Training Peretyatkovich trained at
Saint Petersburg Institute of Civil Engineers, graduating in 1901, and the
Imperial Academy of Arts under
Leon Benois (1901–1906). Still at college, Peretyatkovich became famous as a refined
draftsman; architect like
Gavriil Baranovsky,
Roman Klein and
Ivan Rerberg hired him for drafting and interior designs. Thus, Peretyatkovich was involved in such high-profile jobs as the
Hotel Metropol,
Elisseeff Emporium, and the
Pushkin Museum. Before graduation, Peretyatkovich secured a solid reputation among professionals in both capitals of Russia. In 1907, he travelled over Europe on the academy study tour, and learned the Finnish version of
Art Nouveau practiced by
Eliel Saarinen and
Lars Sonck, as well as Roman architecture of Southern Europe; both these styles became the trademarks of his short career.
Own practice On his return from Europe, Peretyatkovich designed his first major project - Solodovnikov's Cheap Apartment Building in Moscow (it was executed by
Traugott Bardt), a typical
Northern Moderne, Saint Petersburg version of Art Nouveau. His second project - the Northern Insurance Buildings in Moscow, was executed in collaboration with
Ivan Rerberg and
Vyacheslav Oltarzhevsky in stern Neoclassical Revival. This buildings are also notable as
Ilya Golosov's first employment and for
Sergei Rachmaninoff melody written for the chiming clock. Now, they house the
Constitutional Court of Russia. Since 1905, his professional bond with another local architect of Polish descent - Marian Lalewicz - was established. In Saint Petersburg, Peretyatkovich designed various office and residential buildings; the best known, Wawelberg Trade Bank (1911–1912), combines neoclassical composition with Renaissance exterior (in the same period,
Ivan Zholtovsky built a similar but far smaller Tarasov House in Moscow). The historicist dimension of Peretiatkovich's work is even more pronounced in his designs for St Petersburg churches. He oversaw the construction of the Saviour Church "on Waters" (Спас-на-Водах), inspired by the 12th-century architecture of
Vladimir-Suzdal and commemorating Russian sailors who perished during the
Russo-Japanese War. The church was demolished by the Leningrad authorities in 1932. His other major project was the Roman Catholic church of Notre-Dame de Lourdes (1908–09), inspired by
Romanesque architecture of Northern Europe and designed in collaboration with Leon Benois. His last work was a memorial chapel for the late
Prince Oleg Konstantinovich of Russia, modelled after historical
Pskov churches.
Private life Peretyatkovich was born in a Roman Catholic family of Euzebiusz Peretiatkowicz, an impoverished nobleman. During his career in Petersburg, the architect was involved in activity of many local, Polish associations. In 1912 he married Janina Maria, one year later their only son was born. In 1916 Peretyatkovich's relatives in his ancestral estate died due to World War I front operations. The shocking news led Peretyatkovich to fatal heart attack. ==Legacy==