«We hope it will work out»: emergency repairs at the House of Naval Officers are scheduled to begin in 2027

House of Fleet Officers, archive photo NikVesti

Emergency repairs to the House of Fleet Officers (DOF) are planned for 2027-2028.

This was announced during a live broadcast by the chief architect of Mykolaiv, Yevhen Poliakov, according to NikVesti.

As you know, Mykolaiv has recently selected the best project proposal for the restoration of the historic building of the House of Naval Officers. Yevhen Poliakov noted that now it is necessary to develop scientific and design documentation, and emergency work is scheduled for 2027-2028.

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«We are already communicating with the winners of the competition, in particular with a team representative who is a certified architect and holds a PhD degree. This allows him to work with scientific and project documentation. We also keep in touch with the Ministry of Culture and the Deputy Minister in charge of cultural heritage protection. They have provided their recommendations on this issue. The issue of restoration of objects, especially those of national importance, is a complex one. We have certain obligations — we need to develop scientific documentation in 2026-2027, and in 2027-2028, we need to carry out emergency work to get the monument. We hope we will be able to do this,» he said.

Yevhen Poliakov stressed that the main idea of the architectural competition was «to combine cultural, scientific and innovative life in one space»:

«This is the only national monument owned by the city, a building created for public events and cultural life. And it still fulfils this role. [...] Our idea is to combine cultural, scientific and innovative life in one space. The winner of the competition was able to propose such a solution, although, as the jury noted, the project has some shortcomings that still need to be addressed».

How do the winners plan to renovate the House of Fleet Officers?

According to the jury, the winners are: Serhii Ilchenko (Lviv), Olha Hrihorova (Kharkiv), and Iryna Baklykova (Lebedyn). The team received a cash prize of 140,000 hryvnias.

It is noted that the winners' proposal involves «rethinking the spatial structure of the complex and creating an open public space where the historic building will once again become the centre of city events».

The key idea is «the formation of an accessible environment with strengthening of ties between the complex and Sukhomlynskyi National University of Mykolaiv.

The best proposal for the restoration of the historic DOF building has been selected in Mykolaiv, project photo: Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of Mykolaiv

The best proposal for the restoration of the historic DOF building was selected in Mykolaiv, project photo: Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of Mykolaiv

The House of Fleet Officers in the history of Mykolaiv

The House of Fleet Officers was built in 1824 by order of the Black Sea Fleet Commander Alexander Greig to organise leisure activities for sailors and their families. On 30 August 1890, a reception dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Mykolaiv was held at the DOF.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the DOF has become a centre of assistance for the defence of the city by concerned Mykolaiv residents. The first thing the citizens joined in was making Molotov cocktails and roadblocks. Later on, the House of Fleet Officers was transformed into a volunteer hub, where people brought things, medicines, and aid for the military.

House of Fleet Officers, archive photo «NikVesti»

House of Fleet Officers, archive photo «NikVesti»

The House of Fleet Officers today

At the end of August 2020, Volodymyr Zelenskyy decided to include the DOF in the list of objects of the «Great Restoration» at the suggestion of the head of the parliamentary faction «of the Servant of the People», David Arakhamiia. However, in March 2021, it became known that the DOF was not included in the president's project because design estimates had not been prepared for it, and local authorities had not decided what should be located there.

In turn, the head of the regional state administration, Vitalii Kim, said that the problem with the building of the House of Fleet Officers was that the authorities did not know how to use it. At that time, he said, they were talking about the possible placement of a five-star hotel there.

Before the start of Russian aggression, on 4 February 2022, the Department of Culture of the Mykolaiv City Council stated that the decision to include the House of Fleet Officers in the list of objects of the «Great Restoration» had been made at the state level.

Subsequently, in June 2023, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Council, Anton Tabunschyk, said that he had asked the city council to transfer the DOF to the joint ownership of the territorial communities of Mykolaiv region. He added that the building could be restored and the office and session hall could be placed there.

Volodymyr Aleksieiev, coordinator of the volunteer headquarters «of the DoF», says that the House of Fleet Officers in Mykolaiv should remain a public space and not become another business centre, restaurant or residential complex.

In June 2024, the chief architect of Mykolaiv, Yevhen Poliakov, came up with an idea of how to strengthen Ukrainian identity in the nationally significant architectural monument, the Officers' Assembly. He proposed to decorate the DOF with Tavrian painting and use yellow and blue colours in the decoration.

He later said that the House of Fleet Officers could become a training and coordination centre for water utilities in the southern regions.

In May 2025, the chief architect of Mykolaiv, Yevhen Poliakov, answered why his department announced an all-Ukrainian architectural competition for the best project proposal for the restoration of the House of Fleet Officers.

According to Yevhen Poliakov, the idea of holding the competition does not involve interfering with the building itself. The department wants to find the best proposal for adapting the object to new functions while preserving its authenticity as much as possible.

Later, Yevhen Poliakov came up with a way to strengthen the Ukrainian identity of the Officers' Assembly, an architectural monument of national importance. He proposed to decorate the DOF with Tavrian paintings and use yellow and blue colours in the decoration.