The building is a cultural extension of the printing works following the original concept from 2001. From the perspective of urbanistic relations and inner urban space it soothes and unites a formerly fragmented street front, integrating the object of a transformer station into the volume and the façade of a printing company. The cultural function, accessible to the public, is presented through an open console to the street, where it logically connects with the public space. The closure of the original printing works, whose production faced the street, is now balanced by an open transparent volume. The architecture of the original building, as well as the new extension, does not relate to the surrounding residential façades, it is not camouflaged. It is different, carrying out a different function towards the city and the site. It enriches, diversifies, and enlivens the place.

The historical part of district Podol, now called Vozdvizhenka, used to be one of the liveliest places in Kievan Rus and until the early 1800´s, when it was significantly damaged by a fire, it represented an important center of crafts and trade. An abandoned area, with remainders of development that survived the Soviet era, saw an extensive reconstruction at the beginning of the 21st century. The architecture of the new residential neighborhood has adopted styles typical of the 19th century, mainly Baroque and Art Nouveau with Gothic features, aiming to bring to mind the original character of Podol. Each one of the hundred buildings is designed in original form with contemporary spatial organization and using modern construction materials which meet current technical requirements. The houses have two to five floors, one block containing a maximum of ten apartments, equipped above-standard, and with a parking place. The housing is completed with modern facilities—restaurants, hotels, banks, medical offices, shops, and services. A great emphasis was put on the solution of public spaces. With regard to the pricing policy, Vozdvizhenka is a luxurious address sought after particularly by clients from the upper income bracket.

In many respects it is hard to call Ukraine a colony, whether of the Russian empire or Soviet Union. Regardless of the repression, consisting of a ban on the Ukrainian language in the press during the tsardom and Russification during the Soviet era, Ukraine presented the Russian capital with its best artists in the last two centuries. The relationship between the Soviet superpower and Ukraine, and its political environment, went through many changes, which were manifested in the architectural production and planning of Ukrainian cities, during the 20th century.

Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) is the heart of Kiev, the main public space that has become a symbol of many political changes in the last decade. Maidan Survey is the outcome of a mapping of ephemeral architectural structures built during the siege of the square in the winter of 2014. The summary consists of texts, photos and detailed documentation of every single object.

A reflection on proper post-colonial architecture in a post-soviet country is a difficult challenge. Anyway, this challenge was the reason that pushed us to join a competition, Terra Dignitas, which followed the Ukrainian Revolution of February 2014. The task was apparently simple: to redesign the public spaces of Maidan and Kiev’s city core, after the revolution devastated their materiality and meanings.

The center of Kiev has always been a theater of civil life in which confrontations and struggles happen, a place of memory, which must remain a living part of the city while retaining traces of all its historical events. The more the territory wil be able to contain the signs of human activity which have taken place over time in its layers of sedimentation, the more profound and lively will be the civic sense of belonging of the people who live there. The commemoration of the Revolution of Dignity will be through an experiential architecture capable of arousing emotions even in those who did not experience the revolution personally.

In the early days of the Revolution of Dignity, the Ukrainian House became the locus of many social activities and a place for free artistic expression. The purpose of the project is to provide newly emerged social practices and initiatives with a space for growth, enabling them to transform society and turn the lifeless shell of the former Lenin Museum into one of the best multipurpose cultural centers in Europe. The Ukrainian House will serve as a living poster for the Ukrainian values born during the Revolution of Dignity: Freedom, Dignity, Unity and Community.

In summer 2015, the annual residential program of the Kiev Platform for cultural initiatives, IZOLYATSIA, took place under the title Architecture Ukraine. This year was dedicated to the Eastern Ukraine as a war zone bordering Russia, and life in cities where war is present. The city of Mariupol was chosen as a case study and location for research, data collection, and urban interventions concerning architecture, urban planning, sociology, anthropology, and art. The results of an international workshop were presented in exhibitions in Mariupol and Kiev.  

An interdisciplinary experimental lab, CANactions School for Urban Studies is the new initiative of the CANactions annual International Architecture Festival in Kiev, the largest architectural event in Ukraine. It’s aimed at the exploration of Ukrainian cities, identifying concepts and defining actions for strategic development. The school offers a 3.5-month, full-time Urban Studies program for professionals from all over the world.

Teple Misto (warm city) is a non-governmental organization founded in Ivano-Frankivsk in 2014 with the aim of helping to solve the current issues of the city. The projects focused on the development of urban space and strengthening of social connections between citizens are financed from the profits of the social restaurant Urban Space 100, which is now one of the best examples of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine.

A cafe, a garden, a bike association. Three community projects initiated by inhabitants of three ukrainian cities as a response to the lack of urban space policy and lack of funds.

The situation in architecture in Lviv is affected by three main bodies: the Department of Territorial Planning, the University Department of Architecture, and the Union of Architects. Changes in legislation concerning urban and territorial planning during the previous administration and under the former president resulted in the elimination of the architect's role in any decision making. Currently there are some attempts and activities leading to conceptual urban planning and strengthening the functioning of the architectonic community.

During its long history Lviv gradually became part of different territorial units and with this its identity changed. The current morphology of the city thus reflects different historical eras. New areas have gradually surrounded the traditional medieval core that is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. This variability is manifested not only on the surface, but also in the perception of the public. The citizens are spending most of their time in the peripheral districts of the city but they do not consider those to be a part of Lviv’s cultural history.

The former main architect of the city of Uzhhorod. Architect and author. Architect/urban planner, lecturer, critic and curator. Creative group with a focus on architecture and design. Writer, philosopher and lecturer. Architect and activist. How do they reflect the current state of Ukrainian architecture related to the newly acquired independence?

Tourniquet is a part of the long-term project Lower State, which reflects the set of situations in the socio-political system that is a pillar of the existing social order and opinion makers, questioning the moral, political, legal and ethical standards. The project has a second title—Dissociative Resocialization—a term whose definition helps delve into our field of artistic research: it is a repeated socialization, which occurs throughout the individual’s life and changes his/her attitude, goals, norms and values. It is a psychological defense mechanism. With this mechanism in operation, a person begins to perceive what is happening as if it were occurring to someone else. We analyze this kind of situation in each new project as a symptom of the contemporary society state.

Design that thinks of everyone has many names: design for all, universal, user oriented, inclusive or equal design. Prague has welcomed one of the greatest experts on the equal design approach—Jeremy Myerson from Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design in London. You can find the actual results of his work almost wherever you go in Great Britain, because he is creating designs which help to improve everyday life for all people without exceptions.