UNIT.City business campus, glass bridge, and residential complex Tetris Hall: Kyiv designs nominated for prestigious European architectural award

Author

Lesia Solovchuk

Seven Kyiv architectural designs of recent years have been nominated for the prestigious award—EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture—Mies van der Rohe Award.

This award is given every two years for architecture that meets the principles of sustainable development, promotes European cultural values and stands out for its technological and design features, Yuriy Tatsiy, Deputy Director of the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration, explains.

The award is named after architect and designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. He was the founder of the so-called international style used in most European buildings. His designs envisioned what modern cities would look like today. The general principles that he used in his buildings: free plan, frame structure, lightweight constructions, modular system, new materials, and simple geometry.

In Kyiv, the following facilities were nominated for the award named after the outstanding architect:

Business Campus B-12 at UNIT.City

Joint development of UDP and KAN Development. This is a public space with an area of 16,900 square meters designed in accordance with the "green building" standard of the American system LEED.

UNIT.City is the first innovation park in Ukraine, a place for cooperation between startups, corporations, international companies, and initiatives.

Roshen Plaza on Demiivska Square

The project is interesting because the former industrial buildings of the plant were turned into a public space with a food court, a light show, places for recreation, and in winter there is a skating rink here.

This is part of the Roshen factory area comprehensive redesign and landscaping that began in 2014. The design also includes an ice rink (it was opened in the winter of 2019 and is located behind the factory).

Access to the space is free. The public space will be connected to the tube railway by an underpass that has been repaired and decorated with murals.

CUBE: Temporary exhibition pavilion for Revolution of Dignity Museum

The cube is an open-air exhibition pavilion of the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity. It was opened on November 21, 2019 on the site allotted for the museum construction. The authors of the architectural idea for the temporary structure design are the agency urban curators and the architect Iegor Shtefan.

There is a multi-level gallery inside the metal structure where educational and cultural events are held.

Gymnasium A + in residential complex Comfort Town

This is an ultra-modern school on the territory of the residential complex Comfort Town with an area of 8,000 sq.m. The building’s feature is the asymmetric roof: from each viewing angle the building has a different appearance.

The building runs on heat pumps that use the energy of the earth and supply it for the needs of the gymnasium, 170 drilled wells take heat during the heating period, and in summer they work to cool the building.

Multifunctional glass that regulates the air heating in the classrooms, solar panels, an ultra-modern ventilation system, smart lighting, and a three-level water purification system. The school is designed for 600 schoolchildren.

Among other things, the gymnasium’s interesting options include:

three computer science and robotics classrooms equipped with Apple devices,
labor training rooms for boys and girls providing working with 3D modeling.
modern classrooms of chemistry, physics, biology, and Sciencelab.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge over Volodymyrskyi Descent

"Glass" bridge is a metal three-span beam structure 216 meters long erected in the central part of Kyiv. The bridge is 216 meters long and was completed in 2019.

Residential complex Tetris Hall in Pechersk

KAN Development’s design. It consists of two 25-storey buildings connected by a bridge at the roof level. The buildings have their own swimming pool and BBQ area on the roof, 24-hour security, and all "smart home" settings.

Reconstruction of the Spassky Bastion and the Square near the Church of the Savior at Berestove

These works were performed during the restoration of the church itself. The Square was expanded in order to allow visitors to view the Church of the Savior at Berestove in Kyiv from all sides and emphasize the outline of the Old Russian foundation. The lanterns on high masts illuminate the building in its surroundings.

The church was built during the times of Kyivan Rus—the largest state of the European Middle Ages. Its construction is associated with the Grand Prince Volodymyr Monomakh, one of the greatest rulers of the times of the Kyivan state.