We recently recalled the large house designed by Kharkiv’s most well-known architect, Oleksyi Beketov near Mariinskyi Park in Kyiv.

Now it is time to discuss Serhii Tymoshenko’s buildings in Kyiv, which are located in neighboring blocks within the same historic district—Pankivshchyna. Serhii Tymoshenko is one of the most prominent representatives of the Ukrainian Art Nouveau school. Although he was born on the border of Sloboda Ukraine and Chernihivshchyna, he worked in Kharkiv for quitesome time and designed a significant portion of his Ukrainian Art Nouveau buildings specifically for Kharkiv. He can rightly be considered a Kharkiv architect. Nevertheless, buildings designed by Serhii Tymoshenko can also be found in Kyiv and even in the Kuban region in Russia. 

For example, the house of Dr. Yosyp Yurkevych at Pankivska Street, 8, built in 1910.

Although the house’s original vibrant character has faded over time (it was raised by two stories and lost its original distinctive roof), it is still recognizable as a building in the Ukrainian Art Nouveau style by ornament and trapezoidal windows. 

The house of engineer-technologist Lavrentyev at Saksahanskoho Street, 101 no longer looks quite as picturesque, but its history is all the more fascinating.

This design by Tymoshenko (built in 1910) was “toned down” by his colleague, architect M. Shekhonin, at the client’s request, who stripped the façade of some of its ornamentation and color. Olga Dragomanova-Kosach, the mother of Lesya Ukrainka, lived in this building from 1911 to 1913, as evidenced by a commemorative plaque.

Incidentally, the museum dedicated to Lesya Ukrainka herself is located 20 meters further down the street on the left. The famous Ukrainian composer, Mykola Lysenko, also lived at number 101 (for whom S. Tymoshenko would later design a tombstone, which, alas, was never built). 

Both Yurkevich and Lavrentiev were well-known public figures; the latter was a member of the Kyiv City Council.