The five-story building at 33 Shirokaya Street (Lenina Street) was built in 1910 based on the design of architect (civil engineer) Sima Isaakovich Minash for K. I. Volkenstein, the wife of a sworn attorney. This building, known as the "zoo house," is the most famous work of Minash in the style of "Northern Modernism," with its facade inhabited by various animals. In the scale of the Petrograd Side, it is indeed a special building, and it may seem that there is no other like it in all of Petersburg. In fact, however, the building cannot be called unique in the full sense of the word, since its decor is partly inspired by the reliefs on the facade of the Bubyr house at 11 Stremyannaya Street.

From 1912 to 1916, the historian and literary scholar Shchegolev lived in this house. Also, in the 1910s, a private school of drawing and modeling with Sunday classes was located here.

The facade of the Volkenstein house has a strictly symmetrical composition. The central part of the facade is highlighted by an attic, balconies, a barely outlined bay window, and a triangular portal. It is somewhat "recessed" in depth, while the side parts of the facade form rectangular projections (risalits). The central bay window is not a volumetric projection but a resilient bulge of the wall itself, as if bending under pressure from within.

The lower floor of the facade is clad with blocks of soapstone and contrasts with the plaster finish of the upper floors. Soapstone (scientifically called talcochlorite) was actively used by architects of "Northern Modernism," such as Vasilyev and Bubyr. This beautiful material came to Petersburg from Finland, from quarries near Lake Pielinen. In Helsinki, many buildings in the forms of "Northern Modernism" are also decorated with soapstone carvings (the most famous example being the building of the Pohjola Insurance Company). Soapstone, mined in Finland and Karelia, is a weather-resistant, durable, and easy-to-work material.

The use of natural stone in facade finishes was one of the characteristic features of "Northern Modernism." Architects of this movement showed increased interest in the decorative properties of finishing materials and aimed to build interesting houses, diverse in texture and shades. While in eclectic architecture the degree of stone processing was valued, Modernism awakened the natural beauty of the material, exaggerated the expressiveness of granite or talcochlorite, and played with the plasticity of the rock texture.

These features were explained both by practical considerations (using uneven pieces without thorough processing of chips was cheaper) and by the desire to convey the lively play of natural forces, to awaken the natural decorative properties of the material. Thus, finishing materials became one of the most important factors determining the building's image in those years, and the widespread use of natural stone in facade decoration met with both supporters and opponents among builders and architects: some specialists noted the disadvantage of hewn stone, such as difficulty in cleaning and weathering, and advocated more durable artificial materials.

Another constant companion of "Northern Modernism" architecture was stucco or carved sculptural relief. On the facade of the Volkenstein house, it is represented by expressive soapstone carving. Because the reliefs are made from the same material as the cladding, the sculptural decor is organically linked to the architectural background, becoming inseparably fused with the wall. The entrance to the house is designed in the traditions of "Northern Modernism" as a stone portal. The arch is supported by massive squat columns on granite plinths. These round supporting columns attract attention with an original plant ornament — stylized sculptural images of chestnut leaves and fruits.

On the keystone above the entrance to the main door, a bear is depicted. It is often mistaken for a wolf, but the prevailing version is that it is indeed a bear. Judging by the appearance of the animal, this bear is more likely a polar bear than a brown bear, which experts also acknowledge. Like lions, clumsy bears often appear in heraldry, symbolizing power, courage, and grandeur. The animal's muzzle and paw are softly modeled, creating an illusion of volume.

In "Northern Modernism," and especially in Finnish National Romanticism (take, for example, the Pohjola building), bears are frequent guests on building facades. In Petersburg Modernism, they are less common but sometimes appear (for instance, on the Alyushinsky tenement house on Malyy Prospekt of the Petrograd Side). As for the wolf, it is also a common northern motif, although not as positive. The monstrous wolf Fenrir is a popular character in Scandinavian mythology.

The space between the stone arch of the portal and the entrance door is decorated with simple carving.

Now let's see what other surprises await us on the facade. The animalistic motifs are not limited to just one bear. Above the wide windows at the edges of the first floor are stylized large-eyed owls carved in soapstone. As is known, images of owls and eagle-owls are one of the attributes of "Northern Modernism" architecture in Petersburg; take, for example, the Putilova tenement house ("House with Owls"), also on the Petrograd Side.

The frames of these same windows are decorated with fantastic birds with long downward beaks and pressed wings (possibly ibises), also carved from soapstone — they are clearly inspired by stylized bird images on the facade of the Bubyr house, which is why the Volkenstein house is considered to some extent a plagiarism. However, unlike the house on Stremyannaya, here the paired bird figures are exact duplicates of each other.

The figures of birds and animals themselves, as well as images of local plants, are typical features of "Northern Modernism." Unlike the pan-European Modernism, characteristic, for example, of the Vitebsky Railway Station building (in the work on which Minash also participated), the purely Petersburg "Northern Modernism" is characterized by ornamental stylization, symbolizing closeness to native nature.

Therefore, sculptural decor on facades often features images of owls, squirrels, wolves, bears, and other indigenous inhabitants of the Russian forest, as well as coniferous trees and other vegetation — in general, motifs transferred from the realm of northern flora and fauna. Among other creatures, there may be fantastic inhabitants, such as exotic fairy-tale birds, trolls, or gnomes. All this is the influence of Finland, Finnish National Romanticism, rooted in pagan mythology.

The plastic decoration of the Volkenstein house facade is limited to the first floor. The wall surface of the upper floors is covered with smooth plaster with rare fragments of glazed ceramic tiles. On the attic, there is spotty majolica mosaic.

There is no other decor on the plastered walls. In places, the composition of the facade is enlivened by the rhythm of window openings of various sizes and shapes.

It will be interesting for every Modernism enthusiast to look inside. The entrance hall has preserved an old tiled stove in very good condition — a great luck, since in many other houses stoves from the early 20th century were bricked up or dismantled. There is no arch for passage to the yard on Lenina Street. Access to the yard is possible from the parallel Polozova Street, where the house faces with its rear side. This facade, much more modest, was also built according to Minash’s design.

In accordance with the overall spirit of the building, the courtyard space is also designed strictly symmetrically. The appearance of the courtyard facade is strictly functional but quite expressive. Dominating are the hexagonal windows of the stairwell.

Overall, the Volkenstein house is a solid example of a tenement house in the forms of "Northern Modernism." It is a pity that the building lacks originality: some stylistic techniques of Sima Minash were borrowed from his colleagues Nikolai Vasilyev and Alexey Bubyr, who erected a unique tenement house in 1906 at 11 Stremyannaya Street (the Bubyr architect’s house). Such imitation is not surprising, considering that Minash was a classmate of Bubyr, and moreover, the project of the peculiar house by Vasilyev and Bubyr was published in the well-known magazine "Zodchiy."

But some details of the carved decor are copied so recognizably that it is a pity for Vasilyev and Bubyr: their house — this "living northern poem," the exemplary model of Petersburg "Northern Modernism" — stands on a narrow secondary street, faces north, and is shaded, while Minash’s "clone" occupies a much more advantageous location, situated on the well-lit side of a wide street.

In the house on Stremyannaya, in turn, the influence of Finnish National Romanticism manifested itself. The details of the relief decor could have been inspired by the Pohjola Insurance Company building and other works by Saarinen, Gesellius, and Lindgren. At the same time, Vasilyev and Bubyr relied on Petersburg experience (Lidval’s buildings) as well as the works of Riga architects. They creatively reworked these impulses and created a unique masterpiece.

As noted by the famous Petersburg architectural historian Kirikov, although some Petersburg architects (primarily Minash) adopted the decorative techniques of Vasilyev, "no one could approach his virtuoso mastery." Indeed, compared to the house on Stremyannaya — where no decorative motif repeats, and the facade itself is extremely dynamic due to asymmetry, expressive silhouette, the play of various window openings, and richness of textures — the Volkenstein house is not as pictorially diverse and original. Kirikov is also convinced that "in terms of execution skill, the reliefs on Minash’s facades lack a unified measure of conventionality; they do not achieve the freedom of stylization and the crispness of drawing that Nikolai Vasilyev confidently mastered."

Finally, it should be noted that the six-story Voeykova tenement house, built according to the same Minash’s project in 1909-1910 at 72 Nevsky Prospect, is similar in style to the Volkenstein house — another example of the "animal style." The lower floors are similarly clad with soapstone and decorated with carved images of owls and fantastic birds guarding the entrance to the building. The Voeykova house is also clearly inspired by the Vasilyev-Bubyr project but, like the Volkenstein house, has a more traditional symmetrical composition.

The Volkenstein house was recently restored.

Sources:

https://www.citywalls.ru/house3958.html

https://www.mishanita.ru/2014/09/22/23580/