In the very first month of 2018 an event will give a major facelift to an emblematic spot in the center of Sofia. The place where the mausoleum of communist leader Georgi Dimitrov (1882 – 1949) stood will be used to install the largest sculpture-building in the world created by an artist of Bulgarian descent.

The structure will be placed in the city center on the occasion of the first Bulgarian EU Presidency in the first half of 2018. It will remain in Alexander Battenberg Sq. until the end of next year.

The Bronze House is made up of more than 1000 hand-cast bronze elements and its author Plamen Dejanoff has worked on it for more than twelve years. The sculptor who was born in Veliko Tarnovo was strongly impressed by local architecture as a child and in his youth. He became interested in the travel notes of Le Corbusier, Journey to the East(Le Voyage d‘Orient). During his visit to Bulgaria in the early 20 c. the Swiss-French architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris - Le Corbusierraved about the Tarnovo houses and the city’s organic architecture and described some unique structural joints and aspects of craftsmanship. For many years Plamen Dejanoffexplored and collected his notes.

Here is more about the concept of The Bronze House from Plamen Dejanoff:

„This is not the only project I have worked on over the last twelve years. Why did I choose bronze? For me this is a very interesting material, classical and eternal. Nowadays it is mainly used by sculptors, not by architects. I liked this opposition. I have always been impressed with the eternity of this noble material, and I'm glad I was able to create such a huge sculpture of it. In the beginning, engineers and architects told me that it was impossible to build a spatial sculpture from this material. After a long study of over a hundred different bronze alloys, we found the right one that was good enough for this particular size.”

The project went through different phases. At first it was related to Bulgarian architecture only, especially the houses of Arbanassi, Veliko Tarnovo and Tryavna. At the second stage the sculptor began to look for the connections between the different materials and the combination of wood, stone and glass.

„The implementation of the project has become possible thanks to the Embassy of Austria, the Municipality of Sofia, Chief Architect Zdravko Zdravkov and Mayor Yordanka Fandakova”, says Plamen Dejanoffwho has for many years been living and working in Austria.

On its way to Sofia, The Bronze House has been hailed in a few museums. Parts of the installation have been shown at 120 exhibitions in Italy, Germany, USA, China etc.

„The Bronze House is in itself a work of art; it is not a monument related to an event or person”, Plamen Dejanoff notes. “Many people associate the place with the mausoleum but in fact this space existed even before it. I think that this is a good way to rethink the meaning ascribed to it. I am often told, ‘When the installation is completed in Bulgaria, the first thing to do is to come and see it”. I hear this from people who are insiders in present-day art and architecture. However, I care more about how the structure will be accepted by the people of Sofia and how it will be used during the year. It is suitable to host various events – concerts, theater shows and exhibitions. It is an open space. It might be that in Sofia it could see a new application or purpose. In Germany, for instance, it was used as a classroom. I will be happy if the structure is received well, and as to its purpose – this will be specified later.”

Parallel to The Bronze House Plamen Dejanoffhas been working on another project for the past eight years. It seeks to save for posterity architectural monuments in Bulgaria which have been damaged by massive ruin. These are mostly buildings from 15-16 c. They are very rare and of great value and are still surviving in Arbanassi and Melnik.

"At the moment my main task is to restore them with the same materials and technologies used to build them originally. I would be glad if they open their doors one day as architectural monuments of culture for public use”, the sculptor says in conclusion.

Photos: courtesy of Foundation Plamen Dejanoff Sofia/CMS Sofia

English Daniela Konstantinova