Restoration work on the dome of the Teacher's House in Kyiv is being completed

Oksana Grishina / Architecture / April 25, 2024

The restoration of the dome of the building, the Teacher's House, a symbol of Ukraine's independence, is at the final stage, said the director of the museum Oleg Steshuk. PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA shows how the restoration took place.

"The dome has been restored. The last stage — the external ladder to the dome was dismantled and sent for restoration," said Steshuk.

A landmark for the history of Ukraine's independence, the building was damaged by rocket fire in October 2022. In January 2024, thanks to the financial assistance of the US Embassy Fund for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (AFCP) and the US Embassy in Kyiv, work began on stabilizing the dome of the Teacher's House.

View of the dome from the assembly hall

"We held a series of consultations with a potential contractor, with experts, with the Department of Education and Science of the KMDA, which is responsible for this monument, regarding what measures are actually needed and how it would be better to take them. The entire structure of the dome remained authentic, in fact, exactly as it was designed by Pavel Alyoshin. After examining the state of the dome, stabilization of metal structures and glazing with tempered glass (area of more than 500 square meters), organization of drainage and ventilation systems was carried out," said the representative of the World Monuments Fund (WMF) in Ukraine, Kateryna Goncharova.

Elements of the authentic air conditioning system have been preserved (holes under the seat in the meeting hall are some of them). The Museum hopes to restore the working condition of the system

As Steshuk said, each of the glazing elements is unique, created according to specified dimensions at the factory. From the outside, metal structures were additionally folded.

Installation of updated fragments instead of damaged glazing

Goncharova said that after the restoration of the dome, the WMF will prepare the next step to ensure the restoration of the landmark.

Each piece of tempered glass was molded to individual dimensions at the factory

"The partnership within the project turned out to be super successful for us, of course, we would like to continue it. We hope that there will be an opportunity to continue the restoration of this landmark building for Ukrainian statehood, because it was here, in the Teacher's House, that Ukrainian independence was proclaimed in 1919, the Fourth Universal House of the Ukrainian Central Rada," said Kateryna Goncharova.