Purpose. The purpose of the publication is to analyze the symbolic code of Ukrainian housing in different regions of Ukraine on the example of Pirogovo (Kyiv).
Methodology. The research uses methods of field and bibliographic research, synthesis and analysis, graphoanalytical and historical methods, and the method of analogies.
Results. The National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine was opened in 1976. Its territory today is 150 hectares, and the number of architectural structures – almost 300 units. During the long years of Slavic culture, a certain information code was created. It reflects something that has been especially important since ancient times, namely the elements. The sun is usually depicted in Ukrainian houses in the form of round solar rosettes, a stylized form of the sun with rays. The red color symbolized the purifying fire, which burns all the disaster on the way to the house. If the houses were painted blue, which embodied the idea of Heaven, it meant that those who live in the house are under the protection of Heaven and all the heavenly gods. The theme of the element of water was revealed through the image of heavenly waters, rivers and rains. These are: zigzag and wavy ribbons in the decoration of houses. The element of the earth was manifested in the form of diamonds (field), diamonds with intersections (plowed field) and even with dots inside (sown field). A large number of paintings in the decoration of the houses revealed the theme of harvest, good prosperity and prosperity. It is an image of various plants, flowers, fruits and a stylized Tree of Life.
Each region of the country had its own characteristics, code and set of elements: Dnieper – symbols of water and harvest; Polissya is a symbol of the sun; Slobozhanshchyna – water motives; Carpathians – elements of earth, sun, thunder; Podillya – plant motifs, images of the earth and the sun; Poltava region – sun and water symbols; Hutsul region – symbols of the earth and the sun; South of Ukraine – plant motifs.
Features of the use of symbols of the elements are directly related to climatic conditions in different regions of the country.