Georgi Kafelov
Papers of BAS, Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 3, No 2, 2016
ARCHITECTURE
BEFORE DRAWINGS TURN INTO DUST: UNKNOWN MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL BUILDING BY ARCHITECT V. VASILEV
Georgi Kafelov
Abstract: The researcher presents for the first time an unknown project, designed by architect V. Vasilev in the early 1930s, for a multifamily residential building located in the city centre of Sofia at 23 Vitosha Blvd., block 392. The author has found and digitalized original drawings, on the basis of which the apartment building’s floor plans and facades are discussed as part of the fabric of European Modernism. Archival drawings are accompanied by author’s contemporary photographs illustrating the current condition of the building. The article also discusses the present status of the building and the deviation from the orbit of the original design in the course of time.
Key words: Modernism, Rationalism, Bulgarian architecture in the first half of the 20th century, architecture of the Third Bulgarian Tsardom, architect V. Vasilev, architect Vasko Vasilev, Vassil Vassilev, multifamily residential buildings, Mehrfamilienhäuser, Sofia
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Papers of BAS, Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 1, No 1, 2014
ARCHITECTURE
BULGARIA HOTEL AND CONCERT HALL
THE WAY THEY COULD HAVE BEEN
Georgi Kafelov
Abstract: The article contributes to a topic disregarded for decades in the history of Bulgarian architecture – modernism/rationalism. It presents two unknown conceptual designs for the emblematical Bulgaria Hotel and Concert Hall which ranked first and third in a national architectural competition in 1931-1932. They are made by two famous architectural firms: Belkovski-Danchov and Vasilyov-Tsolov.
This is the first article where these two conceptual projects are subjected to architectural analysis. The advantages of the third prize winner project of Vasilyov and Tsolov are proven. Another issue discussed in the article is the functional and aesthetic influence of the two projects upon Bulgaria Hotel and Concert Hall, which was erected later on in accordance with the remade winning project of Belkovski and Danchov. The consequences of selecting some ideas while casting aside others are pointed out in view of the good performance and splendour of the building from the time of its construction to the present day.
Key words: Bulgaria Hotel and Concert Hall, architectural competition, modernism, rationalism