Docomomo International would like to draw your attention to the alarming situation of the former Industrial School in Plovdiv, Bulgaria (current Professional High School of Interior Architecture and Woodworking).
The building, designed by Bulgarian architects Svetoslav Grozev and Dimitar Popov, at the time one of the most important modern movement edifices in Bulgaria, was opened to host the Plvodiv Industrial Fair, after a 40-year break from its inauguration in 1893.
A staircase glass enclosure that was lighted by four vertical bands of windows was designed and installed in the building. The window´s openable segments – with common lever – strongly resembled the ones applied in the Bauhaus Design School in Dessau, designed by Walter Gropius (in 1925-1926).
In October 2018, the building underwent a facade restoration, during which its characteristic staircase windows, and its system, were replaced by PCV ones. Original wooden windows were also lost and were now replaced by new ones that do not respect the historical articulation.
Docomomo Bulgaria is currently preparing a letter to the Mayor of Plovdiv, regarding the discharacterization of the building and the disregard towards the building mechanisms and integral work which deserved to be respectfully kept.
For more details regarding this case, please visit: link