Embankment of the Malaya Nevka River, 25, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376
On Kamenny Island, on the embankment of the Malaya Nevka, there is a house where academician Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev lived and which he owned. This two-story historic building is not enclosed by a high wall, allowing it to be clearly seen. Currently, the house contains several apartments, and its history began more than 100 years ago.
In December 1913, permission was obtained from the Office of the Owners of Kamenny Island, Princess Elena Grigorievna Sachsen-Altenburg and Duke Mikhail Georgievich Mecklenburg-Strelitz, to erect a house and outbuildings on the leased land plot No. 13 by Privy Councillor Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev. The City Administration granted permission on February 4, 1914, to build a wooden two-story mansion and a stone canopy. The project was signed by civil engineer Devishin.
The first project was drafted by architect Padlevsky. The building was supposed to have a complex volumetric-spatial composition, with the facade designed in the forms of late Art Nouveau. In July 1913, Bekhterev signed a contract with contractor Grachev for the construction of a wooden two-story house and stone outbuildings, but the work was postponed. In February 1914, a new mansion project developed by civil engineer Devishin in the forms of neoclassicism was approved for implementation. The differences between the project and the existing building are quite significant: the plan shape, some elements, and decorative facade finishes do not match. The constructed wooden mansion more consistently embodied the principles of neoclassicism, although its asymmetrical structure shows a connection with Art Nouveau techniques. Bekhterev lived and worked in this house from 1914 until his death in 1927. Many of his scientific works were written here, and in 1918 he founded the Institute for the Study of the Brain and Mental Activity. In 1926, due to the scientist’s special merits, the local council allowed the demunicipalization of the mansion. After Bekhterev’s death, the house was used as communal housing. In the 1950s, the former mansion was transferred to the Academy of Sciences. In 1956, the house was dismantled and rebuilt in stone with changes to the interior layout. One-story glazed verandas adjoin the main two-story volume of the building. The main southwest facade is marked by a four-column Doric portico with a balcony at the second-floor level. The central part is highlighted by a high attic decorated with a molded image of a wreath and spear. The building’s strict monumental appearance is maintained in the style of Russian Empire.
Sources:
https://www.citywalls.ru/house9270.html
