A UNIT.City technology park designed by the {tag:pracownie} office is being built on the site of a former motorcycle factory in the Ukrainian capital. It will include office buildings with service premises, laboratories, residential buildings, a university and a school. The emerging development, as envisioned by the architects, is to be a friendly haven for start-ups. However, all indications are that the area will turn into a closed enclave of IT companies.
unique project
photo by Sasha Stawniczuk
The complex will consist primarily of office buildings, but residential quarters are also being developed in their immediate vicinity . The spaces between them are to be filled with a system of public pla zas - event plaza, cultural plaza, business plaza, innovation plaza and central park. Their character will be shaped by the functions of the buildings in the immediate vicinity. The holistic approach to the creation of the IT campus resulted in a unique situation in Kiev, where a complex project of various functions is carried out by a single developer. This is because the project included not only the preparation of an architectural concept, but also a proposal for planning changes and the introduction of new regulations in the urban plan. Although the Detailed Urban Development Plan covers a larger area, the key transformation is taking place on 26 hectares of an old motorcycle factory.
lack of diversity
Photo by Sasha Stavniczuk
The main idea of the development is to transform the industrial zone into a multifunctional but closed campus. It will be built on municipal land leased to a developer. Once the ground lease expires, the municipality will therefore lose income and will not be able to carry out any activities in the project area. The project also does not include social functions or financially accessible housing. No provision has been made for low-cost rentals, and prices per square meter are well above average.
Listen, the main thrust is that this area will be relatively closed. Yes, we think it will be an IT ghetto.
Statement from an architect involved in the project
Source: "Totality, Incrementality and Strategy: Understanding and Evaluating Spatial Planning in Kyiv, Ukraine," by Oleksandr Anisimov
excluded
Photo by Sasha Stawniczuk
The UNIT.City development plan was developed completely without public participation. Only private parties involved in the project were able to influence the content of the plan. Aside from taking into account technical issues such as water supply connections, no functional links were created with the immediate surroundings, nor was care taken to ensure planning consistency. The transparency of the procedures itself was also limited. The city did not conduct any kind of open procedure to select an investor, and no competing proposals were examined. Local residents and businesses were not invited to participate in meetings with project stakeholders.
dominated by commercialism
Photo: Sasha Stavniczuk
Such a mode of development therefore does not match the assurances of the intention to create an open and public place. The already partially realized buildings and the plazas between them are examples of generic, office architecture rather than creating the spirit of the place. Additions in the form of contemporary art of questionable quality, make the place similar to hundreds of other technology parks around the world. The residential structure, which is subordinate to economic calculus, will also fail to provide the right social mix. And while the form of the project may seem attractive, its content does not inspire optimism about the future of the place.
exhibition
photo by Sasha Stavniuk
Along with other examples from Kiev, Warsaw, Brno and Bucharest, the UNIT.City project will be presented at the exhibition "Polyperiphery. Spaces of Negotiation." The exhibition, organized by the National Institute of Architecture and Urbanism, will have its premiere at the CANactions festival in Kiev.
A Warsaw installment of the exhibition is planned for October.
