Vul. Henerala Chuprynky, 071 – the Mistoproekt Institute
The Mistoproekt State Institute of Urban Planning building was erected as a research and development laboratory of the Dipromist Institute (Technical Archives, 1979, 76). It was built between 1980-1987, led by the team of construction engineer, Vasyl Boykiv and the architects Mykola Stolyarov, Zinovyi Pidlisnyi, and Vasyl Kamenshchyk (Biriulyov, 2008, 624-720).
The architectural style: soviet postmodernist. As of 2012, Mistoproekt shares occupancy of the building with a number of other state and private commercial entities.
History
Construction of the Dipromist Design Institute (later, Mistoproekt State Institute of Urban Planning) lasted from 1977 until 1987. In the project documentation for the structure it is referred to as a production (development) laboratory of the Lviv Branch of the Dipromist Design Institute. The building contractor addressed the municipal building administration of the Lviv City Council executive committee who approved the financing of the project. Approval for the project was granted by the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Council of Ministers as early as 1967, though work was begun only in 1977. Actual construction got underway in 1978 with Lvivprombud and Lvivzhytlobud Trust serving as general contractors. The project was estimated at a cost of one million rubles (Technical Archives, 1979, 76). Construction was drawn out largely due to the reallocation of project finances to other municipal construction projects – primarily, housing projects – whose financing was also overseen by the Lviv City Council.
In order to put up the new structure, a two-story building housing the regional public health station and Civil Registration office was demolished, and a number of trees deemed nonessential were cleared from the space. The plot of land comprised 9,600 square meters of which 3,000 square meters were committed to the Dipromist corpus (Technical Archives, 1979, 76). During construction the design institute occupied rooms in the neighboring building at 69 Pushkin Street (currently, Henerala Chuprynky).
The new structure had working space for 650; together with the Drohobych Branch of Lviv’s Dipromist, the firm employed 900. In 1987, prior to completion of the project, it was decided to expand the available office space by converting the fifth story, originally designed to house maintenance and technical shops. Here also would be located the library, technical archives, and a cafeteria. In addition, a gymnasium would be included in the sub-basement (Technical Archives, 1979, 76). Project drafts were modified to reflect the changes.
In the mid-1990s, vacancies in the building began to be occupied by a combination of private, commercial firms and government agencies including the Lviv Department of the State Architectural Inspection Bureau. As of 2012, a remodeling of the structure is in the planning stages.
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Architecture
The office structure is located in the city block formed by Henerala Chuprynky (formerly, Pushkyna), Pryrodna and Morshynska Streets. The main entrance is from the Henerala Chuprynky side, with separate entrances in the interior courtyard and from Pryrodna Street from which there is also an entrance to the garage (Technical Archives, 1979, 76). A walkway joining Chuprynky and Pryrodna Streets passes through the building courtyard. The walkway is formed by cascading stairways through an open-air, terraced atrium. A landscaped green fills the space between Pryrodna Street and the structure.
The project was originally laid out with additional office space for the eventual expansion of the design institute. Also included in the forward-looking design was office space for additional public service institutions and an area for dining establishments, tentatively planned to be located along the Chuprynky-Pryrodna walkway. The terraced lawn would house open-air cafes, fixing the atrium at the heart of the multi-purpose complex.
The structure itself unites several separate sections positioned around an open rectangular atrium. The main five-story structure was fitted into the existing architectural ensemble along Chuprynky Street. An additional pi-shaped structure faces Pryrodna Street. Differences in the natural terrain result in the main structure on Chuprynky sitting a full two stories higher than the additional structure on Pryrodna (Technical Archives, 1979, 76). The descending staircase design of the walkway through the extended atrium is another result of this nearly 7-meter drop. Open terraces adjoin both ends of the staircase-walkway.
The premises themselves house design workshops and offices arranged along the building’s interior corridors which encircle the atrium/courtyard. In the main building, offices run down both sides of the corridor, but on only side in the addition. The offices in the pi-shaped addition enjoy the benefit of natural lighting from the atrium/park side. The building also has three staircases and two elevators, one for passengers and one service.
The main structure has five stories above ground, two floors underground, and a sub-basement. On the first floor is the foyer ensemble, including a conference hall equipped for film projection (two projectors) and seating for 313; the finance department rooms; the engineering wing. Commercial shops are also located on this floor and accessed through separate entrances. The second, third, and fourth floors are occupied by design workshops and offices. The first underground area houses the computer center and the photo lab; the second – layout, copy, and service areas. In the sub-basement there is a gymnasium, cafeteria, mechanic shop, and garage with parking for four cars (Technical Archives, 1979, 76).
The building is constructed of a pre-fabricated, reinforced concrete and brick shell, with a reinforced concrete pile foundation. The larger halls - the assembly room and gymnasium – employ an innovative design created by structural engineer Vasyl Boykiv: a triangular coffered ceiling.
Interior walls are finished in plaster and painted with a composite resin sizing, and staircases are laid in ceramic tile (Technical Archives, 1979, 76). The offices have parquet flooring, technical and storage space floors are done in ceramic tile, and corridors in mosaic tile.
In order that the sheer size and dimensions of the Mistoproekt structure not dominate but conform organically to the surrounding structures, the building’s line was broken up on the vertical by means of pylons and on the horizontal with window groupings. External walls were finished in textured stucco done in pastel and beige tones, consistent with the surrounding structures. The height of the building is visually reduced with the employment of false front cornice-work finished in ceramic tile (Biriulyov, 2008, 624-720).
Technologically and structurally, the Mistoproekt building falls in the modernist camp, but its aesthetic signals a departure from modernism. Its appearance captures aspects of postmodernism which, despite its relatively late emergence, exerted significant influence on the architectural environment that was 1980s Lviv.
Personalities
Zinovyi Pidlisnyi. December 19, 1936 – July 22, 1999. Architect, winner of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic’s Taras Shevchenko Prize. From 1977-1999 served as director of the Mistoproekt State Design Institute in Lviv. Admitted to the Architectural Union in 1963; awarded the Taras Shevchenko Prize for his co-authorship of the Sribliastyi residential housing project on Patona Street, Lviv.
Sources
1. Technical Archives of the Mistoproekt State Institute of Urban Planning. Object 3500. “Research and Development Structure Hyprograd on Pushkin Street, Lviv (annex to the existing structure). Explanatory notes. Volume 1.” Lviv: Hosstroy UkSSR, 1979. 76. Print.
2. Technical Archives of the Mistoproekt State Institute of Urban Planning. Object 3500. “Research and Development Structure Hyprograd on Pushkin Street, Lviv (annex to the existing structure). Planning Stage Project Modifications. Explanatory notes. Volume 1.” Lviv: Hosstroy UkSSR, 1987. 76. Print.
3. Biriulyov, Yuryi. Architecture of Lviv: Times and Styles, 13th-21st centuries. Lviv: Center of Europe Publishing, 2008. 624-720. Print.