flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

For the first time in Bulgaria, a temple’s construction raises a metal dome

Religious Facilities

For the first time in Bulgaria, a temple’s construction raises a metal dome

The church is 2½ times larger than the basilica in Ukraine it references.


By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | February 22, 2016

The recently completed St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, includes a 12-ton metal dome, the first of its kind to be included in new construction of a basilica in that country. Image: HMC Construction

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

| Jan 14, 2016

How to succeed with EIFS: exterior insulation and finish systems

This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the six elements of an EIFS wall assembly; common EIFS failures and how to prevent them; and EIFS and sustainability.

Religious Facilities | Oct 28, 2015

After 133 years of construction, Sagrada Familia enters final phase of construction

Six new towers to be added will make the cathedral Europe's tallest religious building.

Sponsored | Religious Facilities | Sep 25, 2015

Where Construction Meets Religion

The beliefs of the congregation required specific compass-orientations for certain rooms

Religious Facilities | Aug 25, 2015

A fully restored St. Patrick’s Cathedral awaits the pope’s arrival

The three-year reconstruction project included more than 30,000 preservations and repairs. 

Multifamily Housing | Apr 22, 2015

Condo developers covet churches for conversions

Former churches, many of which are sitting on prime urban real estate, are being converted into libraries, restaurants, and with greater frequency condominiums.

Religious Facilities | Mar 23, 2015

Is nothing sacred? Seattle church to become a restaurant and ballroom

A Seattle-based real estate developer plans to convert a historic downtown building, which for more than a century has served as a church sanctuary, into a restaurant with ballroom space.

Retail Centers | Mar 10, 2015

Retrofit projects give dying malls new purpose

Approximately one-third of the country’s 1,200 enclosed malls are dead or dying. The good news is that a sizable portion of that building stock is being repurposed.

Reconstruction & Renovation | Mar 5, 2015

Chicago's 7 most endangered properties

Preservation Chicago released its annual list of historic buildings that are at risk of being demolished or falling into decay.

Religious Facilities | Mar 3, 2015

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia to be completed in 2026

Architect Jordi Fauli has taken over responsibilities for finishing Antoni Gaudi's masterpiece. Fauli is confident his team will be able to finish the mega project within the next 12 years.

Sponsored | Metals | Feb 25, 2015

Why churches are being built of metal

Affordability and speed of building are important factors.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Giants 400

Top 40 Religious Facility Construction Firms for 2023

Crossland Construction, Haskell, Big-D Construction, Whiting-Turner, and JE Dunn Construction top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest religious facility general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021