A new wave of anger and concern over the destruction of the country's architectural heritage has erupted in Ukraine following the recent Russian rocket strike on the Derzhprom building complex in Kharkiv.
Derzhprom, an early internationally renowned example of constructivism and a landmark for Kharkiv, has suffered significant damage. According to the Architect's Journal, citing information from the German Documentation Centre for Art History, an aerial bomb hit the main entrance of the State Industrial Building.
The strike destroyed walls, ceilings and windows, as well as the interior of one section of the building. Pictures showed windows blown out of the concrete block, while rubble piled up on the ground.
The modernist Derzhprom building was added to a list of 25 protected Ukrainian structures by Unesco last year. The monument is located on the south-western side of the circular part of Svobody Square, one of the largest in the world.
The building consists of three H-shaped buildings arranged radially in the plan. The buildings are grouped in three blocks, each with three buildings. According to Unesco, the building demonstrates basic techniques of modernist architecture: flat roof, full glazing, utilitarian elements serve as architectural details: the entrance canopies, balconies, roof fencing elements and glazing of various shapes and articulations.
As critic and author Owen Hatherley notes in Art Review, "Derzhprom is an extraordinary building: an office complex designed in 1925 and opened in 1928 as the headquarters of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, framing Freedom Square in the centre of Kharkiv. It was outrageously advanced for its time – a symmetrical ensemble of concrete towers tightly bunched together into three parts, which are linked to each other by high sky bridges.”.
According to Unesco, "this building should visualise a new industrial Ukraine, both for the inhabitants of the country and abroad". Another aspect of duality is that Derzhprom is on the border of two architectural eras: avant-garde and art deco.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, hundreds of cultural sites have been damaged, and this new strike has sparked a new wave of anger and concern for Ukrainian monuments.
Kharkiv-born architect Svetlana Solomonova tells Architect's Journal: 'This building is more than just a historical monument; it is part of my identity, a symbol of my city, and a place that has shaped my architectural path. Its uncompromising constructivist ambition has inspired generations of architects like me and embodies in us a sense of pride in our heritage".
Kharkiv-based lead architect Mariia Pavliuk also said in the Architect's Journal that "the fall of this symbol has once again reminded Ukrainians of the fragility of our existence. The attack on Derzhprom left us surprisingly vulnerable and felt deeply personal to every resident of Kharkiv".
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Source: Внаслідок російських обстрілів Харкова постраждали дев'ятеро цивільних людей, у тому числі поліцейський: поліція працює на місці події (ОНОВЛЕНО, ДОДАНО ВІДЕО)
Author: National Police of Ukraine
