House with Chimaeras
Encyclopedia
House with Chimaeras or Gorodetsky House is an Art Nouveau
building located in the historic Lypky neighborhood of Kiev
, the capital of Ukraine
. Situated across the street from the President of Ukraine
's office at No. 10, Bankova Street
, the building has been used as a presidential residence for official and diplomatic ceremonies since 2005. The street in front of the building is closed off to all automobile traffic, and is now a patrolled pedestrian zone due to its near proximity to the Presidential Administration building.
Architect Vladislav Gorodetsky
originally constructed the House with Chimaeras for use as his own upmarket apartment building during the period of 1901–1902. However, as the years went by, Gorodetsky eventually had to sell the building due to financial troubles, after which it changed ownership numerous times before finally being occupied by an official Communist Party polyclinic until the early 2000s. When the building was vacated, its interior and exterior decor were fully reconstructed and restored according to Gorodetsky's original plans.
The building derives its popular name from the ornate decorations depicting exotic animals and hunting scenes, which were sculpted by Italian
architect Emilio Sala
since Gorodetsky was an avid hunter. The name does not refer to the chimaera
of mythology, but to an architectural style known as chimaera
decoration in which animal figures are applied as decorative elements to a building. Gorodetsky's unique architectural style earned him praise as the Antoni Gaudí
of Kiev.
in 1901–1902. Gorodetsky was born in 1863 into a prosperous Polish
szlachta
family in the Podillia
region. After finishing the Imperial Academy of Arts
in Saint Petersburg
in 1890, he moved to Kiev, where he lived for almost 30 years. At the time of the building's construction, Gorodetsky had already established himself as a prominent Kiev architect, having designed many city buildings, from the St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Cathedral
to the Karaim Kenesa
and what today is the National Art Museum of Ukraine
. Besides architecture, Gorodetsky was also interested in big-game hunting, which explains why his building features many animals.
Gorodetsky financed the house's construction with borrowed money, with the intent for it to be an apartment building. Each floor formed a single apartment, connected by an elevator
and stairs. Gorodetsky himself occupied the fourth floor of the building, measuring at about 380 m² (4,090.3 sq ft).
Gorodetsky bought the first lot of land on February 1, 1901, with construction work commencing on March 18 of that year. Construction of the exterior walls was finished by August 21, and the roof installed and all masonry
work was completed on September 13. Due to the economic hardships within the Russian Empire
, the completion of the building was delayed. In May 1903, only one apartment on the lowest level and Gorodetsky's own apartment were occupied. The total cost of the land and construction amounted to 133,000 rubles. In total, 1550 m² (16,684.1 sq ft) of land were used for construction of the building and cost a total of 15,640 rubles. The projected annual profit from the rentals was 7,200 rubles. A cowshed was located on the premises due to Gorodetsky's insistence on fresh in-house milk, though it was specifically placed in a way that the smell of the cows would not disturb the tenants. On a lot adjacent to the building, a miniature alpine garden
(approx. 320 m² (3,444.5 sq ft)) and a fountain were built.
Due to financial mismanagement which included his Safari
hunting hobby, in July 1912, Gorodetsky pledged the building as a collateral against a loan taken from Kiev Mutual Credit Association. When Gorodetsky defaulted on the loan, the building was auctioned off in 1913, and became the property of the engineer Daniel Balakhovsky, the son of a Kiev trader, who was also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Blahodatinskoe sugar factory, and a French
сonsular agent in Kiev. In 1916, the house belonged to the Blahodatinskoe sugar factory. In 1918, the building's ownership changed again, to Samuel Nemets. In 1921, after the Bolshevik
s gained control of Kiev, several of the departments of the Kiev Military District took offices in the House with Chimaeras.
following the Russian Revolution of 1917, the building was nationalized
and later converted for communal living
. Each apartment was occupied by about nine to ten families. During the Second World War
(1941–1943), the building was abandoned. Due to exposure to the harsh elements during the war, the building suffered significant damage to its structure. After the war, the building was briefly used as a residence for evacuated actors from the Ivan Franko
Theater; however, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic took ownership of the building and later transformed it into the Polyclinic
(clinic
) No.1 for their elite. The polyclinic used the building up until the end of the 20th century. During that time, the building almost split in half. One part sagged 22 cm (9 in), and a major vertical crack formed, having a width of about 40 cm (16 in). Some of the building's architectural details had either been chipped away, or had cracked.
The building's restoration work was scheduled for 2002, however the operators of the polyclinic were reluctant to leave, having occupied the building for over 40 years. In order to force the occupants out of the building, the workers boarded up all of the windows and threatened to do the same to the doors if the polyclinic did not vacate the premises. Only the president
's involvement in the matter forced the polyclinic to move out completely.
The building was opened as a filial "Masterpieces of Ukrainian Art" of the National Museum of Arts in November 2004. It was expected that the building would serve a dual purpose as a museum and as the presidential meeting place for state visitors. In April 2005, the Kiev City Council
submitted a bill for 104 million hryvnias
(approx. US $
20 million) to the Ukrainian Government
for reconstruction and restoration of the House with Chimaeras. The Council also allowed the Ukrainian government to construct a new square (closing off all automobile traffic) in front of the building for use in official ceremonies.
Since May 2005, the building has been an official presidential
residence, used for official and diplomatic ceremonies. The House with Chimaeras was used as a meeting place between Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko
and Russian President Vladimir Putin
, when the latter visited Kiev on December 22, 2006. Included in the building are rooms for negotiations, tête-à-tête talks, the signing of official documents, as well as a special room for the press.
The building was designed in the Art Nouveau
style, which was at that time a relatively new style and featured flowing, curvilinear designs often incorporating floral and other plant-inspired motifs. Gorodetsky featured such motifs in the building's exterior decor in the forms of mythical creatures and big-game animals. His work on the House with Chimaeras has earned him the nickname of the Gaudí
of Kiev.
Due to the steep slope on which the building is situated, it had to be specially designed out of concrete to fit into its foundations correctly. From the front, the building appears to have only three floors. However, from the rear, all of its six floors can be seen. One part of the building's foundation was made of concrete piles, and the other as a continuous foundation. Usually, these two approaches do not mix well but Gorodetsky somehow succeeded in overcoming this technical problem.
The Italian
sculptor Emilio Sala
was responsible for both the internal and external sculptural decorations, such as mermaid
s, dolphins, and frogs on the roof of the building, sinking ships and hunting trophies on the exterior walls, and exuberant interior decorations, such as grand stairways and chandelier
s depicting huge catfish
strangled in the stems of lotus
flowers. The exterior sculptures created by Sala were made out of cement
. Production of the cement was by the «For» company of which Gorodetsky was the co-director. Cement was used exclusively as the primary building material by the request of the company's head director, Richter. At the time of the building's construction, cement was not popular as a building material, so its use was employed as publicity for both the house and the building material.
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The House with Chimaeras was designed in such a way that the tenants would occupy the whole floor, each floor had all the necessary household rooms ranging from private kitchens to small powder rooms. The open floor plan and extra rooms featured throughout the building are characteristic of the houses of the wealthy of the early 20th century. In total, the building has an area of 3309.5 m² (35,623.16 sq ft).
On the lowest level of the building, which is located deep in the hill, were two stable
s, two rooms for coachmen
, a shared laundry, and two separate apartments. Each of the two apartments consisted of a foyer, a kitchen, one bathroom, and a storage room. The first of these apartments had two residential rooms, and the second three rooms. Each floor above the lowest level was designed to house a single apartment only.
The apartment on the second floor consisted of six residential rooms in addition to a foyer, kitchen, buffet
, three servant's rooms, a bathroom, two toilets, and two storage rooms. There were also four wine cellar
s on the same level. The cellars belonged to the apartments on the upper levels. On the third floor, the apartment consisted of eight residential rooms, a foyer, a kitchen, dish washing room
, two rooms for servants, a bathroom, and two toilets. This apartment was placed slightly lower than the level of Bankova Street
, from the front entrance.
The grandest apartment, which belonged to Gorodetsky, consisted of a study
, a great room
and a living room
, a dining room
, a boudoir, a bedroom
, a children's room, a room for a governess
, a guest room, three rooms for servants, a kitchen, dishwashing room, bathroom, two toilets, and two storage rooms. On the floor above was an apartment similar in size and design to Gorodetsky's apartment. The apartment on the top floor had one less room; to make up for this, there was a connecting terrace which provided a panoramic view of the city.
Throughout the years, the unusual nature of the House with Chimaeras has given rise to a number of stories occasionally repeated in guide-books or newspapers, which are however either untrue or lacking any verifiable source.
According to the first legend, Vladislav Gorodetsky's daughter had committed suicide jumping into Dnieper River
either because of some unfortunate love affair or because of a family feud. As a result, Gorodetsky went slightly mad and built this gloomy house in his daughter's memory.
A second legend has it that Gorodetsky made a bet with some other architects, including the architect Alexander Skobelev, who had tried to prove that was impossible to build a house on such terrain, because the site (near the Ivan Franko
Theater) overhangs a swamp (Koz’ye boloto). The Construction Committee of Kiev had prohibited construction of any structures on this particular lot, but eventually the construction of the building allowed Gorodetsky to win the bet.
According to the third legend, Gorodetsky had cursed the house when forced to leave it in 1913 (due to his inability to repay his creditors
); all of the house's tenants would be either unhappy or would meet some sort of financial misfortune. There is a story that all the businesses who rented a portion of the building either went bankrupt, had their funds stolen or were disbanded.
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
building located in the historic Lypky neighborhood of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, the capital of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Situated across the street from the President of Ukraine
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
's office at No. 10, Bankova Street
Bankova Street
Vulytsia Bankova or Bankova is a street located in the Lypky neighborhood of the Pechersk District in central Kiev , the capital of Ukraine...
, the building has been used as a presidential residence for official and diplomatic ceremonies since 2005. The street in front of the building is closed off to all automobile traffic, and is now a patrolled pedestrian zone due to its near proximity to the Presidential Administration building.
Architect Vladislav Gorodetsky
Vladislav Gorodetsky
Vladislav Gorodetsky or full name Leshek Vladislav Dezidery Gorodetsky was an architect and big-game hunter, best known for his Art Nouveau-style buildings, namely the House with Chimaeras, the St...
originally constructed the House with Chimaeras for use as his own upmarket apartment building during the period of 1901–1902. However, as the years went by, Gorodetsky eventually had to sell the building due to financial troubles, after which it changed ownership numerous times before finally being occupied by an official Communist Party polyclinic until the early 2000s. When the building was vacated, its interior and exterior decor were fully reconstructed and restored according to Gorodetsky's original plans.
The building derives its popular name from the ornate decorations depicting exotic animals and hunting scenes, which were sculpted by Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
architect Emilio Sala
Emilio Sala
Elia Sala also referred to as Emilio Salya is an Italian sculptor known for his sculptural work with Vladislav Gorodetsky architect on the House with Chimaeras, the building of the National Bank of Ukraine and others in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.-References:...
since Gorodetsky was an avid hunter. The name does not refer to the chimaera
Chimera (mythology)
The Chimera or Chimaera was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing female creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of multiple animals: upon the body of a lioness with a tail that ended in a snake's head, the head of a goat arose on her back at the center of her...
of mythology, but to an architectural style known as chimaera
Chimera (architecture)
Used in describing an architectural feature, chimera means a fantastic, mythical or grotesque figure used for decorative purposes. Chimerae are often described as gargoyles. Used correctly, the term gargoyle refers to mostly eerie figures carved specifically as terminations to spouts which convey...
decoration in which animal figures are applied as decorative elements to a building. Gorodetsky's unique architectural style earned him praise as the Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was...
of Kiev.
Construction and early history
The House with Chimaeras was designed by the architect Vladislav GorodetskyVladislav Gorodetsky
Vladislav Gorodetsky or full name Leshek Vladislav Dezidery Gorodetsky was an architect and big-game hunter, best known for his Art Nouveau-style buildings, namely the House with Chimaeras, the St...
in 1901–1902. Gorodetsky was born in 1863 into a prosperous Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
family in the Podillia
Podolia
The region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...
region. After finishing the Imperial Academy of Arts
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, was founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts. Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned a new building, completed 25 years later in 1789...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in 1890, he moved to Kiev, where he lived for almost 30 years. At the time of the building's construction, Gorodetsky had already established himself as a prominent Kiev architect, having designed many city buildings, from the St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Cathedral
St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Cathedral, Kiev
The St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Cathedral is the second Roman Catholic cathedral built in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It was constructed from 1899–1909 and was built in a Gothic type construction, by Kiev architects V. Gorodetsky and E. Salya...
to the Karaim Kenesa
Karaim Kenesa (Kiev)
The Karaite Kenesa of Kiev is a former Kenesa in Kiev, Ukraine.-History:The synagogue, designed by Vladislav Gorodetsky, was built from 1898 to 1902 in the Moorish style. The building was defiled during the World War II by Nazis...
and what today is the National Art Museum of Ukraine
National Art Museum of Ukraine
The National Art Museum of Ukraine is a museum dedicated to Ukrainian art in Kiev, Ukraine.-Architecture:Constructed in 1898, by architect Vladislav Gorodetsky, the building was originally designed as the museum for the local society of patrons of arts and antique lovers...
. Besides architecture, Gorodetsky was also interested in big-game hunting, which explains why his building features many animals.
Gorodetsky financed the house's construction with borrowed money, with the intent for it to be an apartment building. Each floor formed a single apartment, connected by an elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
and stairs. Gorodetsky himself occupied the fourth floor of the building, measuring at about 380 m² (4,090.3 sq ft).
Gorodetsky bought the first lot of land on February 1, 1901, with construction work commencing on March 18 of that year. Construction of the exterior walls was finished by August 21, and the roof installed and all masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
work was completed on September 13. Due to the economic hardships within the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, the completion of the building was delayed. In May 1903, only one apartment on the lowest level and Gorodetsky's own apartment were occupied. The total cost of the land and construction amounted to 133,000 rubles. In total, 1550 m² (16,684.1 sq ft) of land were used for construction of the building and cost a total of 15,640 rubles. The projected annual profit from the rentals was 7,200 rubles. A cowshed was located on the premises due to Gorodetsky's insistence on fresh in-house milk, though it was specifically placed in a way that the smell of the cows would not disturb the tenants. On a lot adjacent to the building, a miniature alpine garden
Rock Garden
The Rock Garden or Rock Garden of Chandigarh is a Sculpture garden in Chandigarh, India, also known as Nek Chand's Rock Garden after its founder Nek Chand, a government official who started the garden secretly in his spare time in 1957. Today it is spread over an area of forty-acres , it is...
(approx. 320 m² (3,444.5 sq ft)) and a fountain were built.
Safari
A safari is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the term is used for a big-game hunt, but today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph animals and other wildlife.-Etymology:Entering the English...
hunting hobby, in July 1912, Gorodetsky pledged the building as a collateral against a loan taken from Kiev Mutual Credit Association. When Gorodetsky defaulted on the loan, the building was auctioned off in 1913, and became the property of the engineer Daniel Balakhovsky, the son of a Kiev trader, who was also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Blahodatinskoe sugar factory, and a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
сonsular agent in Kiev. In 1916, the house belonged to the Blahodatinskoe sugar factory. In 1918, the building's ownership changed again, to Samuel Nemets. In 1921, after the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s gained control of Kiev, several of the departments of the Kiev Military District took offices in the House with Chimaeras.
Ownership 1921–2002
After the period of unrestUkraine after the Russian Revolution
Ukrainian territory was fought over by various factions after the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the First World War, which added the collapse of Austria-Hungary to that of the Imperial Russia. The crumbling of the empires had a great effect on the Ukrainian nationalist movement and in the short...
following the Russian Revolution of 1917, the building was nationalized
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
and later converted for communal living
Kommunalka
A communal apartment or kommunalka appeared in the Soviet Union after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, as a product of the “new collective vision of the future” and as a response to the housing crisis in urban areas. A communal apartment typically consisted of an apartment shared between two to...
. Each apartment was occupied by about nine to ten families. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(1941–1943), the building was abandoned. Due to exposure to the harsh elements during the war, the building suffered significant damage to its structure. After the war, the building was briefly used as a residence for evacuated actors from the Ivan Franko
Ivan Franko
Ivan Yakovych Franko was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, interpreter, economist, political activist, doctor of philosophy, the author of the first detective novels and modern poetry in the Ukrainian language....
Theater; however, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic took ownership of the building and later transformed it into the Polyclinic
Polyclinic
Polyclinics in England are intended to offer a far greater range of services than can be offered by current general practitioner practices and local health centres. In addition to traditional GP services they would offer extended urgent care, healthy living services, community mental health...
(clinic
Clinic
A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...
) No.1 for their elite. The polyclinic used the building up until the end of the 20th century. During that time, the building almost split in half. One part sagged 22 cm (9 in), and a major vertical crack formed, having a width of about 40 cm (16 in). Some of the building's architectural details had either been chipped away, or had cracked.
The building's restoration work was scheduled for 2002, however the operators of the polyclinic were reluctant to leave, having occupied the building for over 40 years. In order to force the occupants out of the building, the workers boarded up all of the windows and threatened to do the same to the doors if the polyclinic did not vacate the premises. Only the president
Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma was the second President of independent Ukraine from 19 July 1994, to 23 January 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival, incumbent Leonid Kravchuk...
's involvement in the matter forced the polyclinic to move out completely.
Reconstruction and official use
During the time of the restoration, conducted by UkrNIIProektRestavratsiya and headed by Natalia Kosenko, the workers unearthed the whole lower floor, which had been filled in during Soviet times to strengthen the building's foundation. Restoration of the elaborate decor of the interior had to be fully redone. In the courtyard, the restorers placed an artificial lake, fountains, and a miniature garden—all of which had been in Gorodetsky's original plans.The building was opened as a filial "Masterpieces of Ukrainian Art" of the National Museum of Arts in November 2004. It was expected that the building would serve a dual purpose as a museum and as the presidential meeting place for state visitors. In April 2005, the Kiev City Council
Kiev City Council
Kiev City Council or Kyivrada is the city council of Kiev municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The members of city council are directly elected by Kievans and the council is chaired by the Mayor of Kiev .The council meets in a 1950s City Council building...
submitted a bill for 104 million hryvnias
Ukrainian hryvnia
The hryvnia, sometimes hryvnya or grivna ; sign: ₴, code: , has been the national currency of Ukraine since September 2, 1996. The hryvnia is subdivided into 100 kopiyok. In medieval times, it was a currency of Kievan Rus'....
(approx. US $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
20 million) to the Ukrainian Government
Government of Ukraine
Government of Ukraine is often associated with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. However it should be considered that Ukraine is a country under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government...
for reconstruction and restoration of the House with Chimaeras. The Council also allowed the Ukrainian government to construct a new square (closing off all automobile traffic) in front of the building for use in official ceremonies.
Since May 2005, the building has been an official presidential
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
residence, used for official and diplomatic ceremonies. The House with Chimaeras was used as a meeting place between Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
and Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, when the latter visited Kiev on December 22, 2006. Included in the building are rooms for negotiations, tête-à-tête talks, the signing of official documents, as well as a special room for the press.
Architecture
| Volodymyr Yasiievych |
| The House of Vladislav Gorodetsky can only be compared with the works of Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was... , especially the famous Casa Milà Casa Milà Casa Milà , better known as La Pedrera , is a building designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built during the years 1905–1910, being considered officially completed in 1912... in Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... , despite being constructed a couple of years later (1905–1910). |
The building was designed in the Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
style, which was at that time a relatively new style and featured flowing, curvilinear designs often incorporating floral and other plant-inspired motifs. Gorodetsky featured such motifs in the building's exterior decor in the forms of mythical creatures and big-game animals. His work on the House with Chimaeras has earned him the nickname of the Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was...
of Kiev.
Due to the steep slope on which the building is situated, it had to be specially designed out of concrete to fit into its foundations correctly. From the front, the building appears to have only three floors. However, from the rear, all of its six floors can be seen. One part of the building's foundation was made of concrete piles, and the other as a continuous foundation. Usually, these two approaches do not mix well but Gorodetsky somehow succeeded in overcoming this technical problem.
The Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
sculptor Emilio Sala
Emilio Sala
Elia Sala also referred to as Emilio Salya is an Italian sculptor known for his sculptural work with Vladislav Gorodetsky architect on the House with Chimaeras, the building of the National Bank of Ukraine and others in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.-References:...
was responsible for both the internal and external sculptural decorations, such as mermaid
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
s, dolphins, and frogs on the roof of the building, sinking ships and hunting trophies on the exterior walls, and exuberant interior decorations, such as grand stairways and chandelier
Chandelier
A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...
s depicting huge catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
strangled in the stems of lotus
Nymphaea
Nymphaea is a genus of aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. There are about 50 species in the genus, which has a cosmopolitan distribution.-Name:The common name, shared with some other genera in the same family, is Water Lily....
flowers. The exterior sculptures created by Sala were made out of cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
. Production of the cement was by the «For» company of which Gorodetsky was the co-director. Cement was used exclusively as the primary building material by the request of the company's head director, Richter. At the time of the building's construction, cement was not popular as a building material, so its use was employed as publicity for both the house and the building material.
Floor plan
On the lowest level of the building, which is located deep in the hill, were two stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
s, two rooms for coachmen
Coachman
A coachman is a man whose business it is to drive a coach, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of more than one passenger — and of mail — and covered for protection from the elements...
, a shared laundry, and two separate apartments. Each of the two apartments consisted of a foyer, a kitchen, one bathroom, and a storage room. The first of these apartments had two residential rooms, and the second three rooms. Each floor above the lowest level was designed to house a single apartment only.
The apartment on the second floor consisted of six residential rooms in addition to a foyer, kitchen, buffet
Buffet
A buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners generally serve themselves. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels and many social events...
, three servant's rooms, a bathroom, two toilets, and two storage rooms. There were also four wine cellar
Wine cellar
A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae or plastic containers. In an active wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. In contrast, passive wine cellars are not...
s on the same level. The cellars belonged to the apartments on the upper levels. On the third floor, the apartment consisted of eight residential rooms, a foyer, a kitchen, dish washing room
Scullery (room)
A scullery is a room in a house traditionally used for washing up dishes and laundering clothes, or as an overflow kitchen when the main kitchen is overloaded. Tasks performed in the scullery include cleaning dishes and cooking utensils , occasional kitchen work, ironing, boiling water for cooking...
, two rooms for servants, a bathroom, and two toilets. This apartment was placed slightly lower than the level of Bankova Street
Bankova Street
Vulytsia Bankova or Bankova is a street located in the Lypky neighborhood of the Pechersk District in central Kiev , the capital of Ukraine...
, from the front entrance.
The grandest apartment, which belonged to Gorodetsky, consisted of a study
Study (room)
A study is a room in a house which is used for paperwork, computer work, or reading. Historically, the study of a house was reserved for use as the private office and reading room of a family father as the formal head of a household, but today studies are generally either used to operate a home...
, a great room
Great room
thumb|A great roomThe term great room denotes a room space within an abode which combines the specific functions of several of the more traditional room spaces into a singular unified space...
and a living room
Living room
A living room, also known as sitting room, lounge room or lounge , is a room for entertaining adult guests, reading, or other activities...
, a dining room
Dining room
A dining room is a room for consuming food. In modern times it is usually adjacent to the kitchen for convenience in serving, although in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level...
, a boudoir, a bedroom
Bedroom
A bedroom is a private room where people usually sleep for the night or relax during the day.About one third of our lives are spent sleeping and most of the time we are asleep, we are sleeping in a bedroom. To be considered a bedroom the room needs to have bed. Bedrooms can range from really simple...
, a children's room, a room for a governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
, a guest room, three rooms for servants, a kitchen, dishwashing room, bathroom, two toilets, and two storage rooms. On the floor above was an apartment similar in size and design to Gorodetsky's apartment. The apartment on the top floor had one less room; to make up for this, there was a connecting terrace which provided a panoramic view of the city.
Legends
According to the first legend, Vladislav Gorodetsky's daughter had committed suicide jumping into Dnieper River
Dnieper River
The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations...
either because of some unfortunate love affair or because of a family feud. As a result, Gorodetsky went slightly mad and built this gloomy house in his daughter's memory.
A second legend has it that Gorodetsky made a bet with some other architects, including the architect Alexander Skobelev, who had tried to prove that was impossible to build a house on such terrain, because the site (near the Ivan Franko
Ivan Franko
Ivan Yakovych Franko was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, interpreter, economist, political activist, doctor of philosophy, the author of the first detective novels and modern poetry in the Ukrainian language....
Theater) overhangs a swamp (Koz’ye boloto). The Construction Committee of Kiev had prohibited construction of any structures on this particular lot, but eventually the construction of the building allowed Gorodetsky to win the bet.
According to the third legend, Gorodetsky had cursed the house when forced to leave it in 1913 (due to his inability to repay his creditors
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
); all of the house's tenants would be either unhappy or would meet some sort of financial misfortune. There is a story that all the businesses who rented a portion of the building either went bankrupt, had their funds stolen or were disbanded.
In media
- Russian science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer Vladimir VasilyevVladimir Vasilyev (writer)Vladimir Nikolaevich Vasilyev is a Russian science fiction writer and musician. His first book was published in 1991. Professional writer since 1997...
featured the House with Chimaeras in his 2003 novel, Black Palmira's FaceVladimir Vasilyev (writer)Vladimir Nikolaevich Vasilyev is a Russian science fiction writer and musician. His first book was published in 1991. Professional writer since 1997...
, where the building served as the headquarters for the fictional Day Watch organization in the city of Kiev.