In Bulgaria, Nikulden is an important winter holiday that every December 6 remembers St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, master of the underwater world and patron saint of sailors and fishermen.
Plovdiv, located in the south part of Bulgaria, is this country’s second largest city, and the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe. Plovdiv was recently ranked among the continent’s top three destinations, and in 2019 will be Europe’s designated capital of culture.
History, religion, and culture converge at St. Nicholas the Wonderworker temple in Plovdiv, a recently completed basilica that represents the first time in Bulgaria’s long history that a temple’s construction included raising a single-nave metal dome.
Hristo Hristov, Project Manager for HMC, the construction firm that financed this project and was its general contractor and mechanical engineer, tells BD+C that the 213.6-sm (2,299-sf) building required a complex steel structure that would be flexible enough to withstand earthquake conditions, to which this part of the world is susceptible. The steel, however, is significantly lighter than building materials that have typically been used for temple construction in Bulgaria, he states.
Hristov adds that the building’s flooring was produced from four different kinds of granite.
The 22-meter-high temple is topped with the metal dome, made at HMC’s factory, that’s 5.5 meters high, 10.7 meters in diameter, and weighs 12 tons.
The history of this project, whose start and completion span from December 2010 through May 2015, “lies in a coincidence,” explains Hristov. HMC’s owner, Kiril Vasilev, was on a business trip in the Ukraine city of Nikolaev, where he happened upon, and subsequently became fascinated by, the temple of St. Nicholas there. “From that moment, Mr. Vasilev felt a strong urge to create a reproduction” in Plovdiv, says Hristov.
Based on a proposal from the Metropolitan Bishop of Provdiv Nikolay, the temple was designed and constructed 2.5 times larger than the original.
The temple is designed in the traditional Russian style, with pale yellow façade and white decorations. The primary dome is blue with golden stars, and is surrounded by smaller golden domes.
Six bells were cast for the temple, ranging in size from 30 to 200 kilograms (66 to 441 pounds).
Next to the temple is a 24-meter-high clock tower that was part of this construction project. Two-meter-high, gold-plated crosses on the tops of the tower and domes were made in the workshop of Kiev Pechersk Lavra, a historic Orthodox Christian monastery in Ukraine.
Arkont-A was the architect and structural, electrical, and plumbing engineer on the temple and tower project.
The blue dome is surrounded by smaller golden domes. Image: HMC Construction
The temple was designed as a traditional Russian style. Six bells, weighing from 66 to 441 pounds, were cast for the church. Image: HMC Construction
Related Stories
MFPRO+ News | Apr 29, 2024
World’s largest 3D printer could create entire neighborhoods
The University of Maine recently unveiled the world’s largest 3D printer said to be able to create entire neighborhoods. The machine is four times larger than a preceding model that was first tested in 2019. The older model was used to create a 600 sf single-family home made of recyclable wood fiber and bio-resin materials.
AEC Innovators | Apr 26, 2024
National Institute of Building Sciences announces Building Innovation 2024 schedule
The National Institute of Building Sciences is hosting its annual Building Innovation conference, May 22-24 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. BI2024 brings together everyone who impacts the built environment: government agencies, contractors, the private sector, architects, scientists, and more.
Contractors | Apr 26, 2024
AGC releases decarbonization playbook to help assess, track, reduce GHG emissions
The Associated General Contractors of America released a new, first-of-its-kind, decarbonization playbook designed to help firms assess, track, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on projects. The AGC Playbook on Decarbonization and Carbon Reporting in the Construction Industry is part of the association’s efforts to make sure construction firms play a leading role in crafting carbon-reduction measures for the industry.
Mass Timber | Apr 25, 2024
Bjarke Ingels Group designs a mass timber cube structure for the University of Kansas
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and executive architect BNIM have unveiled their design for a new mass timber cube structure called the Makers’ KUbe for the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design. A six-story, 50,000-sf building for learning and collaboration, the light-filled KUbe will house studio and teaching space, 3D-printing and robotic labs, and a ground-level cafe, all organized around a central core.
Senior Living Design | Apr 24, 2024
Nation's largest Passive House senior living facility completed in Portland, Ore.
Construction of Parkview, a high-rise expansion of a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in Portland, Ore., completed recently. The senior living facility is touted as the largest Passive House structure on the West Coast, and the largest Passive House senior living building in the country.
Hotel Facilities | Apr 24, 2024
The U.S. hotel construction market sees record highs in the first quarter of 2024
As seen in the Q1 2024 U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), at the end of the first quarter, there are 6,065 projects with 702,990 rooms in the pipeline. This new all-time high represents a 9% year-over-year (YOY) increase in projects and a 7% YOY increase in rooms compared to last year.
ProConnect Events | Apr 23, 2024
5 more ProConnect events scheduled for 2024, including all-new 'AEC Giants'
SGC Horizon present 7 ProConnect events in 2024.
75 Top Building Products | Apr 22, 2024
Enter today! BD+C's 75 Top Building Products for 2024
BD+C editors are now accepting submissions for the annual 75 Top Building Products awards. The winners will be featured in the November/December 2024 issue of Building Design+Construction.
Resiliency | Apr 22, 2024
Controversy erupts in Florida over how homes are being rebuilt after Hurricane Ian
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently sent a letter to officials in Lee County, Florida alleging that hundreds of homes were rebuilt in violation of the agency’s rules following Hurricane Ian. The letter provoked a sharp backlash as homeowners struggle to rebuild following the devastating 2022 storm that destroyed a large swath of the county.
Mass Timber | Apr 22, 2024
British Columbia changing building code to allow mass timber structures of up to 18 stories
The Canadian Province of British Columbia is updating its building code to expand the use of mass timber in building construction. The code will allow for encapsulated mass-timber construction (EMTC) buildings as tall as 18 stories for residential and office buildings, an increase from the previous 12-story limit.