The Siberian period of architect F.A. Chernomorchenko's career

In this article the author reviews the work of Russian architect Fyodor Andreevich Chernomorchenko with particular attention paid to his Siberian period. F.A. Chernomorchenko was born into an Orthodox bourgeois family in Melitopol county of Tauride province. After finishing the Melitopol Realschule he enrolled at the Institute of Civil Engineers in September 1891. He graduated from the institute in 1896 with the title of a civil engineer. There are two periods in F.A. Chernomorchenko's career: the first, from 1896 to 1911, was in the European part of Russia, and the second, from 1911 to 1923, was in Siberia. F.A. Chernomorchenko worked mainly in Sevastopol and Samara during the first period of his career, and in Tomsk and Omsk during the second. His commissions in Samara included the commercial school building, the I.M. Pleshanov Hospital, the military hospital, and the barracks for the Hussars of the Alexandria Regiment and an artillery battalion. The greatest number of buildings was erected by the architect on the main street of the city, Sobornaya Street. In Omsk, F.A. Chernomorchenko designed several important structures such as the Commercial School and the Gryaznov House, and erected buildings based on other architects' designs such as the House of Court Regulations and the Agricultural College. F.A. Chernomorchenko did not design buildings of such scale in Tomsk, but his activity was associated with occupying responsible positions of the architect of Siberia's most significant educational campuses, the first Imperial University in Siberia and the Technological Institute. The architect's work was in Eclectic and Neoclassical styles, but his leaning towards the classical heritage is more evident. In case of some classical buildings he was the author of the project, while he implemented the ideas of other architects in other commissions such as the House of Court Regulations and the Commercial School in Omsk, and the University Library in Tomsk. F.A. Chernomorchenko also adopted and applied new Art Nouveau elements, which manifested in the exteriors of the Gryaznov House and the Omsk Agricultural College. All above-mentioned buildings contributed to the central part of respective cities while being erected with respect to the existing urban development situation. Latest technology and materials were used during the construction of buildings. F.A. Chernomorchenko's projects were intended for different purposes, as there are educational, administrative, cultural and private buildings. The architect introduced new styles in each project, and these styles were also new to the architecture of a West Siberian city. F.A. Chernomorchenko's work in Omsk and Tomsk, as well as in Samara, is noted for its individuality, adherence to the classical heritage, and deep knowledge of constructions and town planning.

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