site.btaSeptember 16, 1970: Ground Broken for Bulgarian Radio New Building

A ground-breaking ceremony for the new building of the Bulgarian National Radio took place 55 years ago, on September 16, 1970.

The first sod was turned by Committee for Arts and Culture Chairman Pavel Matev.

The design of the building, done by architect Georgi Stoilov, won a competition for the project. The jury was impressed by a modern vision combined with the Bulgarian National Revival style. The result was shaped as an inverted pyramid, each of the six floors protruding above the lower one. It was among the first entirely steel structures with gypsum walls.

Construction took a record short period of time, and the new building was inaugurated on May 28, 1972. It initially housed the Committee for Radio and Television and, since 1990, when the Committee was closed down, it has accommodated the Bulgarian National Radio administration and the station's journalist teams.