Architect Hans Poelzig: a project for Ukraine

Svitlana Smolenska

smollana@gmail.com
Department of Architecture and Urbanism; Kharkiv School of Architecture (Ukraine)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4953-9563

Hans-Dieter Nägelke


Director of the Museum of Architecture; Technische Universität Berlin; (Germany)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9200-1734

Abstract

The paper examines one of the fragments of the creative heritage of the famous German architect Hans Poelzig: his competition project of the State Ukrainian Theatre of Mass Musical Action for 4000 seats for Kharkiv. The project is viewed through the prism of little-known competitive events of 1930, which makes it possible to decipher its architectural, compositional, urbanistic and functional ideas, to reveal its symbolism. The study is based on the architect’s original drawings preserved in the archive, primary sources of the early 1930s, biographical and critical works of other authors dedicated to the nominees of the Kharkiv competition, as well as on a comparative and meaningful analysis of architectural graphics and textual documentation.

Supporting Agencies

Volkswagen Foundation

Keywords:

Hans Poelzig’s project, international architectural competitions, modernism of the 1920s-1930s, Ukraine, theatre buildings

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Published
2023-09-29 — Updated on 2023-11-09

Cited by

Smolenska, S. and Nägelke, H.-D. (2023) “Architect Hans Poelzig: a project for Ukraine”, Budownictwo i Architektura, 22(3), pp. 059–072. doi: 10.35784/bud-arch.4241.

Authors

Svitlana Smolenska 
smollana@gmail.com
Department of Architecture and Urbanism; Kharkiv School of Architecture Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4953-9563

Authors

Hans-Dieter Nägelke 

Director of the Museum of Architecture; Technische Universität Berlin; Germany
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9200-1734

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