古代风车修复丨乌克兰基辅丨Oleg Volosovskiy 等

MLYN

restoration of the windmill and recovery of its function

type: windmill

location: National Museum of Folk Architecture and Folkways of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine)

team: Oleg Volosovskiy, Vira Zinchenko, Viacheslav Kvitka, Denys Chudinov

partners: de House, Yurii Yakymenko

photo: Vira Zinchenko

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What we dealt with

In the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Folkways of Ukraine in Pyrohiv, the exhibition "South of Ukraine" features an unfinished windmill from the village of Oleksandrivka, Bilozersky district, Kherson region, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This outbuilding is an example of the folk architecture of the South of Ukraine, reflecting the typology and regional peculiarities of traditional mechanized windmill structures of nineteenth-century Ukraine.​​​​​​​

At the start of the project, personal consultations were held and archival drawings by the museum's team of creators, led by the famous Ukrainian architect Leonid Prybega, developed in 1973, were researched.

This tent windmill has a rotating top and a fixed body. Only the roof with wings and a shaft and wheel turns into the wind, while everything else is attached to the fixed body, its beams, etc. The windmill is two-story and four-winged. The body is round, tapered at the top, and built of local limestone with lime mortar. On the first floor there is a granary for storing grain and flour, and on the second floor there are millstones connected to a wheel on a shaft placed in the roof space by a spindle and a "baklusha". The roof is gable, on rafters, of a complex shape, similar to an inverted boat, covered with boards. The wings are covered with sailcloth (rolled up when not in use).

In 1973, during the inspection of the windmill, it was found that the rotary frame needed 40% replacement, and the roof and roofing had to be completely replaced. The walls and foundations, made of local limestone stone with lime mortar, could not be transported. The wings of the windmill were almost completely intact. The metal doors needed to be replaced with wooden ones. The windows have not been preserved. As of 2023, the restoration work was about 30% complete. Only the 8-meter-high part of the structure made of limestone on lime mortar is presented.

What we did

Symbolism is embedded in every detail of this project. The blades are the wings of a windmill, consisting of two intersecting lines that form a cross - a kind of ancient tree of life—their restoration results from the painstaking work of a team of craftsmen over several months. According to the architects, the entire project was rethought comprehensively, and a number of decisions were made that made it possible to set the mill blades in motion to demonstrate the grain grinding process as openly as possible.

Over a year of restoration work, we conducted a detailed study of the site's condition, cleared the area around the windmill and the slope, built a security wall, and strengthened the foundation. The most important thing was the manufacture and installation of the oak roof and blades according to the 1973 drawings and the reconstruction of the authentic working mechanism thanks to the surviving drawings.

The memories of this unforgettable seven-month process will last a lifetime. First of all, it was not possible to complete this project at the factory. We would not have had enough warehouse and production space even for the material, which is more than 30 m3 of basic wood alone. Secondly, some parts are so large that the length of the carpentry shop would not have been enough. And thirdly, logistics. It would have consumed the lion's share of the budget. So we decided to build an open-air workshop and bring all the necessary equipment and materials there. The museum allocated a room for our specialists and they lived there all the time. But no matter how difficult it was, the project was completed.

Result

Millwork is a defining attribute of Ukrainian ethnic culture. This windmill has had a long history: working in the lands of Kherson region, being forgotten with the advent of technology, deteriorating, being moved in parts to the museum, and waiting for a new flap of wings. And finally, the miracle happened.

THANKS FOR ATTENTION

call: +380503740280 (ua), +32469140706 (eu)

message (telegram): +380993683738

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