Architecture of Baku
{{Short description|Overview of the architecture of Baku}}
File:Torre de la Doncella, Baku, Azerbaiyán, 2016-09-26, DD 215-217 HDR.jpg, one of Baku's top tourist attractions]]
The architecture of Baku is not characterized by any particular architectural style, having accumulated its buildings over a long period of time.
In itself, Baku contains a wide variety of styles, progressing through Masud Ibn Davud's 12th century Maiden Tower and the educational institutions and buildings of the Russian Imperial era.
Late Modern and Postmodern architecture began to appear in the early-2000s. With the economic development, old buildings such as Atlant House have been razed to make way for new ones. Buildings with all glass shell appear around the city, with the most prominent examples being the SOCAR Tower and Flame Towers.
Several monuments pay homage to people and events in the city. The Martyrs' Lane provides views of the surrounding area whilst commemorating the victims of Black January and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/baku-the-touristseye-view-of-an-oilboom-city-1974359.html |title=Baku: The tourist's-eye view of an oil-boom city |access-date=2017-09-19 |archive-date=2014-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022011439/http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/baku-the-touristseye-view-of-an-oilboom-city-1974359.html |url-status=live }}[http://www.sakharov-center.ru/publications/azrus/az_004.htm Память об утратах и азербайджанское общество] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310011358/http://www.sakharov-center.ru/publications/azrus/az_004.htm |date=2011-03-10 }} {{in lang|ru}}
Islamic architecture
With Shi'a Islam being the dominant religion of Azerbaijan, there are may Islamic architecture featured buildings that resides in Baku. Religious places have more Islamic calligraphy drawn on the columns and other places on the structure.[http://anysite.ru/publication/islam Архитектура исламских мечетей] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811141751/http://anysite.ru/publication/islam |date=2011-08-11 }} {{in lang|ru}} In December 2000, the Old City of Baku, including the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and Maiden Tower, became the first location in Azerbaijan to be classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
File:Qız qalası ümumi 2016.jpg|Maiden Tower
File:Şirvanşahlar saray kompleksi.jpg|Palace of the Shirvanshahs
File:Baku ShirvanshahsPalace DivanKhana 004 1537.jpg|Divankhane in the Palace of the Shirvanshahs
File:Muhammad Mosque (Baku) 1.JPG|Mahammad Mosque with Minarat, located in Inner City of Baku
File:Təzəpir məscidi cut.jpg|Tazapir Mosque
File:Juma Mosque of Baku.jpg|Juma Mosque of Baku
File:Baku Bibi-EybatMosque 004 8705.jpg|Bibi-Heybat Mosque
Islamic buildings continued to be constructed in Baku during the Imperial period. In particular, the Ajdarbey Mosque in then outskirts of the city was built in 1912–1913.{{cite book|last=Фатуллаев-Фигаров|first=Шамиль Сейфулла оглы|title=Архитектурная энциклопедия Баку|year=1998|publisher=Международная Академия Архитектуры Стран Востока|location=Baku|page=331}}
Imperial Russian and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic era
= Urban development and construction =
{{See also|Black City (Baku)|Petroleum industry in Azerbaijan}}
With the boom of the oil industry in Baku came an influx of both foreign western cash and ideas. Eclectic architecture fusing not only east and west, but several western styles as well became prevalent in the architecture found in the city outside the medieval walls.{{cite book |last1=Blau |first1=Eve |title=Baku: Oil and Urbanism |date=2018 |publisher=Park Books |location=Zurich |isbn=9783038600763 |page=80}} Local oil industrialists had the opportunity to travel, particularly to Europe, where they came back with ideas of the European architectural styles, and had both the desire and the capital to recreate them.{{cite journal |title=Baku's Architecture: A Fusion of East and West |journal=Azerbaijan International |date=Winter 1994 |volume=2 |issue=4 |url=https://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/24_folder/24_articles/24_architecture.html |archive-date=2022-10-25 |access-date=2022-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025153852/https://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/24_folder/24_articles/24_architecture.html |url-status=live }} Two industrialized districts would be created to the east of the original medieval city and Russian garrison, the denser and older Black City and the newer, sprawling White City.{{cite book |last1=Blau |first1=Eve |title=Baku: Oil and Urbanism |date=2018 |publisher=Park Books |location=Zurich |isbn=9783038600763 |pages=62–68}}
The Black City was the first example of a planned industrial district in the Russian empire, it would be separated from the original residential and commercial zones by a two-kilometer buffer zone.{{cite book |last1=Fatullayev-Figarov |first1=Sh. S. |title=Arkhitekturnaia Entsiklopediia Baku |date=1998 |isbn=9789952320657 |page=31}} A dense 80 sq meter block grid would be created, designated for a flexible factory-based use.{{cite book |last1=Blau |first1=Eve |title=Baku: Oil and Urbanism |date=2018 |publisher=Park Books |location=Zurich |isbn=9783038600763 |pages=63–64}} Contemporaries would comment on how dirty this district was, with the black oil smoke that filled the air giving the area its name.{{cite book |last1=Marvin |first1=Charles |title=Region of Eternal Fire |date=1883 |location=London |pages=234–235}}
File:Naftaproduktionsbolaget Bröderna Nobel 7.jpg"]]
As Baku grew industrially, the White City would be developed to house the growing industry. It was characterized by its lack of a block structure, instead opting to have larger blocks (about 500x300 meters on average), irregular in size, which would accommodate to the shape taken by the factories rather than the other way around.{{cite book |last1=Blau |first1=Eve |title=Baku: Oil and Urbanism |date=2018 |publisher=Park Books |location=Zurich |isbn=9783038600763 |page=67}} The White City would grow to mainly house only select new refineries, which were cleaner than those used in the Black City, and would also be home to some of the workers housing developments created by the owners of the factories and refineries.
What had started as an oil boom in Baku soon turned to a construction one with the quick and massive influx of capital to the city. The city's population grew rapidly, at a rate faster than contemporary New York.{{cite book |last1=Altstadt Mirhadi |first1=Audrey |title=The City in Late Imperial Russia |date=1986 |isbn=9780253313706 |page=288 |publisher=Indiana University Press |edition=1st}} The foreign population started to exceed that of the local Azeri's, and with it came western influence in construction.{{cite book |last1=Altstadt Mirhadi |first1=Audrey |title=The City in Late Imperial Russia |date=1986 |isbn=9780253313706 |pages=288–289 |publisher=Indiana University Press |edition=1st}} Due to the intensity and rapidness of development, the city was developed both vertically as well as horizontally, with most new construction boasting large foundations meant to have more levels added to it with the next influx of capital. Most of the construction was made using the local limestone quarried near the city, and the first few layers of development tended to be of vaulted masonry, meant to be structurally strong enough to develop additional stories on top later on. It was an architecture characteristic of that of an oil boomtown, one that was meant to be adapted and added to with the next boom. A side product of this rapid development, however, was un regulation in proper city planning, something complained about by contemporaries.{{cite book |last1=Villari |first1=Luigi |title=Fire and Sword in the Caucasus |date=1906 |page=181}} There was a lack of proper street planning, lighting planning, transportation systems, and sanitary arrangements.
In a second cycle of construction, oil industrialists who had made their fortunes in the 1870s and 80s would develop the area between the medieval walled city and the Black City in the 1890s and early 1900s, creating the metropolitan Baku that would be nicknamed the "Paris of the Caspian."{{cite book |last1=Blau |first1=Eve |title=Baku: Oil and Urbanism |date=2018 |publisher=Park Books |location=Zurich |isbn=9783038600763 |pages=82–92}} They would model the area after the great European cities of the time, with wide canopied boulevards, a seaside esplanade, monumental civic buildings, and all the new technologies in communication and transportation.{{cite book |last1=Blau |first1=Eve |title=Baku: Oil and Urbanism |date=2018 |publisher=Park Books |location=Zurich |isbn=9783038600763 |pages=82–83}} The oil barons competed with each other to donate the most lavish and monumental civic buildings, but the initial construction was spearheaded by Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev (1823?-1924), one of the most philanthropic of the industrialists. The first Azerbaijani National Theater was founded in 1873, as well as another theater built in 1882. Parks and educational centers such as vocational schools were given great importance during this time, including Baku's first school for Muslim girls in 1910, designed by Josef Goslavsky, who was then the Chief Architect of Baku. Soon more of the wealthy industrialists followed and competed in a philanthropic battle of donating towards the development of the city, such as Musa Naghiyev and Shamsi Asadullaev.{{cite book |last1=Blau |first1=Eve |title=Baku: Oil and Urbanism |date=2018 |publisher=Park Books |location=Zurich |isbn=9783038600763 |pages=80–83}} Many of the hallmarks of a thriving cosmopolitan city were constructed during this time. The Baku City Duma was built from 1900-1904, also designed by Goslavsky in an Italianate renaissance style on the northern edge of the medieval walled city.{{cite book |last1=Blau |first1=Eve |title=Baku: Oil and Urbanism |date=2018 |publisher=Park Books |location=Zurich |isbn=9783038600763 |pages=78–79}}
Construction of buildings in Baku remained largely using the limestone available locally, with other materials easily brought down the Volga and through the city port. Unlike their European and Russian counterparts, however, they were not covered in stucco because of the local climate. Instead, the limestone was intricately carved, and thus used in creating ornamentation of the facade.
= Oil baron mansions =
As well as competing between each other in philanthropic purposes, the oil industrialists of the 1880s, 90s, and early 1900s would compete with each other to build the most lavish mansions in the new residential quarters they created. They imported architects as well as style preferences from their travels to Europe, and sought to emulate the grand urban palaces they saw for themselves in Baku. These mansions would become emblematic of the distinct architectural style of pre-Soviet Baku, a fusion of east and western styles in the eclectic style which was popular in the period.{{cite book |last1=Brumfield |first1=William |title=A History of Russian Architecture |date=1993 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=9780295983936 |pages=393–425}}{{cite book |last1=Henry |first1=J. D. |title=Baku: An Eventful History |date=1905 |publisher=Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd |location=London |pages=12–13}}
It started as an importing of purely Western styles, in some cases an almost exact copy, created from modified plans of a European palace. Such is the former residence of Murtuza Mukhtarov, built for his wife after she liked a French gothic palace they visited. Mukhtarov would obtain the plans, hired the polish architect I. K. Ploshko to modify the plans, and built in 1911-1912. After invasion by the Red Army it was converted to a "wedding palace," a purpose to which it still serves today.{{cite journal |title=Architecture of the Oil Baron Period: Wedding Palace |journal=Azerbaijan International |date=Winter 1998 |volume=6 |issue=4 |url= https://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/64_folder/64_articles/OilBarons/64.weddingpalace.html}}
The Taghiyev residence (1895-1902) is another example of the western style in the architecture, designed by the polish architect Goslavsky in the Italianate renaissance style he was known for.{{cite journal |title=Architecture of the Oil Baron Period: Taghiyev Residence |journal=Azerbaijan International |date=Winter 1998 |volume=6 |issue=4 |url=https://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/64_folder/64_articles/OilBarons/64.taghiyev.html |archive-date=2022-07-05 |access-date=2022-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705110849/http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/64_folder/64_articles/OilBarons/64.taghiyev.html |url-status=live }} It is known for its heavily decorated interior, with a gilded main gallery on the second floor. It was richly decorated with a mixture of Art Nouveau ornamentation and furniture. It was converted to the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan under the soviets, and the limestone chiseled "T" for Taghiyev is still visible in the facade after a Soviet attempt to remove it. As the mixing of western styles with eastern elements continued, architects from places ranging between Germany, Russia, and Poland would design not only variations of eclectic mixes between Gothic and revival styles, but also eccentric mixes such as a three-story mansion shaped like a dragon, a house in the shape of a house of cards, and another supposedly covered in gold leaf.
= Gallery =
File:Building on Nigar Rafibeyli Street 25 2020.jpg|Fountains Square and House of Musa Nagiyev
File:Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall 2016.jpg|Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall
File:Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre main façade, 2015.jpg|Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater
File:Azerbaijan State Economic University main building.jpg|Azerbaijan State Economic University
File:Ismailiyye palace main façade, Baku, 2015.jpg|Ismailiyya building
File:Palace of Happines (Mukhtarov street).jpg|Palace of Happiness
File:Edificio en Baku, Azerbaiyán, 2016-09-26, DD 15.jpg|A classical late Russian Empire era buildings
File:Mirtağı Babayevin sarayı axşam vaxtı.JPG|Palace of Seyid Mirbabayev
File:Yaşayış evi, Neftçilər prospekti, 103 2016.jpg|Isa bek Hajinski House
File:National Art Museum of Azerbaijan (de Burs House) edited.jpg|Palace of De Boure
File:İslam Səfərli 19 ünvanındakı yaşayış binası.jpg|Tigran Melikov's House
File:Building on Khagani Street 27 2020.jpg|Sabir Central City Library
File:Building on Yusif Mammadaliyev Street 11 2020.jpg|Rylsky brothers' house
Soviet period
USSR Council of Ministers' resolution "On measures to further industrialization, improving quality and reducing the cost of construction" and "The removal of excess in the design and construction" in the mid-1950s has helped to initiate mass housing in Baku.[http://www.window2baku.com/006development.htm Архитектурное развитие города] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100515072252/http://www.window2baku.com/006development.htm |date=2010-05-15 }} {{in lang|ru}}
The architectural image of the country's capital was enriched by a number of interesting in conception projects and highly significant in terms of urban sites, such as the building of the historical Ismailiyya Palace, which nowadays is the office of the Presidium of National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, the Lenin Palace (now the Heydar Aliyev Palace), as well as marine and railway stations.
File:Azerbaijan State Academic Drama Theatre 3.JPG|Azerbaijan State Academic Drama Theatre
File:Monolit building in Baku.jpg|An apartment building "Monolit" in the Stalinist architecture
File:House of scientists, Neftçilər pr. 69.jpg|Residential building of scientists
File:Building in Nizami street.JPG|Buzovnaneft building
File:Gobierno de Azerbaiyán, Baku, Azerbaiyán, 2016-09-26, DD 27.jpg|Government House
File:Nizami kinoteatrı.jpg|Nizami Cinema Center
File:Intourist Hotel in Baku.jpg|Intourist Hotel, architect Alexey Shchusev
File:Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex.jpg|Heydar Aliyev Sports and Concert Complex
File:Gülüstan sarayı.jpg|Gulustan Palace
Post-Soviet and present day
Baku’s new business districts today has shifted around the Baku city center, with many high-tech buildings and postmodern architecture. Aside from buildings used for business and institutions, various new residential developments are currently underway, many of which consist of high-rise buildings with a glass exterior, surrounded by American-style residential communities.
File:Baku Crystal Hall 2014 1.jpg|Baku Crystal Hall
File:Baku Congress Center.jpg|Baku Convention Center
File:Baku Aquatics Centre.jpg|Aquatic Palace
File:The_Aliyev_Center_In_Context_(220956695).jpeg|Heydar Aliyev Center
File:Azərbaycan xalça muzeyi.jpg|Azerbaijan Carpet Museum
File:SOCAR Tower 1.jpg|The SOCAR Tower
Старая_часть_города_Баку_на_фоне_современных_небоскрёбов.jpg|The Flame Towers
File:Azersu Tower in 2016.jpg|The Azersu Tower
File:Holiday Inn Hotel and Marine Plaza in Baku.jpg|Marine Plaza
File:Port Baku Towers.jpg|The Port Baku Towers
List of architects in Baku
The architects of Baku have influenced the city's architecture throughout its development during the 19th and 20th centuries.{{cite book|last=Goltz|first=Thomas|title=Azerbaijan diary : a rogue reporter's adventures in an oil-rich, war-torn, post-Soviet republic|year=1999|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|location=Armonk, N.Y.|isbn=9780765602442|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gz5ariwuY34C&pg=PA16|page=16}}
= History =
The names of numerous medieval architects of Baku are depicted on their buildings. One can mention the names of Masud ibn Davud, who designed Maiden Tower, his son Abdul-Majid Masud oglu, the author of the project of Sabayil Castle and Round Castle in Mardakan, Mahmud ibn Sa'd, who built Bibi-Heybat Mosque, Nardaran Fortress and Molla Ahmad Mosque in Baku's Old City, etc.
Due to the oil boom in the 19th century, Baku became a rapidly developing city and grew rapidly.{{cite book|last=Swietochowski|first=Tadeusz|author-link = Tadeusz Swietochowski|title=Historical dictionary of Azerbaijan|year=1999|publisher=Scarecrow|location=Lanham, Md.|isbn=9780810835504|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjIZ6ymyNO8C&pg=PA19|author2=Collins, Brian C. |page=19}} The large-scale construction of the city was directly tied to the increase of the city's population. Eventually, this brought numerous Armenian, Azerbaijani, German (Adolf Eichler and Nicolaus von der Nonne), Polish (Józef Gosławski and Józef Płoszko) and Russian architects to the city, who ultimately influenced the city's architectural profile. Much of these architects were educated in Russia and, in particular, in St. Petersburg, Russia's capital city of the time. These included a number of high-profile designers, such as Freidun Aghalyan, Zivar bey Ahmadbeyov, Nikolai Bayev, Mammad Hasan Hajinski, and Hovhannes Katchaznouni.{{cite book|last=Tigranyan|first=Edmond|title=Activity of Armenian Architects in South Caucasus|year=2003|publisher=Voskan Yerevantsi|location=Yerevan|isbn=9789993000525|pages=263|language=hy}} From 1860 till 1868, Gasim bey Hajibababeyov was considered the chief architect of Baku.Һаҹыбабабәјов Гасымбәј — Azerbaijan Soviet Encyclopedia, 1987. — V. 10. — P. 146.
Architects during the Soviet period include Mikayil Huseynov, Sadig Dadashov, Lev Ilyin, Lev Rudnev etc.{{cite web|url=http://www.ourbaku.com/index.php5/%D0%90%D1%80%D1%85%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8B_%D0%90%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%B4%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0_(%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%B4)|script-title=ru:Архитекторы Азербайджана (советский период)|work=Our Baku|access-date=29 April 2014|language=ru|archive-date=29 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429231208/http://www.ourbaku.com/index.php5/%D0%90%D1%80%D1%85%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8B_%D0%90%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%B4%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0_(%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%B4)|url-status=dead}} In Baku also worked architects Hasan Majidov, who designed the building of Museum center, Talaat Khanlarov, the author of Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex,Эльтуран Авалов. [http://www.azerizv.az/PDF/2007/azizv_152_2007_p_3-4.pdf Яркое творчество мастера] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923181254/http://www.azerizv.az/PDF/2007/azizv_152_2007_p_3-4.pdf |date=2015-09-23 }}. — Азербайджанские известия, 22 August 2007. — P. 3. Anvar Qasimzade, who designed the building of the Oil and Gas Research and Design Institute (1956) and Ulduz metro station.{{cite web|url=http://www.vedu.ru/bigencdic/26717/|script-title=ru:КАСИМЗАДЕ Энвер Али оглы (1912-69)|work=Большой энциклопедический словарь|access-date=30 April 2014|language=ru|archive-date=29 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429230438/http://www.vedu.ru/bigencdic/26717/|url-status=live}}
= Architects =
Gallery
File:Azerbaijan Monument.jpg|Taza Pir Mosque. Built by Zivar bey Ahmadbeyov (1905-1908)
File:Ajdarbey mosque in Baku.jpg|Ajdarbey Mosque. Built by Zivar bey Ahmadbeyov (1912-1913)
File:Parapet square in Baku.jpg|Parapet Square designed by Gasim bey Hajibababeyov
File:Hotel Metropol in Baku.jpg|Two-storeyed caravanserai. Built by Gasim bey Hajibababeyov
File:Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall 2006.jpg|Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall constructed by Gavriil Ter-Mikelov.
File:Edificio en Baku, Azerbaiyán, 2016-09-26, DD 48.jpg|Sadikhov Residence in Baku (1910–1912) designed by Gavriil Ter-Mikelov.
File:Baku Physiotherapy Institute.jpg|Physiotherapy Institute of Baku designed by Gavriil Ter-Mikelov (1929)
File:Trade School, 1904 Baku.jpg|Commercial College of Baku designed by Gavriil Ter-Mikelov (1913)
File:Residential building brothers Adamyan Street Baratinskaya, 1908.jpg|The dwelling house of Adamyan brothers (1908) in Baratinskaya street designed by Gavriil Ter-Mikelov.
File:Tiflis bank in Baku today.jpg|Baku Commercial Bank (1901) designed by Gavriil Ter-Mikelov.
File:Palace of De Bur.JPG|First building of the National Art Museum of Azerbaijan designed by Nikolaus von der Nonne.
File:4 nömrəli xəctəxana.JPG|Building of Hospital designed by Konstantin Borisoglebskiy.
File:Azerbaijan State Economic University main building.jpg|The main building of Azerbaijan State Economic University designed by Dmitriy Buynov.
File:Saint Nina school.jpg|The building of Saint Nina's school (now the building of the school №132) designed by Dmitriy Buynov.
File:Building on 24 Murtuza Mukhtarov Street.jpg|The Building of the Union of Architects of Azerbaijan. Built in 1899 by Eugeniusz Skibiński.{{Cite news |title = Aghabala Guliyev House in Baku - video |publisher = Polish Embassy in Baku |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XkRCTgOe8E |language = en, pl, az, ru |archive-date = 2022-05-04 |access-date = 2022-08-17 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220504152247/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XkRCTgOe8E |url-status = live }}
File:Budagovsky_armenian_temple_in_Baku2.jpg|Saint Thaddeus and Bartholomew Armenian Church constructed by Alexander Rotinyan, Gabriel Ter-Mikayelian, and Hovhannes Katchaznouni. Destroyed in the 1930s.
File:Azərbaycan Dövlət Opera və Balet Teatrı.jpg|Azerbaijan State Opera Theatre (formerly known as The Great Theater of the Mayilyan Brothers) constructed by Nikolai Bayev (1910–11).
File:Semietagka_Baku.JPG|The house of Mirzabekov (Mirzabekyan) brothers on Nikolayevskaya street (today Istiglaliyyat Street), designed by Vartan Sarkisov
File:Vokzal Baku 1930.jpg|Sabunchi Railroad Station built by Nikolai Bayev (1927; today world's largest KFC).
File:İsmailiyye palace 2006.jpg|Ismailiyya building: Built in 1913 by Józef Płoszko. Rebuilt by Vartan Sarkisov after a fire
File:Puppet Theatre, Baku, 2008.jpg|Building of Baku Puppet Theatre. Built by Józef Płoszko {{Cite news |title = Puppet Theatre in Baku - video |publisher = Polish Embassy in Baku |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8S2vO3TnNQ |language = en, pl, az, ru |archive-date = 2022-08-17 |access-date = 2022-08-17 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220817070904/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8S2vO3TnNQ |url-status = live }}
File:Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception 1.jpg|The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception. Built by Józef Płoszko
File:Heydar_Aliyev_Palace.jpg|Heydar Aliyev Palace (formerly Lenin Palace) built by B. Ginsburg, E. Melkhisedekov and V. ShulginПашаев Н. А. Победа культурной революции в Советском Азербайджане. — М.: Наука, 1976. — С. 140. — 263 с.Азербайджанская Советская Социалистическая Республика (Азербайджан) // Ежегодник Большой советской энциклопедии. — 1973. — С. 106. with the assistance of Armenian architects R. Torosyan, Martin Tovmasyan, and engineer A. Avanesov.{{cite web|title=Armenian Buildings in Baku|url=http://k4500.com/history/1308-armyanskie-zdaniya-v-baku.html|access-date=4 December 2012|language=ru|quote=Translated from Russian: The Lenin palace (now Heydar Aliyev Palace), architects – E. Melikhsedekov, R. Torosyan, M. Tovmasyan, A. Avanesov, engineer – K. Kalantar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404195731/http://k4500.com/history/1308-armyanskie-zdaniya-v-baku.html|archive-date=4 April 2013|url-status=dead}}
File:Mayoralty of Baku 11.JPG|Baku Municipality Hall. Built by Józef Gosławski{{Cite news |title = Baku City Hall - video |publisher = Polish Embassy in Baku |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PoY5a17tCQ |language = en, pl, az, ru |archive-date = 2022-10-14 |access-date = 2022-08-17 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221014063350/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PoY5a17tCQ |url-status = live }}
File:Building of Azerbaijan State Oil Academy.jpg|Building of Azerbaijan State Oil Academy. First two floors were built by Józef Gosławski
File:National Museum of History of Azerbaijan 11.JPG|Building of National Museum of History of Azerbaijan. Built by Józef Gosławski
File:Institute of Manuscripts, Baku, 2010.jpg|Building of Institute of Manuscripts of Azerbaijan. Built by Józef Gosławski{{Cite news |title = Former School for Muslim Girls in Baku - video |publisher = Polish Embassy in Baku |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmemU1za4ik |language = en, pl, az, ru |archive-date = 2022-06-21 |access-date = 2022-08-17 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220621140622/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmemU1za4ik |url-status = live }}
File:Landau_house_in_Baku.jpg|Residence on Krasnovodskaya street built by Vartan Sarkisov (1908).{{cite web|title=Vardan Sargsyan|url=http://www.orientica.net/index.php?title=Vardan_Sargsyan|publisher=Orientica.net|access-date=4 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204050735/http://www.orientica.net/index.php?title=Vardan_Sargsyan|archive-date=4 February 2014|url-status=dead}} Lev Landau lived in this house till 1924.
File:Holl bma.JPG|Hall of Baku Academy of Music. Designed by Mikayil Huseynov
File:National Library of Azerbaijan.jpg|State Public Library named after M.F.Akhundov (1960). Designed by Mikayil Huseynov
Current developments
As a developing city largely influenced by economic oil boom, there are many construction projects that are currently being built that will change the city's skyline in the near future. Some of the construction project are SOCAR Tower, the Crescent Development project, Baku White City, Baku National Stadium, Full Moon Hotel, Baku Hilton Hotel, and the Four Seasons Hotel.[https://www.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE6210HX20100302 UAE's Arabtec bids on Azerbaijan deal, earnings due]{{Cite web |url=http://www.today.az/news/society/70202.html |title=Baku White City. Coming soon... |access-date=2010-07-08 |archive-date=2010-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627220716/http://www.today.az/news/society/70202.html |url-status=live }} A lot of the new development has come at the cost of old Soviet-era existing structures. The destruction of the Soviet heritage has created controversy, such as the recent destruction of the Soviet-era 26 Commissars Memorial in 2009 to make way for a new car park.[http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/148040 В Азербайджане против демонтажа мемориала 26 Бакинских комиссаров протестуют только левые] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728043228/http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/148040 |date=2011-07-28 }} {{in lang|ru}}[http://www.rian.ru/society/20090112/158973478.html В Баку начался демонтаж памятника 26 бакинским комиссарам] {{in lang|ru}}
In 2011, Discovery channel's Extreme Engineering program featured these projects that are under construction in Baku.{{cite web|title=DISCOVERY SCIENCE CHANNEL TO AIR PROGRAM ON BAKU |url=http://www.azembassy.us/new/press_releases/2011/pr5-2011-04-21.html |access-date=25 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718111215/http://azembassy.us/new/press_releases/2011/pr5-2011-04-21.html |archive-date=18 July 2011 }}
Skyline
{{wide image|Vista de Baku, Azerbaiyán, 2016-09-26, DD 101-106 PAN.jpg|1000px|A panoramic view of Baku Bay}}