Arch. Gergana Dikanska, architect and junior partner at Dikanski & Partners Architectural Studio Ltd. Over the years, she has been involved in designing a variety of projects for the firm given her broad interest - from monuments of real architectural heritage to interior designs of single-family houses and apartments. She is a graduate of the Department of Interior and Design for Architecture at UASG and is now a full-time PhD student at the same department.
About architecture and the beauty of the cityscape
Someone once said that architecture is a reflection of the life of each era - its ups, its downs, its views and feelings. Today, in the busyness of our daily lives, people forget to appreciate the beauty of the cityscape built over the years, and it is the surroundings of the place we move in every day that affect us most emotionally.
Leaving aside contemporary projects and what is happening on the construction scene today, much of the real cultural heritage that is actively involved in urban life represents the history of Bulgaria after 1878 and especially what happened in the period of the first decade of the 20th century. This was a period of rapid accumulation of the foundations of the new Bulgarian state, building of a modern vision, intensive redevelopment and construction of administrative and residential buildings in cities such as Sofia, Varna and Ruse, which still serve as examples as monument buildings or immovable "cultural heritage".
The latter designation comes from the Cultural Heritage Act, which states that 'cultural heritage comprises the intangible and tangible immovable and movable heritage as a set of cultural values that are bearers of historical memory, national identity and have scientific or cultural value'. Immovable cultural monuments are divided into those with "world" (cultural property inscribed on the World Heritage List), with "national" (cultural property of outstanding value for the culture and history of the country), with "local" (related to the culture and history of localities, municipalities and districts), and of "ensemble" significance (supporting the spatial characteristics and architectural typology of the group property to which they belong"). Immovable cultural property may be a single building, a group of monuments, or part of an architectural and archaeological reserve.
And while "world" examples such as the Boyana Church and those of "national" significance such as the Ivan Vazov National Theatre are well known for their history, there are buildings in every city that have become of strategic importance to the development of the country that just as subtly reflect the spirit of the rebirth of the new Bulgarian state and what we now call "home". We can find such buildings in Sofia, Varna and Ruse, designed by the first Bulgarian architects after the Liberation who studied and graduated with state scholarships in the West. They artfully combined the "modern" styles of the time - Baroque and Secession, with the traditions of Bulgarian architecture throughout the centuries. And what better opportunity to go back in time and meet them than on the eve of the third of March?
The postcard of Sofia - Baron Gendovich Building
On the corner of ul. "Deacon Ignatius Street. "Ivan Vazov" stands a beautiful, massive 7-storey building on the Viennese model with the status of an immovable cultural property of "local importance", which when it was built in 1915 by the first Bulgarian freelance architect Arch. Nikola Lazarov, was the highest in the country. For many years depicted on a postcard as a landmark of the capital and the first Bulgarian skyscraper, the building was owned by Hristo Ivanov Gendovich, who was awarded the title of "Baron" by Tsar Alexander II for his participation in the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation.
In the decorative decoration of the facades of the building there is an interesting combination of vegetal elements, typical of the Secession style, with capitals and balustrades inspired by the old Bulgarian capitals. It was built as a revenue building, which served as offices. Later, the first Bulgarian National Bank moved in. The building has administrative and residential functions, with the last three floors being occupied by the owners. Today, it continues to stand majestically with its tectonics and exudes tranquility and prestige alongside the Ivan Vazov National Theatre.
The calling card of Preslav Street in Varna - the building of Nikola Yuchormansky
Preslav Street has been the main street in Varna since Turkish times, being the main link between the port and the city centre, passing at its top through the square - the Charshiyat. Its names have changed over the years, but its function as a major commercial and banking street as well as an important transport and communication centre remains the same. It is one of the few streets in Varna that have preserved the charm and atmosphere of the early 20th century urban environment. It was then that the architectural appearance of the buildings along this street was created, and almost all of them are cultural treasures designed by great names in Bulgarian architecture who created a unique and complete ensemble, declared part of the architectural and archaeological reserve "Ancient City of Odessos - Varna". One of these buildings, located at No. 10, became the calling card of the street. Preslav. Undoubtedly, the mastery of arch. Nikola Lazarov again turned the building, built in 1910 for the famous Varna merchant and public figure Nikola Yuchormansky, into an emblem.
Designed by arch. Lazarov, the building was intended for a hotel with shops. After its construction (during the war) it was used as a German commandant's office. After 1944 it was adapted for a medical station, and then it was owned by Gilfond, with the ground floor and the first and second floors above it used for offices. Currently the building serves entirely administrative functions.
The façade of the building is designed with exceptional craftsmanship - windows framed with cornices, elliptical arches crowned with garlands of laurel leaves and keystone in acanthus leaf. The decoration is stone sculpture - given the weather conditions of the maritime capital and a matter of prestige for the time. Today, its colour scheme, executed in pink, grey and white, allows its plasticity to stand out expressively. Large ornaments make up the front line of the decoration in grey, while small details, part of the "base" of the façade - in white - complete it like a tangle, so that the feeling of humble centuries-old dignity can be achieved again.
"Little Vienna" - the city of Rousse and the buildings on ul. "Alexandrovska"
The rapid development of the town began in the second half of the 19th century and especially after the Liberation in 1878. Along the Danube, all the European architectural fashions - Baroque and Secession - reached Ruse and found expression in one way or another in the buildings of the city. The formation of its European appearance continued in the years after the Liberation and the municipal regulations stipulated that the new buildings should be decorated in a contemporary style for the period. (from "Regulations for the construction of private buildings" of 1893, adopted by the Ruse municipality). Among the public buildings, those of the Bulgarian Commercial Bank (Culture Department on Tsaribrod Str.), Burov's Bank on Tsaribrod Str. "Alexandrovska Street, and among the residential buildings are the houses of Burov and E. Haralambov on Pridunavski Boulevard. The planning was subordinated to classical Western European urban visions and it gave rise to the architectural ensembles of the squares and commercial streets, and the decoration of the houses with stone sculpture, the successful balancing with ornaments, the mixing of elements of styles - baroque garlands, sculptures and pediments, wreaths and masks, formed the characteristic face of Ruse that we still know today.
From the emblematic examples of buildings on ul. "Alexandrovska Street are two houses - the house of Petar Atanasov and the house of Dr. Stoil Stanev, both designed by arch. Spiro Valsamaki, one of the most prominent builders of his time in Ruse. The buildings were intended as homes on the second floor and shops on the ground floor. Over the years they have retained their function as commercial and/or administrative buildings, fitting into the architectural ensemble of the street. Characteristic elements of the Dr. Stoil Stanev building are the elaborate window decorations with "blind" sub-window balusters, shell and garland ornamentation, and the gable and lunettes on the roof. In terms of colour, the building is designed in an achromatic palette with only golden accents in the ground floor fenestration and some of the upper floor detailing to enhance the architectural sculpture and add dignity and prestige to the function the building currently fulfils.