Architect Eva Popnedeleva and her successful projects in the United Kingdom and Bulgaria

"I never had the desire to emigrate, but shortly after our wedding I accompanied my husband to Manchester, where he was sent for specialization," says architect Eva Popnedeleva, recalling the beginning of her extremely interesting life story. After some adaptation to the climate and the procedures of the Island, which lasted about a year, she decided to look for a job in one of the architectural offices in Manchester:

"I decided to do some internship, but I didn't look at advertisements, but opened the city map and looked at all the architectural studios in the area. Since it was really raining constantly, I chose one that I could get to without much rain and to which I had direct transportation. I wrote to the company that I was available if they needed my help and they called me right away. Everything happened without any effort on my part and I was immediately included in a project for the headquarters of a large pharmaceutical company, which will be located in the city of Cambridge."

Eva Popnedeleva with her father Vihrony Popnedelev

Her task was to come up with a project for the restaurant planned in it. She made several suggestions and passed them on to the company director, who coordinated with the company and her project was approved, and the interior concept will be changed according to her suggestions.

"I couldn't believe how a young girl from Eastern Europe, without any discrimination, is given a chance to show her idea and I realized that it doesn't matter when you started, what gender you are, etc., if you have a good idea - the company gives you a chance."

Despite the undoubted success she achieves, Eva does not stop looking towards broader horizons and begins to look for her next job.

"I had been working on so-called retail parks and buildings for a long time, and that was something I really missed. I contacted an agency that offers jobs based on the portfolio you send them. I went for a few interviews, but I didn't get a concrete offer from any company. So we went back to Bulgaria and after three months I got a call that one of the companies I had visited for an interview was offering me a job."

They invited her to join their office in Birmingham, which specializes in designing retail buildings. She began working on a project for a shopping center in the city of Essex, near London. The concept is for the building to mimic the delta of a river that flows into the city's Alexandria Lake.

"Meanwhile, I was also working on another shopping center in the town of Merry Hill, in the Black Country region, which is known for its heavy industry and mines. I had to come up with a concept that would allow us to make something beautiful. This was very difficult, because coal, iron and chains are produced there. We discovered that the only thing more pleasing to the eye produced there is crystal glass. What is interesting about it is the iridization process, in which if the glass moves, the sun's rays illuminate it at a different angle and it changes colour like a chameleon."

The decision to return to Bulgaria gradually took shape in Eva's head, but one of the leading reasons for it was Brexit, which happened in 2020. "In order to stay, I had to become too dependent on my employer, which I didn't want," recalls the architect and admits that after her return to Bulgaria she stopped working on her vocation for a while, as she reached burnout.

Art center Vihrony in the village of Dolno Kamartsi

Her father, Bulgarian artist Vihroni Popnedelev, is the person who helped her overcome this condition, encouraging her to work with clay, wool and other natural materials. Gradually, the idea arose to upgrade the art center created by the artist in 1998 in the village of Dolno Kamartsi:

"Over the years, many works of art had accumulated, since my father dedicated his entire life to it. In addition, every summer he holds plein airs, where many more artists gather and paint together for a week - up to ten days. And at one point we needed a "house" for these paintings.

Next to our property was an abandoned building - a former school cafeteria, which was half-destroyed. When we started to uncover the building, we saw that at least 30% of its structure had never been completed, because it was made by ordinary people, not by specialists. We had to make additional facade columns and a series of other reinforcements."

The final result allows the building to function as a gallery, and even its facade could be used as an exhibition space.

Eva is keen to emphasize that her family owns the property, it was not taken on a concession, and the funds for the reconstruction of the building, which breathed new life into it, were raised solely from the sale of paintings. She often tells this story to students from the municipality and from all over the country who visit the center, to motivate them not to give up their desire to paint, believing that this profession is not promising enough.