WINNERS PROJECTS | Urban Landscaping in Kyiv for Euro-2012

OPEN INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION URBAN LANDSCAPING IN KYIV FOR EURO-2012 AND FOR FUTURE.

JURY REPORT.

30th April 2011.

1st PRIZE

# 113011

ReclaimingTheShore

This proposal is addressing the challenges of the brief in two overall levels of scale. How can the city in a literal sense bridge the gap created by the infrastructure along the Dnepr River? And how can the edge between the city and the park become animated through a series of new nodes.

On the scale of the Territory the project proposes to re-use the idea of wild life passages in an urban environment. The riverside park is extended over the road to reach the water in a series of green plateaus that can be programmed with public recreational programs as harbor baths, beaches or skiing hills. The land bridges are plausible as proposals, flexible as ideas, and beautifully visualized. As an overall vision they are addressing the challenge of the urban landscape of Kiev in a bold and very literal sense, while being flexible enough for further development. A challenge of the idea though, will be how to connect the plateaus individually along the water to improve the circulation in the park.

Between the city and the park the project proposes a series of ring-shaped bridges at selected infrastructural crossings. The bridges are not only a significant upgrade to the underground pedestrian passages of Kiev but will also become public spaces of their own - hovering between the trees in the park, or encircling a busy traffic node. The circles have an iconic quality and are addressing the need for an improved and recognizable pedestrian infrastructure as well as public gathering spaces for the 2012 Euro-cup.

The two ideas can work independently or together. The project is proposing tangible ideas that can work in the short term planning of the Euro-cup as well as in a long term vision for the city. With only few interventions Reclaiming the shore has the potential to strengthen the identity and enhance the recreational qualities of a unique urban landscape in Kiev.

2nd PRIZE

# 1848

Green and Blue DNA

This project starts with a fundamental statement: Dniepr River and the Park are the DNA of Kiev for its future development in a necessary long-term perspective. The project aswell identifies clearly different character-zones and deduces its programatic and architectonic interventions from them. These interventions are coherent connected with a intense looped system of circulation within the park. The waterside is accessed by different types of bridging but unfortunately the river-banks is not specifically designed with exception of the southern part offering a very natural situation rather than a possibly desirable promenade-like urban character. Suggested equipment and materialization for the park are feasible but not striking altogether.

The short-term strategy for EURO 2012 should be able to make a big impact on the international representation and the local reception of the cityscape of Kiev during the event and thereafter. It is very strong, convincing and totally feasible: Inhabitants, families, future generations of Kiev will be creating this “image” with their own hands, they will socialize with each other and identify with and sensibilize fortheir own environment - during EURO 2012 and hopefullyfurther on.

As the analysis of the authors has shown dramatically the future of the Kiev is about how to make most of its potential at the riverbank. Unfortunately the authors answer to this question is not adressed strong enough.

3rd PRIZE

# SYSK

Infrascape

The authors have made a decent analysis. They discovered their project-potential in three steps: They identified objects within the urban fabric, archipelagos which are embedding the objects, hard borders and missing connectivity of the city to the park and further to the river. But the potential of the park is not only to be found with adding new objects to existing preserves and found objects and connect them from city to river. In an overall view a connection between all elements is missing. A strong idea for the supposedly strongly to the city-center related riverside from European Square half way down is not further designed. In opposite: a very powerful intervention has been made in an interesting and possibly appropriate scale and shape from the middle area of the park down to its end. But this brings up question to not defined program. The visualization of the riverside is not understandable. The intervention at Poshtova Square does not convince since it is lacking the sensitivity for this very specific site.

In all the project is too object-related and focuses too much on an architectonical but schematic level. It is not strong enough to show up a convincing urbanisticvision neither gives a local-specific answer to the cities demands for EURO 2012.

3rd PRIZE

# 3218

Kyiv Vision 2025 – Euro Circle

This project consists of two individual ideas: An urban proposal for revitalizing the river side park, and a specific project for the Europa Square. The revitalization project proposes to activate the park with a system of large underground tunnels connecting a series of new cultural buildings. This proposal is highly problematic, both in terms of feasibility, spatial qualities and preservation of the park.

The project, however, is awarded a shared Third-Prize for the design of the public gathering point connecting the city with the park on the Europa Square. A ring-shaped bridge is proposed as a new pedestrian connection over the traffic. The bridge works at the same time as pedestrian infrastructure, and public space. In the middle of the ring the a circular screen for TV transmission during the games turn the ring into a public gathering point on top of the traffic. As a design for a specific site this project improves public space in a clear way, and is both feasible and powerful as icon.

WINNERS PROJECTS.

1 PRIZE.

# 113011

Directors: Julian Restrepo, Pablo Forero

Architects: Juan Carlos Cuberos, Ivanovha Bendetto, Alejandro Montoya, Susana Somoza, Manuela Mosquera.

Taller 301/Colombia

www.taller301.com