Century-Old Bas-Relief Found in the House of Radio
During the restoration of the House of Radio, fragments of a pre-revolutionary bas-relief were found in a chimney. VTB, which is leading the work, plans to preserve them as historical evidence.
Jan 29, 2026 0
Restorers expect to find more fragments of the missing decor during the ongoing work.
Source:
During restoration work at the House of Radio, which VTB is conducting as part of the «Cultural Country» program, specialists discovered fragments of a historical bas-relief. The find was made while cleaning a chimney, and the plasterwork is planned to be preserved as evidence of the past.
The original bas-relief is now only preserved in historical photographs from the archive.
Source:
After studying archival documents, restorers determined that the fragments belong to plasterwork designed by architect Vasily Kasyakov in the 1910s. The gypsum bas-relief adorned the hall where the Third Studio of the House of Radio was later located. The composition included two decorative elements in the form of male heads at the edges and sculptures of two youths in the center.
The original bas-relief was destroyed in the 1930s, and its debris was used to fill the smoke channel. During the redevelopment of the building for the Leningrad Committee for Radiofication and Broadcasting, a new sculptural composition appeared on the wall. However, after the Great Patriotic War, during another reconstruction, it was also abandoned.
«The Third Studio is one of the unique acoustic spaces of the House of Radio. The new concept of its interior references the Soviet period, but the space will become multifunctional: for sound recording, rehearsals, and events. Modern acoustic solutions will be delicately integrated into the control room and studio. The bas-relief fragments are an important restoration find, so we will preserve them as evidence of the hall»s original appearance,« noted Darya Filippova, senior vice president of VTB.
«We expect that these are not the only surviving parts of the bas-relief — other fragments of the lost decor may be found during the work. The plasterwork of the House of Radio deserves separate scientific research: it reflects the change of eras and styles in the building»s decoration. We know that in Soviet times, architect Lazar Khidekel worked on the Third Studio, creating a new bas-relief. Unfortunately, it is also lost and has not yet been discovered,« said Maria Shapchenko, project architect, head of ARM2 at NIIPI Spetsrestavratsiya LLC.
This is not the first such find in the House of Radio. Previously, unknown fragments of wall painting by artist Mikhail Vasilyev, remnants of ancient blinds in the first-floor window openings, and other artifacts have been found here.
Read more
