THE ARCHITECTS
Arch. Dimitar Popov is author also of the huge building which had belonged to Atanas/Anastas Kutzooglu /1929/, situated on the corner of the streets “Ivan Vazov” and “Avkesntiy Veleshky” – the central office of “Plovdiv BT”, as well as of the tobacco warehouse of Thomasyan, situated on “Ruski” blvd. /1929/, where later had been the Dental Faculty. Before coming to Plovdiv to settle and work, Dimitar Popov had finished the technical school in Stuttgart in the class of prof. Paul Bonatz – the world-famous architect of XX century, founder and leader of the so-called “Stuttgart Academy”. Popov works hard and good and soon gains the trust of the big tobacco businessmen Kutzooglu, and the fabric cigarette owners Tomassyan. He creates the plans for their warehouses, manufacture buildings, as well as their private houses in Plovdiv /the house of Tomassyan in 1929 was situated on “Otetz Paisiy” Str. and the house of Atanas Kutzooglu in 1925 was on “Lady Strangford” Str./ and in other cities, too. People used to call arch Popov “the professor”, he was a charismatic and inspiring person. He did not have a family of his own and spent his last years in the house of his relative Petko Shahanov. The bastilles of arch Popov determined the urban characteristics of Plovdiv for many years.
The other Architect who connects his name with the tobacco warehouses was Vassil Tarpanov. His grandfather had been well-known builder who had worked in the region of the Rhodope mountains, the Agean are and Plovdiv and his father was the prominent arch Toma Tarpanov, who had graduated in Karlsruhe. Vassil was born in the city of Chepelare, finished school in Karsruhe and graduated architecture in Bruno. During the 30ies, when he came back to Plovdiv, the trade with orient tobacco, highly beloved in Europe, determined more or less the economic development of the country and the external economy. So in Plovdiv, being one of the major centres of this industry, many new warehouses were built as well as places for drying and manipulating the tobacco. Arch. Vassil Tarpanov made the plans for 10-15 big tobacco warehouses in Plovdiv, belonging to Nikola Kaishev, Todor Stoychev, Andon Bozec, Vassil Grigorov and etc.
Arch. Kamen Petkov is the author of the impressive building style “modern”, situated on 16 “Ekzarh Yossif” str., where the Cartel had its headquarter. Today the building had been renovated by arch. Lyudmila Petkova, widow of arch. Kamen Petkov junior, grandson of the father of the family.
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