Construction of this building, located at Svobody Square, 6, began in 1929.

Originally, it was to be called the House of Cooperation, which would have housed the central cooperatives responsible for managing agriculture in the Ukrainian SSR.

The project was designed by the talented architect Alexander Dmitriev; among his works, the South Railway Administration Building (1914) and the Constructivist “Railway Worker” Palace are particularly noteworthy.

The House of Cooperation project was also designed in the Constructivist style, and its central wing was originally intended to be the tallest building on the square, standing 16 stories high. The building was part of the Constructivist complex on what is now Svobody (Freedom) Square and is considered one of the three “Kharkiv skyscrapers” (another two are Derzhprom, and the House of Projects).

But as early as 1935, the unfinished building was transferred to the Military-Economic Academy of the Red Army.

For a number of reasons—and partly because the building was constructed of brick rather than reinforced concrete (unlike Derzhprom)—and because the central wing was planned to be built using scarce steel beams, construction was delayed, and by the start of World War II, only the side wings had been completed.

The central, high-rise section was completed by 1954 based on a design by Pyotr Shpara; moreover, the postwar renovation of the entire complex was carried out in the Stalinist (socialist classicism) style. One version of the renovation plan included spires—this can be seen in the large mural on the wall of the former restaurant in the Kharkiv Railway Station building.

However, this version of the design was never implemented. The building was ultimately limited to 12 stories. The building’s constructivist spirit can still be felt in the courtyards of the side wings, which are not clad with tiles.

The Govorov Air Defense Academy was dissolved in 2004, and the building was transferred to Kharkiv University, where it became its North Campus. However, many people still refer to this campus as “Govorovka.”

In 2014, the building also opened the “LandauCenter,” a scientific and educational exhibition space, and in 2015, the Henryk Siemiradzki Art Gallery.

As a result of Russian shelling in 2023–2024, the building’s windows, doors, and interiors were damaged on multiple occasions