DESIGN CONCEPTS THAT HAVE SHAPED KYIV:

Traditional, Modernist and Green

Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine, a country in Eastern Europe.

Founded in the late 9th

century, Kyiv now is 7th

most populous city in

Europe with over 3 million

Inhabitants, not to count

satellite cities and villages.

On the map to the right

some districts, locations

and streets are highlighted

according to design concepts.

Kyiv

MODERNIST: 1. Obolon District

2. Pozniaky District

TRADITIONAL: 3. Podil

4. Verkhnie Misto + Khreschatyk Street

1

2

3

5 5

4

GREEN: 5. Comfort Town 6. Parkove Misto 7. Garden City

Residence 8. G13 Project Studio

MODERNIST + TRADITIONAL:

9. Pechersk District

6

. 7

. 8

9

MODERNIST CITY DESIGN OF KYIV

1. Obolon District

Obolon like other residential districts in Kyiv is modernist, with multi-storey

buildings towering the area, highways linking the district with the downtown

and left bank, and much open space around individually placed buildings.

Obolon enjoys higher popularity than other residential districts due to

the waterfront walking path and a lot of greenery around. However,

the district does not demonstrate any latest trends in green city

design, therefore is not cited in this part of the paper.

MODERNIST CITY DESIGN OF KYIV

2. Pozniaky District In contrast to Obolon, a residential district Pozniaky, which is located on the left

bank of Kyiv, is much less popular among upper-middle-class city residents and

needs more human-centered revitalization and green design implementation.

The area looks like a “grey stone jungle”: separate tall buildings are placed

chaotically with a scarce street perspective, open public spaces are usually

neglected and over-parked with cars, some buildings are still vacant.

The area looks like a “sleeping ghetto” in the densely populated city and serves

as a bad example of modernist practices, which were largely widespread in

Soviet Ukraine and are often built in present-day Ukraine.

Other districts in Kyiv, like Osokorky, Darnytsky rayon, Troeschyna,

Akademmistechko, Shulyavka, Svyatoshyno and others, as well as new real

estate developments at Lukjanivka area, are also primarily represented by

modernist high-rise apartment buildings arranged near highways.

TRADITIONAL CITY DESIGN OF KYIV

3. Podil

Traditionally designed Podil district, as seen on the Google map of Kyiv to the left, has a

rigid grid planning, introduced after the fire in 1822 (below you can also see Podil marked

in a red circle on the map of 1894). Podil, together with Verkhnie Misto (4) and Pechersk

District (9), form the oldest part of Kyiv.

The streets of Podil are represented by old buildings that follow the line of streets and are

built wall-to-wall to each other, with access to inner yards through arcs. Some streets are

narrow as preserved from old times. At the picture below a Church is located in the center

of the yard surrounded by other buildings. The main street – Petra Sahaidachnogo – leads

to the city square Kontraktova ploscha which used to be a market place and now is a

widely disputed public space that needs revitalization.

TRADITIONAL CITY DESIGN OF KYIV

Courtyards are typical for a traditional city design, where modernist approach envisions buildings placed in parallel, with open spaces around them. Below you can see two examples of courtyards in Podil District.

Much of recent real estate development in Podil is made to match historical heritage – especially a newly created Vozdvyzhenka District. New

buildings are designed in a very traditionalist way and therefore are heavily criticized by modernist architects.

TRADITIONAL CITY DESIGN OF KYIV

4. Verkhnie Misto and Khreschatyk Street Verkhnie Misto, an old city district near Zoloti Vorota metro station, has also maintained traditional street layout and old buildings.

Golden Gate of Kyiv, which was the main gate in the 11th-century

fortifications, is now located in the city square built in the 19th century.

TRADITIONAL CITY DESIGN OF KYIV

The central street of Kyiv - Khreschatyk - has been ruined during the World War II and was reconstructed during Stalin times. Previous buildings along the street were replaced by neoclassical monumental buildings, and the street was also widened to accommodate cars. A green line on the map to the left shows Khreschatyk Street. In Passage at Khreschatyk (a first picture below) buildings are in a close proximity to each other and accommodate top-tier boutiques and a few restaurants, as well as, unfortunately, many cars.

Khreschatyk Street passes through Maidan Nezalezhnosti square (at the map to the left), and six other streets reach the square in a form of axes which is a feature of traditionalist city design. Below Maidan is shown at a day-time and night-time pictures, and axes are clearly visible. GREEN

CITY DESIGN

5. Comfort Town

With so many people dissatisfied with the quality of life in jungle style modernist city blocks,

green residential complexes have become a new trend in Kyiv. Comfort Town offers to its

residents a traditional city design with mid-rise apartment buildings, colored in different bright

colors, plenty of green area among the buildings, as well as other green solutions, and proves

its popularity in a downside real estate market.

The residential complex Comfort Town also features a futuristic

green design of the school, as seen on the picture to the left.

GREEN CITY DESIGN

6. Parkove Misto

Another green residential complex Parkove Misto (by the same developer as Comfort Town above) has a newly designed green park, a lake and visible green elements of design in the apartment buildings themselves, which picturesquely fit the surrounding landscape. On the map to the left and in the picture below you can see the natural colors and curves of the apartment buildings.

GREEN CITY DESIGN

7. Garden City Residence

Another residential apartment building named “Garden City Residence” is located in the downtown Kyiv, with gardens around the house and on the

roof, and green balconies.

8. G13 Project Studio One more example of landscape city design can be cited in a revitalization project of the industrial area which is no longer in use - G13 Project

Studio. A group of designers created a human centered green co-working space.

MODERNIST + TRADITIONAL CITY DESIGN

9. Pechersk District

A mix of traditional and modernist city designs is found in the downtown in Pechersk

District. On the picture below mid-rise apartment buildings, constructed in Stalin times,

are located along Lesi Ukrainki Boulevard and modern office towers are adding to the city

landscape. On the map to the left the Boulevard is marked in a green line.

A futuristic modernist

building, an experimental

hotel from the Soviet time, is

located in a more traditional

city setting. Behind it there is

a new residential

neoclassical building which

was supposed to fit better the

traditional streets of the

district.

OTHER: Though still in the project and under construction, it would be appropriate to cite this site it in this paper – a sustainable eco-kindergarten Kids Leap in a modernist luxurious apartment district Novopecherski Lipky located in Pechersk District (9), a first of its kind in entire Ukraine.

It is also interesting to note that the residential district where a new kindergaten will be located is modernist, i.e. high-rise apartment buildings are towering the street and are located separately. However, if you look at the picture below, you can see that the street has a somewhat traditional perspective, as the buildings are located facing the street and somewhat at a distance from the road. In my thinking, this is a good example of how modernist buildings can be organized in a more traditional way to give a better experience of the city. Still it is not a perfect example because the street is usually overloaded with cars and does not invite walking or cycling, and therefore is more automobile-centered.

* Photos are mostly taken from the open web resources and some photos have been taken by the author of the paper. Kyiv – 2016 Alina Samko UKRAINE