Australian practice INDEX Architecture has been shortlisted in the “Urban Landscaping in Kiev for Euro 2012” competition. The competition, which was recently completed at the CANaction 2011 Architecture Festival in Kyiv, sought submissions tackling some of the latent urban problems facing the city today and proposing solutions that could be achieved in time for the EURO 2012 football tournament, which the Ukraine is co-hosting with Poland. INDEX’s proposal sought to reconnect the city of Kiev with its waterfront area and the Dnieper River in a project called “Eroding the Edge.”
Read on for more after the break.
‘Eroding the Edge’ seeks to break down and blur the barrier between Kiev and the Dnieper River, which has lost its historical significance having once played a major role in Kiev’s economic and cultural development. Along the embankment leading down to the water there is a large network of monuments, historical sites, parks and tourist attractions. Today it is accompanied by a major expressway that runs along its western shore.
The masterplan identifies key points throughout the area that provide opportunities to easily connect through from the city edge to the waterfront. At the end of these connections are a series of new river front activity precincts, including river baths, and ice skating rink/arena, night time entertainment district, parking structures and a ferris wheel. These new node points are connected along the river by a refurbished tourist tramway and a new water bus.
As a part of the project INDEX looked in detail at how this plan could be enacted at Poshtova square, an area to north of the city connected to the upper city by a funicular railway. The proposal is divided into two stages. First a modest urban landscape intervention in time for the EURO 2012 football tournament, including a landscaped public bowl on the square itself, boardwalk waterfront and a series of small pavilions providing retail, information and public toilets.
Beyond 2012 the square will be configured with the inclusion of a pedestrian deck bridging the Naberzhne Highway, connecting the square down to the river and providing a range of new boutique retail tenancies, bars, restaurants and a tourist lookout over the Dnieper River.
Architects: INDEX Architecture Location: Kiev, Ukraine Status: Shortlisted Project Year: 2011 Design Team: John Doyle, Laura Mártires
