RENOVATION OF SQUARE #3
ON KONTRAKTOVA
Landscape architecture: KOTSIUBA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine
Area: 0,47 ha
Client: Kyiv City Administration
Support: The authors of the "CONTR / ACT 2015" competition – ‘Kyiv living room’ project
Design years: 2016
Year built: 2017
LOCATION
HISTORY OF THE PLACE
Kontraktova Square is one of the oldest in Kyiv, it appeared in the times of Kievan Rus. After the destruction of the Upper City, the center of Kyiv moved to Podil, and Kontraktova Square became the central one.
At present it is a powerful transfer hub for the city-folk. The square plays a transit role and a role of a transport hub. Every day, through the transport hub of Kontraktova Square pass over 35 thousand people. Unfortunately, the space was not well organized, the traffic of pedestrians to the public transport stops was chaotic. The situation was complicated by the large number of kiosks in the most passing places.
Square #3 located close to metro station and tram lines, has suffered the most from illegal trade. Kiosks, which were already over 30 in a small territory of the garden square, closed the possibility of free perception of the area space and completely absorbed the square. The interior space between the kiosks caught the fancy of homeless and drunkards and was dangerous in the dark time of the day due to lack of lighting.
Project description
This project is the first step towards the overall reconstruction of the Kontraktova Square under the project «Kyiv Vitalnya» of the author's collective, the winner of the CONTR/ACT competition, which provides for creation of a brand new pedestrian space.
Conditionally the new square #3 can be divided into two parts - a transit alley and recreation ground. The path from the metro station «Kontraktova Square» exit towards the monument to Skovoroda and the Gostiny Yard was made as a paved alley. A wide transit zone allows to move comfortably even during a rush hour, despite the dense pedestrian flow.
In a place where the kiosk’s have grown in recent years, an alley of ash trees has been planted to symbolize that change in values in a society has come and it is irreversible. In the middle of the square #3 there is a cozy area covered with gravel and surrounded by a lawn.
In order to cure the damaged space and to allow users to reconsider it, the project provides for installation of the mobile street chairs, which everyone can arrange at will, since the living room is the space of the citizens of Kyiv, in which they are the owners.
MASTERPLAN
