constructivism to Modernism in Kharkiv

Section

Essays

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Mariia Rusanova, Oleksandr Maimeskul

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Author Biographies

Mariia Rusanova, Kharkiv National University of Construction and Architecture

is an architect, an educator and a PhD student at the Kharkiv National University of Civil Engineering and Architecture (now O.M. Beketov NUUEKh). She was born and educated in Kharkiv, where she gained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in architecture and urbanism. Her research interests include Modernism, its political, social and cultural significance, and its heritage preservation in Ukraine. Her recent articles include “Promoting heritage of the Newest Ukrainian architecture: from Eclecticism to Constructivism”, “Complex of Freedom Square in Kharkiv – chrestomathy of strategies for preserving the authenticity of avant-garde architecture”, and “Innovative concepts in the Kharkiv projects of J. Steinberg of the capital period”.

Oleksandr Maimeskul, Kharkiv National University of Construction and Architecture

is an architect, an educator and a PhD student at the Kharkiv National University of Civil Engineering and Architecture (now O.M. Beketov NUUEKh). He was born and educated in Kharkiv, where he gained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in architecture and urbanism. His research interests include processes and patterns of urban development, methods of urban management and spatial planning, participation of the civil society in a city development. His recent articles include “Superposition of compositional logics in the urban planning of Kharkiv in the 20th century”, and “Innovative concepts in the Kharkiv projects of J. Steinberg of the capital period”.


In October 2023, Oleksandr joined the Ukrainian army, deciding to defend what is dear to him on the front lines. On December 11, 2023, Oleksandr was declared missing. Come back alive.

References

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