In the early 20th century, a wide variety of architectural competitions were held throughout the former Russian Empire. A diverse range of designs was submitted to these competitions, ranging from schools and high schools to theaters and public buildings for merchants’ associations.

Architectural associations organized the competitions. The clients, meanwhile, could be either government agencies or private individuals.

Project clients specified their requirements for the buildings and provided a prize fund. Meanwhile, professional architectural communities developed detailed competition guidelines, established the key requirements for the projects, and appointed qualified jury members (who were then referred to as judging committees). This ensured the objectivity of the evaluation and the selection of the best entries.

It was extremely important that the winning designs, as well as those recommended for purchase and those for which payment had been made, became the property of the client, who was free to use them as he saw fit. However, winning the competition did not always mean that the building would be constructed, as the client still had the final say.

The openness of the architectural competitions themselves also played a significant role.

From 1872 to 1924, the St. Petersburg Society of Architects published the journal *Zodchiy*.
In addition to articles on architecture, the art of construction, technical education, building codes, and urban planning, the journal featured announcements of architectural competitions, their programs, reviews, and the jury’s decisions.

As a result, all information about the competitions and their results became public and could be freely discussed by the public. It is precisely thanks to this kind of material, published in *Zodchem*, that we can learn a great deal about the architectural competitions held in Kharkiv at that time.

For example, at Chernyshevska Street, 20 in our beloved city, there is currently a beautiful historic mansion. It currently houses the conservative gynecology department of Maternity Hospital No. 3. But back in the early 20th century, a very intriguing story was associated with this place.

In Issue No. 12 of the journal, dated March 23, 1903, in an article about the latest meeting of the Imperial St. Petersburg Society of Architects, we find:

The general meeting, held on Tuesday, March 18, was attended by 35 full members, 1 associate member, 4 competitive members, 6 guests, 2 students, and 3 newspaper correspondents—a total of 31 people. I. S. Kitner presided over the meeting and then handed the chairmanship over to V. R. Bernhard
……A. I. Likholet from Kharkiv also proposed holding a competition to design a two-story house, asking that the amounts for the first and second prizes be specified. Having agreed in principle to hold this competition and proposed allocating 300 rubles for the first prize and 200 rubles for the second, the meeting instructed the Board to notify Mr. Likholet of this, requesting a precise clarification of the requirements set forth in his letter, on the basis of which the competition guidelines were to be drawn up. In the subsequent election, architect N. B. Meder was elected as an associate member.

As early as April 20, 1903, the contest rules were published in the 16th issue of the magazine. Thanks to this, anyone wishing to participate could familiarize themselves with the rules and the jury (panel of judges), which consisted of Ludwig Nikolayevich Benois, Alexander Ivanovich von Gogh, German Davidovich Grimm, Fyodor Ivanovich Lidval, and Pavel Yulievich Syuzor.

Paragraph No. 18 also stated that any questions could be directed to Arseny Ivanovich Likholet and provided his address in Kharkiv.

Projects received by mail more than a week after the deadline listed above will not be considered.

14. Before and after the awards ceremony, the projects will be on display at the Society’s premises.

15. The total prize money is five hundred rubles (500 rubles), to be distributed at the discretion of the contest judges. The following percentages of the prizes awarded shall be withheld for the benefit of the Society: 10% from its members and 20% from non-members.

16. Projects that receive a prize become the property of the client, while those that do not must be returned no later than July 20, 1903, after which they become the property of the Company.

Clarifications and amendments to the project client’s terms and conditions were communicated to all interested parties through their publication in Issue No. 19 (dated May 11).

On Tuesday, June 10, another meeting of the Imperial St. Petersburg Society of Architects was held, chaired by Pavel Yulievich Syuzor.

The event began with the reading of the judges’ panel’s review of the design competition for the Likholet House in Kharkiv, adopted on June 7, and the public opening of the sealed bid envelopes.

By the deadline, 23 projects had been submitted to the competition, which the jury divided into 3 groups:

— unsatisfactory ― 8
— more or less satisfactory ― 7
— deserving special attention for their concept and development ― 8

The results of the competition, the jury’s reviews of the projects, and the sketches were published in issues No. 24, 25, and 36 of *Zodchiy* magazine.

Thanks to this, we’ll find out not only who took first through third place in the competition, but also what criticisms were raised regarding the seven projects deemed more or less satisfactory.

First prize (250 rubles) was awarded to architect Sergei Grigoryevich Ginger, the designer of the project titled “Cozy.” The panel of judges noted:

A project with the motto “Cozy.”

The floor plan is very well conceived and designed. A large portion of the space is illuminated from the widened hallway—a clever idea. Almost all the toilets and all the bathrooms receive direct light from the courtyard. On the second floor, there is an extra room—contrary to the program requirements—which the architect has designated as “residential”; this room can be considered part of the front section and should offer considerable convenience. The facade is elegant, with fine details, but is shown only in outline, which does not fully convey its undoubted merits.

The second prize (150 rubles) was awarded to the project by civil engineer Nikolai Vasilyevich Vasilyev, titled “Spiral.” According to the jury:

The design is beautifully executed. The facades are interesting. The version with flat, tile-covered roofs is particularly appealing. Unfortunately, the poor layout and the rooms’ fanciful shapes significantly detract from the project’s merits. The dining room on the second floor is small and awkwardly shaped. Furthermore, the entrance to the living room from there is not grand. The bathrooms and toilets are dark.

Well, the third prize (100 rubles) for the “Spring” project went to a certain M. Fain from Łódź.

The design is quite successful. The layout with the wide stairwell is better, although the apartment on the left on the first floor isn’t entirely convenient. The facade is quite good in terms of its overall composition, but the details are not well executed.

However, the final say still rested with the client—Arseny Ivanovich Likholet. It is not known for certain why the “Uyutno” project was never brought to fruition. Perhaps he didn’t like it, or perhaps there simply wasn’t enough money.

It is believed that Likholet did, after all, base his design on Sergei Ginger’s project, as there are a number of similar details.

Perhaps we will someday be able to find a complete answer to this question thanks to the documents held in the State Archives of the Kharkiv Region.

What’s important to us in this story is something else. Namely, the fact that even an architectural competition—one initiated not by a government agency or organization, but by a private individual—was as transparent and public as possible. Not to mention competitions for projects that are significant to the city! Well, it’s a shame that those days of transparency and openness are long gone…