Restoration of the Ivan Franko Theater building in Kyiv

Project title: Restoration of the main building of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater
Location: Ukraine, Kyiv, Ivan Franko Square, 3
Design area: 7,100 sq.m.
Status: project (2020)
Degree of participation: restoration project
Author's team: Alyona Aza, Iryna Malakova (scientific supervisor of the project), Artem Proshchenko.

Summary:

Built in 1898 by architect Eduard-Ferdinand Bradtman, the building of the State Enterprise "National Academic Drama Theater. I. Franko ”(at that time the Solovtsov Theater) had a complicated history. In the early twentieth century. theatrical structure has undergone minor changes. Above the attics on both sides of the pediment, images of altars were taken, and a two-story building for storage and utility needs was added to the theater building from the rear. During the Second World War the building was badly damaged but in 1946 it was restored. Fifteen years later, according to the project of Kyiv architect Viktor Kolchynsky, the building was reconstructed - the third floor was added, the area of ​​the cash lobby and the foyer of the second floor were increased. Unfortunately, most of the stucco decoration of the building was destroyed and in order to optimize the cost of construction was not restored, elements of interior decoration, designed by architect Vladislav Gorodetsky, were also lost. restoration works by specialists of the UkrNDIproektrestavratsiya Institute (under the direction of architect Iryna Malakova), an old painting of barriers of spectator tiers, painted in the pre-war period, was discovered. Various compositions depicting flowers (Schmidt's art studio), which were of great artistic value. The restorers also partially restored the drawings of the decor of the facades of the building, but as before due to lack of funds, the decoration of the facades remained on paper in the archives of the institute.

Together with the specialists of the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection of the Kyiv City State Administration and the UkrNDIproektrestavratsiya Institute, research and design work on the restoration and restoration of the lost elements of the building facades was carried out on the basis of archival and bibliographic materials. So far, only the first stage of restoration work has been completed, but we hope that this time the work to restore the architecture of the facades of the building will be completed.