Site of Russian Empire's scientific community serves as chronicle of Baku oil boom Journey through history on Caliber.Az

Baku is a city bearing an ancient history that emanates from every stone, every street and every architectural silhouette. The preserved buildings from different eras represent a rare and astonishing interweaving of styles, creating a harmonic blend between East and West, old traditions and bold modernist solutions. These buildings have long blended into the cultural code of the capital, attracting the attention of researchers, architects, and travellers from around the world.

Walking through Baku, it is impossible not to admire how Eastern refinement and European elegance are organically woven into its appearance. This splendour and grandeur became the legacy of the first oil boom — a period that is rightfully considered its golden age of urban construction.

Encouraged by rapid success, Baku’s oil industrialists invested generously in the construction of new buildings around the turn from the 19th to the 20th century. They aimed to embellish their native city and highlight its status as the cultural and commercial centre of the region. Thanks to their initiatives, Baku was gifted architectural masterpieces that even today remain true gems of the capital.

One such astonishing building of that era was the Baku branch of the Imperial Russian Technical Society — a vivid witness to its time and an example of the architectural explorations of the first decades of the last century.

The Russian Technical Society was the first and later one of the leading scientific and technical institutions of Imperial Russia. Established in 1866 on the initiative of professors, engineers, and industrialists from St. Petersburg, they sought to unite scientific thought and advanced engineering experience. Its first general meeting took place on May 24 of that same year, marking the beginning of the society’s active work.

At that time, Baku was the pulsating heart of the oil industry of the Russian Empire and one of the key centers of technical progress. It was here that the need for an advanced scientific and technical platform arose.

On May 13, 1879, the solemn opening of the Baku branch of the Imperial Russian Technical Society took place. The Baku branch became an important center for scientific and technical perspectives, specializing primarily in issues of the oil industry, which at that time was experiencing rapid growth. It had 122 members, made up of engineers, geologists, entrepreneurs, and specialists who actively participated in the development of the region’s rapidly growing oil sector. The branch was headed by mining engineer S. K. Kvitka, under whose leadership the society’s activities acquired a systematic, research-oriented, and applied character, laying the foundation for future achievements of Baku’s oil science and technology.

In 1886, the first periodical journal related to the oil industry was issued in Russia, titled “Proceedings of the Baku Branch of the Imperial Russian Technical Society.” This journal became an essential source of knowledge on the oil industry and played a significant role in forming the professional culture and developing the study of oil in the Russian Empire.

The one-story building of the Baku branch of the Russian Technical Society was constructed from 1898 to 1899, based on the design of architect Józef Gosławski. It is located at the corner between the former Millionnaya Street (later renamed into Darwin Street, then Voroshilov Street, before ultimately becoming today's Fikrat Amirov Street) and Nizami Street.

The structure occupies a corner position and is accentuated by projections highlighted with expressive compositional elements — carefully designed classical-style window frames and pediments. The rustication of the walls and window openings has been executed thanks to particular mastery: the heavy plinth visually reinforces the base, giving it a solid, monumental character. The clear rhythm of the tall, arched windows supports the vertical movement of the composition while simultaneously lending the building a sense of solemnity.

The main entrance is framed by an elaborate portal that serves as a semantic focal point and emphasises the institution’s prestigious status. A powerful profiled cornice which forms a straight horizontal line and balances the dynamics of the vertical elements outstretches above the façade. In the detailing, one can make out delicate carved frames that demonstrate the high level of stone craftsmanship of the Baku school of architecture.

All of this makes the building a significant monument of Baku’s urban history and one of the most characteristic testimonies of the first oil boom era. Today, this historic building is home to one of the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy's facilities.

Combining the dynamism of modern life with the depth of a centuries-old culture, Baku is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The building of the Baku branch of the Imperial Russian Technical Society is perceived as a confident, monumental, and functionally well-conceived structure against this backdrop, which reflects the engineering spirit of its era. When admiring this building today, we not only see a beautiful architectural object but also get to touch on an era that shaped modern Baku. We once again are reaffirmed that the history of our city truly lives in every stone, every façade and every carefully preserved masterpiece.

By Vahid Shukurov, exclusively for Caliber.Az