There are few Constructivist buildings at the lower end of Sumska Street, but one of the gems of this style can be found here. It was built between 1925 and 1927 as the ‘Gosstrakh’ (State Insurance) building to a design by architects A. Molokin, R. Ikonnikov and E. Rymar.

During the Second World War, the building was destroyed by fire but was subsequently restored.

From 1943, it housed the Kharkiv Engineering and Construction Institute (KhISI), where the building’s designer, Molokin, served as dean of the Faculty of Architecture.

In the 1960s–80s, a lobby was added to the entrance, and additional wings were built on the side facing Myronosytska Street and at Sumska Street, 42.

The ground floor décor – rustication and columns with classical motifs – was part of the original design. These eclectic details still harmonise well with the building’s main constructivist structure, despite the fact that the modernist entrance hall has simplified the building’s entrance area.

But even on the upper floors, one can see decorative details unusual for Constructivism – these are the ‘nuts’ at the ends of the brackets supporting the balconies. The nuts are not real; they are made of concrete.

Some researchers classify the building as belonging to the industrial romanticism style.

In 2007, a monument to the outstanding Kharkiv architect, Oleksiy Beketov, was erected in the courtyard garden. The sculpture was created by Seifadin Gurbanov.

The building is currently home to the O. M. Beketov Kharkiv National University of Architecture and Construction.

As a result of a Russian drone strike on 26 February 2025, the building lost a significant portion of its glazing.

The university buildings in this quarter sustained significant damage at the start of the full-scale invasion. In March 2022, the stained-glass windows, windows and doors were blown out of the old building, and the walls were damaged.

The new wing, facing Myronosytska Street, suffered much more severe damage.