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First-year Students Captured the Architectural Memory of Old Varna in Photographs
08 July 2025
First-year students majoring in Architecture at Varna Free University “Chernorizets Hrabar” completed their summer internship in the course History of Architecture. Traditionally, the practice took place at the lapidarium of the Varna Archaeological Museum. Under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zhechka Ilieva and the mentors, alumni of the Architecture programme , the students engaged with the living architectural memory of the city, using the urban environment as a field for observation, sketching, and interpretation.
The participants were divided into three groups, each mentored by graduates of the university: Arch. Martina Stoilova, Arch. Ralitsa Chobanova, and Arch. Desislava Georgieva. Their assignments combined architectural analysis, emotional perception, and creative interpretation of the urban landscape. The shared task for all groups was to document a detail from the lapidarium through architectural drawing, hand sketches, and photo documentation.
Under the mentorship of Arch. Ralitsa Chobanova, one group developed the project ‘The City of Scattered Mirror Pieces.’ Students explored the transformed appearance of Varna’s commercial facades, comparing their original rhythm with modern-day alterations. Through sketches, collages, and written texts, they reconstructed lost fragments of the city's memory and revived elements of its architectural language from past decades.
The group led by Arch. Desislava Georgieva worked on ‘The Hidden Zoo – Varna: Tracing the Stone Creatures.’ Participants searched for and documented zoomorphic architectural details -lions, eagles, octopuses, snakes - embedded in the facades of heritage buildings. Each student selected a striking detail and created a visual and narrative interpretation revealing the symbolic and cultural context of the element.
The group mentored by Arch. Martina Stoilova worked on the theme ‘The Spirits of Varna – Exploration and Immersion into Subtle Matter.’ Students observed buildings in old Varna that depict mythical and real beings, studying how the spirit of time, place, and inhabitants is embodied through color, form, atmosphere, and memory. They sought connections between architecture and human stories hidden in the plastic language of the facades.
The results of the practice will be presented in three original panels—photomontages and collages - created as collective visual narratives of Varna’s architectural heritage and spirit. These works will be exhibited in the university foyer at the start of the new academic year.
