The State Industry House (Derzhprom) in Kharkiv – the project of a new life

The State Industry House (Derzhprom) is a many-sided phenomenon. Each resident of Kharkiv has his own opinion of this object, everyone finds something for himself in it. Let me share with you some facts that struck me.

1. Authors. It is widely known that Derzhprom competition project was won by architects Serhii Savych Serafimov, Mark Davydovych Felher and Samuiil Myronovych Kravets. Recently, they have also paid tribute to the Chief Engineer of the construction – Pavlo Pavlovych Rottert. But S.M. Kravets managed the Project Office at the Derzhprom construction, composed of young architects and engineers whose names are not known for use with some exceptions because they signed as the Derzhprom Group of Builders. They developed a large house based on Serafimov’s idea, the size of which is impressive even today.

On the execution plate that is stored in the Derzhprom Museum, the authors noted not only the main architects and engineers, but also people involved in the financing and promotion of the project, and team leaders who contributed to the development and implementation of new Derzhprom technologies.

However, there is a photo of the project authors, depicting a big crowd of people ― engineers, builders, chef soldiers, cooks, tractor operators, etc. According to the concept of “new life” of the 1920s, the authors of the project are the whole team that created Derzhprom. Many prominent engineers proudly said that they opened their careers as “Derzhprom builders”, starting as unskilled workers at Derzhprom in 1925.

2. The State Industry House in Kharkiv was created as an office for trusts that were analogous to modern ministries. Main leaders of the Ukrainian SSR worked in this building. But today we cannot find the offices of those people. Why? All Derzhprom offices had a very laconic design. Offices of typists did not differ from the office of the trust head.

Considering the idea of collectivism, the rooms meant for the stay of large groups of people were made most emphatic and were paid most attention. Expressive decisions personally developed the “master of interior” S.S. Serafimov were meant for lobbies, halls, dining rooms, stairwells and passages.

The first “gorgeous” interiors in Derzhprom appeared in the 1950s and were the interiors of the “red room” and TV rooms. Only in the Independence period, the first “representative” offices for managers of various levels appeared.

3. Legends. Derzhprom is covered by legends. The most famous of them is that “The blocks of Derzhprom are encoded first chords of the Internationale”. Not one generation of architecture students seek but cannot find that code. Actually, the legend is based on the words of M. Horkyi, who said, “I am looking at the Derzhprom and can hear the sounds of the Internationale”. Given that M. Horkyi visited the settlers of A. Makarenko in Kharkiv, who had a tradition to sing this song on the momentous occasions, and the visit of M. Horkyi was such a long-awaited momentous occasion for them, while the writer’s visit to the Derzhprom Construction became a pathetic thing for the writer; it is not surprising that M. Horkyi used that very poetic image.