ARCH. VLADIMIR RACHEV: THE TRAINING AT THE MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAM "PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE" IS AT THE WORLD LEVEL
28 May 2021
The training in the Master's degree programme "Preservation of Cultural Heritage" at Varna Free University "Chernorizets Hrabar" is at a world level. That is what arch. Vladimir Rachev - Inspector for Preservation of Immovable Cultural Heritage for the Northeast Planning Region at the Ministry of Culture commented after the brilliant presentation of the diploma projects of the students from the Master's degree programme. He was part of the jury chaired by Corresponding Member. Prof. D.Sc. Atanas Kovachev - Head of the Department of Architecture and Urbanism. Guests of the defense of the diploma projects were arch. Victor Buzev – the chief architect of Varna Municipality and eng. Daniel Trankov - representative of RÖFIX - Bulgaria.
Three impressive projects were presented to the examination jury and the guests today.
Arch. Lachezar Kostov presented a project for the socialization of the early Christian episcopal basilica situated on Khan Krum Street in the historic center of Varna. It became clear from the diploma project that the site was studied eight times; the first activities were taken by Karel Shkorpil in 1914. Archaeology contains three construction periods, the oldest of which is from the end of the 4th century. Currently, the artifacts can be found in an extremely complex urban environment - with overhanging buildings, pressed on all sides of the walls of the basilica. With great respect for the cultural heritage, but also with a brilliant urban approach, the graduate student offered to calm the environment by socializing the space in the form of a town square, with an open-air museum and a reception building. Arch. Buzev commented that the graduate student had solved the task extremely competently and sparingly. According to arch. Krassimira Vacheva - a member of the examination commission, the student's decision is one of the best proposals for the socialization of the early Christian basilica made so far.
The graduate Maria Filipova presented a project for socialization of the monastery of St. John the Forerunner of the island of St. John, near Sozopol. She told about the centuries-old history and the rich archaeological finds in the ancient monastic center, whose history today continues on another island, in another sea and another monastery - in St. Our Lady of Kamariot in Halkidiki in the Aegean Sea. In her diploma work architect Filipova proposed the creation of two new sea transport lines to connect the islands of St. John, St. Peter and St. Anastasia and their transformation into a picturesque tourist route. To restore the volume of the temples, the graduate presented a new type of three-dimensional reproduction of the outlines of the archaeological structures in their authentic form through volumetric structures of steel mesh with an ethereal type of hologram. Tourist attractions include the creation of an island museum, a hut with a fish restaurant and a tea lounge.
Desislava Yovcheva defended a project for adaptation of the Andonova's house on Ivan Vazov Street in the area of the railway station in Plovdiv. According to the research conducted by the young architect, the house belonged to Ivan Andonov - a prominent Bulgarian public figure, teacher, lawyer, journalist, participant in the April Uprising and one of the organizers of the Unification, an ally of Vasil Levski, Hristo Botev and Stefan Stambolov. The house, which was once located in a large garden, was designed by Joseph Schnitter - designer of the first urban plan of Plovdiv. Today the house is in a bad condition. The graduate student offered restoration and new functionality related to a gallery and a luxury hostel.
"I saw exceptional developments presented by the graduates from the master's degree programme Preservation of Cultural Heritage, commented the chief architect of Varna Victor Buzev and added that he was impressed by the wonderful projects, executed with respect for the past, the details and also for the future.
All three projects were awarded excellent marks.
