Maxim Rosenfeld signs books for the guests of the presentation
Maksym Rosenfeld not only loves Kharkiv, but also constantly tries to infect others with this feeling. His city tours are so popular that they are hard to get, and his videos about Berlin, Munich, Barcelona and Kharkiv, as well as the World Design School course, have become a real event among people interested in the history of architecture.
Currently, Maxim is a member of the UN4 project team, which is working on the future restoration of Kharkiv with the support of the world-famous British architect Norman Foster and the government of Ukraine. This case is a pilot for Ukraine, and it was Kharkiv that became one of the two cities (the other being Mykolaiv) that took part in it. If the experience turns out to be successful, in the future, other cities of Ukraine, which have also suffered from Russian aggression, can become participants in the project. Maxim Rosenfeld is currently working on the next stage of the project: he has created a rationale for the competition for the reconstruction of Freedom Square in Kharkiv.
You can learn more about the details of the cooperation of Kharkiv architects with Norman Foster on September 19 at Maxim Rosenfeld's lecture "Dreaming is not harmful, or Bold plans during war", which will be held with the organizational support of PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA and BUDZIRKA. In particular, Maksym Rosenfeld will also talk about the concept of the competition for the reconstruction of the Kharkiv OVA and the course of the already mentioned competition for the restoration of the public space of Svobody Square.
The upcoming lecture will also discuss saving Kharkiv's cultural heritage. Maksym has already revealed this topic in detail at the presentation of the second edition of his book - "Facades. Kharkiv". The author noted that the facades of old buildings are not only an aesthetic heritage, but also a meaningful spiritual narrative that includes the history of the city and the people who built Kharkiv. The guests also heard many interesting facts about the everyday life of an architectural historian. They learned how Maxim collected materials for the book, walked around the city with the descendants of famous architects of the beginning of the 20th century, and saved himself from the depression of the war with the help of drawing.
The architect talked about why he decided to draw all the architects and facades he mentioned in the book with his own hand.
Maxim Rosenfeld talks about how he painted portraits of architects
"It was a completely pragmatic calculation: if I take a portrait of, say, Boleslav Mikhalovsky on the Internet, it will be theft, and if I draw the architect myself, then the copyright to the image will belong to me. "I'm an artist, that's how I see it." In the end, it turned out that when you depict a person, you literally study him: you study the tectonics of the skin, the shape of the nose... When, for example, you draw one of the main developers of Kharkiv — Oleksiy Beketov, you understand, of course, that he is an academician and an outstanding person, and with many names are associated with his name: a subway station, a street, a university and many other things, but at the same time you look at his tie and see that it was a dude. Why, for example, is it important to an archaeologist that artists draw archaeological symbols? Because when artists make drawings, they literally get to know the objects they depict by touch," said Maksym Rosenfeld.
The book "Facades. Kharkiv" by Maxim Rosenfeld, dedicated to the facades of Kharkiv buildings
According to the author, it works both with people and with buildings: the architect changes the attitude towards both the brick-and-mortar building and its architect.
"When you draw the house on Darwin Street, where Beketov settled in 1912, you remember that during all these stories (the First and Second World Wars and the catastrophes of the XNUMXth century. — Ed.) there was never a time when his family was not I would live on the second floor. Everything is still there as it was: this is the living room window, and this is the office window of Galina Beketova, the architect's wife. In the study by the fireplace there is an armchair and a mantelpiece, and there are vases on it. And still everything is in place: the chair is in place, the shelf is in place, the vases are in place. I understand that this house and Beketov in general are part of the roots of the city. Part of Kharkiv," the author explained.
Maxim Rosenfeld signed the book for the buyer
Beketov's house, Maksym Rosenfeld is sure, is not the only "strong nut" of Kharkiv. For example, in 1900, on the first floor of Gladkov's house in the center of Kharkiv, the shop of George Borman's factory opened, now the famous Kharkiv factory "Biscuit-Chocolate". For 124 years of its existence, this store has never closed.
"Another of Pokrovsky's buildings is the Radio Astronomy Institute of the National Academy of Sciences. The architect built it as a Museum of Church Antiquities, but first of all it is known precisely as the literary club of Ellan-Blakytny, where the events of the movie "The Word House" took place. Kurbas, and Tychyna, and Khvylovy, and all-all-all were frequent guests there."
"Despite revolutions, changes of power, wars, occupations and the Holodomor, it never closed, and its range of products never changed. Fresh chocolate was always in the cupboards, which, by the way, are still there. As hard as it is to believe, it was always sold out... On March 2, 1922, a bomb flew next door to the Palace of Sports, and the shop's windows were shattered. After some time, the windows were closed with plywood, on which was written "We opened". And when you enter this store now, you feel that everything around smells of cocoa and chocolate. The smell has penetrated the walls of the wooden cabinets, and it will not go anywhere even if there are no candies there..." Maksym Rosenfeld is sure.
In the book "Facades. Kharkiv" you can see both "eternal" houses and their, though not immortal, but still very beautiful counterparts. For example, Volodymyr Pokrovsky's Kharkiv house with chimeras, which he created for his sisters and for which a portrait of the architect was ordered from a sculptural artel that produced decor.
Maxim Rosenfeld talks about how he painted the facades of old houses in Kharkiv
"Another of Pokrovsky's buildings is the Radio Astronomy Institute of the National Academy of Sciences. The architect built it as a Museum of Church Antiquities, but first of all it is known precisely as the literary club of Ellan-Blakytny, where the events of the movie "The Word House" took place. Kurbas, Tychyna, Khvylovy, and everyone-everyone-everyone were frequent guests there. It was there that Volodymyr Mayakovsky and Mike Johansen played billiards. If you look at this house from the side, you will understand that it is not gray, but watercolor, because in the reflections of the setting sun, the paint acquires many shades. In the book "Facades. Kharkiv" is his image... All these small houses, these salamanders, all these things - it is impossible to stop and stop painting all this cultural decoration and beauty that is on the walls of the city", - shared Maksym Rosenfeld's feelings.
"When Zekzer got hit by a tram, he was taken to the station on Reitarska, which he built. The architect was given a mask with anesthesia, because it was necessary to perform an operation, but he pushed it aside and said: "I built everything. Others will build later." And died"
Quirky decoration is one of the most striking features of the Art Nouveau style and at the same time one of the defining features of Kharkiv. Perhaps the most famous architect who worked in this style is Oleksandr Rzhepishevskyi.
"Rzhepishevskyi is one of the most famous and beloved Kharkiv architects. He really set a precedent that a large number of buildings in the Northern Art Nouveau style appeared in the city. He practiced an approach that was not decorative, but very romantic, stylish and imaginative. Oleksandr Ivanovych is a Kharkiv legend who is already becoming a brand and even a merch," Maksym Rosenfeld explained.
Another legend of Kyiv Art Nouveau is Yosyp Zektser. This architect not only became the founder of monumental modernism, but also ended his life in exactly the same way as the legendary Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi.
Maksym Rosenfeld and Svitlana Feldman, Director of ACCA Publishing House
"Josyp Zektser's house is one of the best examples of monumental modernism by Kyiv architects. By the way, Zekzer died 6 years after Gaudi and under completely similar circumstances. Everyone knows the legend that when Antonio Gaudí fell under the wheels of a Barcelona tram, he was taken to the hospital he once built. When Zekzer got hit by a tram, he was taken to the station on Reitarska, which he built. The architect was given a mask with anesthesia, because it was necessary to perform an operation, but he pushed it aside and said: "I built everything. Others will build later." And died. He is one of my favorite characters. He will definitely appear in the book "Facades of Kyiv", - Maksym Rosenfeld assured.
From legendary modernist architects, the narrative moves to legendary houses in the modernist style. The architect told the guests about the building in which the founders of Khfti lived, in particular Lev Landau, about the house at Rymarska Street, 6, about the Red Cross Clinic, the building on Pushkinska Street (now G. Skovorody Street) and the manufactory building opposite the Annunciation Cathedral with sculptures in the decadent style that was popular at the time of its construction.
Image of the facade of a building on Kostya Levytskogo Street, Lviv
"Our favorite manufactory, which has been standing in ruins for a long time. Albert Speer, Hitler's chief architect, once said that ruins have a more romantic appearance than whole buildings..." the author added.
"Sometimes people ask me: do you even see what is happening around you? Are the books on time? But really, I do it to distract myself from the buzzing and flashing under the windows. And so, in this way, I am simply being treated. And I plan to continue therapy in the future"
To the book "Facades. Kharkiv" included both images of buildings as they are now, as well as images of buildings before "modernization" - German or Soviet. For example, in order to find out what one of the oldest buildings on Kontorska Street looked like before the "Soviet renovation", Maxim Rosenfeld had to conduct a whole investigation. "This building was given as communal apartments for ZHEK employees back in the 20s. And according to this status, he looks. But we know that originally it was fantastically beautiful. About 5 years ago, Kharkiv architectural researcher Yevhen Solovyov found a sheet with his image in the archive. And it became the basis for the image I created," says Rosenfeld.
Image of the facade of a building on Kostya Levytskogo Street, Lviv
The author concludes the story about houses with a story about the person to whom his book is dedicated, namely, about the architect Alexander Leibfreud. Working as an architect and teacher at the institute, he kept photos of old buildings and streets for his archive for 10 years.
"He created a cool library catalog, on each of the individual cards of which was written everything that can be said about a particular house. He was a man who knew everything about the city and sincerely and freely shared his knowledge with the townspeople who turned to him. At the end of the 90s, Alexander's son, Volodymyr, also an architect, left for Germany and took his father with him. I drew a portrait of Alexander, wrote a text about him and sent the materials to his son asking if he would mind me dedicating the book to his father. And then this story seemed to close for me," said Maksym Rosenfeld.
Image of the facade of a building on Chikalenko Street, Kyiv
In the end, Maxim Rosenfeld admits: for him the book "Facades. Kharkiv" became a salvation from depression. "Sometimes people ask me: do you even see what is happening around you? Are the books on time? But really, I do it to distract myself from the buzzing and flashing under the windows. And so, in this way, I am simply being treated. And I plan to continue therapy in the future. For example, in January of this year, my architect friend and I went to Lviv to talk with Oleg Drozdov, Anton Kolomiitsev, the chief architect of Lviv, and Julian Chaplinsky. They tell me: draw Lviv for us. And I already have 65 facades of the city of Lviv. And this is therapy again... I would like to paint the facades of Lviv, and the facades of Chernivtsi, and the facades of Odesa, and the facades of Kyiv," said Maxim Rosenfeld.
