INTERACTIVE MUSEUM OF INDUSTRY

The building of Interactive Museum of Industry /IMI/ was announced to be an immovable cultural heritage with local significance in 1986. It is located in the historical core of Gabrovo, just next to the pedestrian zone and the town administrative centre.
    The house was built in 1893 for a home and office of the Gabrovian tradesman Canko Dobrev. In the middle of the 1920s it was bought by the Bulgarian Commercial Bank and later was nationalized by the Municipality. The building was used by the historical museum from 1949 till 2003. In the period 2003 – 2013 the building was uninhabited and unmaintained.
    Originally the building was 3-storey with a half-massive construction. There was an exterior staircase entry in the north and the connection between the floors was by a wooden double staircase. The façade was rich with characteristic details and ornaments all of which, including the corner balcony, were made of punched lead iron and were probably produced in Austria, just like similar buildings in the town center. In 1949 the house went through huge changes, including changes in its structure. A new half-floor was formed at the level of the street which introduced a new corner entrance right under the corner balcony. In 1979 there was carried out a partial reconstruction which did not introduce significant changes in the building.
     The reconstruction in 2013 г. under „Integrated project for development of the cultural, historic and tourist product and its related infrastructure” executed by Municipality of Gabrovo and financed by Operational Program “Regional Development”, used the approach of absolute preservation of the so far preserved with an optimal resemblance to the original. But it also introduced a totally new structural and functional design decision for the surrounded by the existing walls and roof museum space.
    There are already 4 storeys situated in the façade “shell”. The connection between the floors is an open tri-level staircase with an elevator in its “eye”, glazed to the maximum. The corner entrance is closed and the façade is recovered in its initial outlook. The main entrance is in its original place again formed by a terrain access ramp and three stairs at the same time. The entry is through a richly decorated glazed door with stained glass and massive lion heads. Everything which can be seen on the outside is just like it was more than 120 years ago but the interior is totally changed.
    The new structure of the building is already armored concrete. The existing surrounding walls are preserved and restored; all characteristic façade ornaments and details, including the metal wind-cone, are restored and conserved, as well. The windows are changed; the new doors on the exposition levels are made of glass. All of the railings and movable and immovable partitions are made of metal and glass, consistent with the specifics of the exhibition. The building has an inner thermal isolation. The installations – water and sewage, electricity, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning – are totally new. There is impressive exterior design in terms of façade color and lighting. The yard has a new fence – a low wall of ashlars and metal grids in unison with the traditions of the town architecture from the end of XIX cent. and the beginning of XX cent.
    After the reconstruction in 2013 the building became a home of the newest tourist attraction in municipality of Gabrovo – Interactive Museum of Industry /IMI/ - one of its kind on the Balkan Peninsula. By means of modern technologies – a sophisticated complex of video, program products, virtual guides and decors – the museum tells about the development of the Gabrovian industry. It is thematically divided into three parts/epochs – "Industrialization" (end of XIX cent. - 1944), "Socialism" (1944 – 1989) and "Present days" (1989 - present days). Every period is spatially separated from the others and exhibited on a different floor of the building. The interior and decorations are connected with the theme and epoch of the relevant exposition, complemented by visual, sound and lighting effects. The travel in every epoch starts with an enclosure with a virtual guide. Screens on the mid-floor landings tell about prominent Gabrovian industrialists.
    The museum has a 3D-projection hall, where one can watch 3D short movies about Gabrovo, some of which shot from a bird’s eye view, which also offer information about the most attractive tourist sites in and close to Gabrovo. In addition, there are carried out night illumination projections on the façade of the building using 3D mapping technology.
    To summarize, the building of IMI:
Has a totally restored original architectural outlook dating back to more than 120 years ago - all the characteristic and distinguishing marks of the house are preserved and quality and aesthetics are achieved;
Introduces an extraordinarily brave structural and functional design decision aiming at effective organization of the building inner space for creation of 4 exhibition levels and fully preservation of the façade walls at the same time;
Introduces aesthetical interior design in compliance with the specifics of the museum expositions presented in it;
Is located in the central part of Gabrovo which makes it easily found, recognizable and accessible for the residents and visitors of the town;
Has an original concept – a main characteristic of the building is the contrast between its exterior outlook and the modern nature of the museum expositions and installations in it;
Directly contributes to the enrichment of the tourist product on the territory of municipality of Gabrovo;
Attracts younger people and breeds interest in them towards cultural-historical heritage;
Creates employment – 9 /nine/ newly opened  jobs;
    IMI combines a complex of effective and unique decisions in terms to interior and exterior architecture, structural design, location, museum expositions, advantages for the public, etc. The building in its entirety is a revived cultural-historical heritage which brings together the past, the present and the future into one.