The forms of new architecture. Kharchosmak Club-Theater.

CLUB-THEATER "KHARCHOSMAK" Before the Russian Revolution, the author of the reconstruction of the Noble Meeting House in Kharkiv Linetsky worked in the neoclassical style. His first post-revolutionary projects also tended to this style -  the House of the Commodity Exchange (1925) and the 3rd exemplary polyclinic for workers (1927). However, the architect responds to the trends of the time with great enthusiasm. His projects, dated back to the early 1930s, are as talented and original as his classical ones. Noteworthy is the building of the department store Khatorg, designed in the best traditions of constructivist architecture - asymmetrical composition, the contrast of the vertical stairs to the horizontality of the volume, large stained glass decoration on the facade. The contemporary trends and compositional techniques were implemented in the building of the theater-club "Kharchosmak". Apparently, the composition of the building was influenced by the new proposes of this object. However, his attraction to monumental forms was reflected in this project. The building has both characteristics of constructivism (the contrast between verticals of stairs and the long parallelepiped of the building itself) and rationalism (the integrity of the composition, sculptural "backstages", complicating the volume of the lobby, symmetry of the overall architectural solution). The complexity of the side facades was due to the fact that there were passages leading to the entrances to the club part of the building. The rhythmic dividing of the side facade helped to avoid monotony and created a changing picture. The architect was already familiar with the theory and practical implementation of constructivism and rationalism.  Linetsky easily navigated the "dictionary" of the avant-garde forms, using them in accordance with the design's tasks. The new club building for the Food Industry Union opened on May 2, 1930. Built on the lands of the former Tivoli garden, the club "Kharchosmak" was intended to be multifunctional. In the basement, there was a gym with showers, billiards, a buffet with a kitchen, theater workshops and dressing rooms. The ground floor was allocated for rooms for group classes, children's rooms, administrativerooms, and an auditorium for 1200 seats. On the second floor, there was a library, study rooms, a lecture hall for 360 seats. On the club territory, there was a summer cinema for 700 seats, a concert stage, and a sports ground. Olga Deryabina