Architect Hans Poelzig: a project for Ukraine

Abstract

The paper examines one of the fragments of the creative heritage of the famous German architect Hans Poelzig: his competition project of the State Ukrainian Theatre of Mass Musical Action for 4000 seats for Kharkiv. The project is viewed through the prism of little-known competitive events of 1930, which makes it possible to decipher its architectural, compositional, urbanistic and functional ideas, to reveal its symbolism. The study is based on the architect’s original drawings preserved in the archive, primary sources of the early 1930s, biographical and critical works of other authors dedicated to the nominees of the Kharkiv competition, as well as on a comparative and meaningful analysis of architectural graphics and textual documentation.

Keywords

• Hans Poelzig’s project
• international architectural competitions
• modernism of the 1920s-1930s
• Ukraine
• theatre buildings