Yauza River
Melensky began his career as an assistant to Matvey Kazakov, Vasily Bazhenov, and Giacomo Quarenghi and was involved in the construction of the Catherine Palace on the Yauza River. He was put in charge of the reconstruction of Podil after the great 1811 fire and succeeded in remodeling the district in a provincial Palladian style. Melensky was the first architect to be given the position of City Architect of Kyiv.