For a long time, the architect of the elegant Art Nouveau house at Rizdviana Street, 17 remained unknown. Many people mistakenly attributed the building to Kulakovsky’s haberdashery.

However, thanks to the efforts of researcher Andrii Paramonov, the architect behind this architectural landmark has been identified. It was Lev Kekushev, one of the most renowned Art Nouveau architects, who worked in the Franco-Belgian variation of the style. The building was constructed in 1903 for the ‘Volga Manufactory Society for Paper and Linen Products of P. Mindovsky and I. Bakakin’. The society had numerous branches throughout the empire and commissioned the designs for its buildings centrally from ‘its own’ Moscow-based architect.

One of the greatest mysteries is the majolica panel featuring peacocks on the building’s façade.

Some researchers attribute the sketch to the artist Mikhail Vrubel (who worked on buildings designed by architect Kekushev).

However, other well-known artists also worked with Kekushev, such as William Walcott, Alexander Golovin and Sergei Chekhonin.

During the Soviet era, the building retained its ‘textile’ function – from 1959 until the early 2000s, it housed the Kharkiv Fashion Design Centre, which developed new clothing designs for mass production in garment factories. By the early 1990s, it employed over 260 staff.

The building’s glazing was damaged by Russian missile strikes in 2022–2024.