“Voenved No. 1” at Chychybabina Street, 1

This imposing building in the Zagosprоm’ya neighborhood was built in the early socialist classicism style, yet it still retains the spirit of the bygone Constructivist era.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

The building was completed in 1938 based on a design by architect P. E. Shpary (with consultation from Oleksiy Beketov).

The photo is believed to date from the late 1930s.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

It has 6 to 8 stories, and the building is notable for its imposing arch.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

The military department’s officers’ residence had 100 apartments, which is why it was called “Voenved”—or, more precisely, “Voenved No. 1″—since there was another one in the city known as “Voenved No. 2.”

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

Unfortunately, the massive balconies from 1990s have greatly marred the building’s appearance

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

The original, unglazed balconies, however, are in a dismal state

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

One of the building staircases was recently renovated.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

This staircase railing is a standard design; it can also be found in other Kharkiv buildings from the 1930s.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

Sometimes you come across unique interior doors there.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

Thanks also to volunteers from dveryki.kharkiv and donations from Kharkiv residents, the front door was restored.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

It’s worth taking a closer look at this. These are the original doors from this house, which were repainted many times and eventually boarded up.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

For several decades, people entered the building from the courtyard. The front entrance was overgrown with bushes, and the nook inside was used as a junk storage area… An old doorknob, similar to the original, was ordered from an online auction in England; the door’s color is also identical to the original—to figure out what it had been, we had to scrape off all the layers of paint to get down to the first one. Soon, an automatic door opener will be installed at the door, the intercom will be mounted on the side, and a brick path will be laid leading to the sidewalk.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022