“Donvuhilya” Trust House

The building of the “Donvuhilya” Trust at Pushkins'ka, 5 was built in 1925 by architects A. Nossalevych and G. Lomaeva (in collaboration with sculptor I. Kavaleridze). These days the building is housing the Southern State Institute of Mine Designing. The style of this building is related to Art Deco with features of revolutionary - industrial romanticism and constructivism. Although the composition of the facade is close to constructivist geometry, this building is often mistaken for "pure" constructivism: the facade has evident features of classical order. It is a rectangle-shaped, almost square building with vertical lesenes. At the level of the first floor, there are concrete sculptures of two miners, reminiscent of the ancient atlantes. Above them, there inscription Donvuhilya by large, "constructivist" letters. The same but smaller inscriptions carved on black polished labradorite boards. The ground floor is rusticated. There are half-columns with flutes but without pedestals and capitals. The upper floor level is finished with a simple flat cornice. The combination of these elements is clear evidence of classical influence. The sculptor Ivan Kaveleridze complemented architectural forms with monumental sculptures of two miners with jackhammers. In 1960, the building was reconstructed on the project of architect O. Kwint. In 1980 one of the sculptures collapsed. It was removed and restored at the Kharkiv Sculpture Factory, and in 1981 the sculpture returned to its place.