Shortlist, Norman Foster Foundation Kharkiv Freedom Square Revival Design Competition

The aftermath of war, beyond being a new chapter in humanity’s enduring fight for survival, is yet another turbulent narrative inscribed into the history of a city. The events carve deep marks into the collective memory, and the void left by those lost, will taking form in the memories of the historical and social wounds torn open between life and death, leaving an imprint on the city’s soul. These war-torn memories are embedded into the earth and cultivated for the future of society. The restored Freedom Square, at the heart of the city, unfold its scars to the people, where its past and future coexist within the living fields of remembrance while acting as a new urban node.

Encompassing a genuine design approach, the revival of Kharkiv Freedom Square and Kharkiv Regional Administration Building is a truthful reflection of such context and its past conflicts. They are imagined as one combined urban living space, while being an urban park and a memorial site at the same time, offering a complete trail of experiences and a continuum of urban language. This design mechanism proposes a consequence of planning gestures combined with series of superimposed urban network- transition network, biophilic network, and programmatic network. These overlays offer legible spatial organization to reactivate the square and the administration building as one continuous urban thread, to actively engage the user and its ecology while encouraging more interactions and multitude of programs.

The transition network is designed mainly to capture different modes of transport, and to enhance the circulation around the square to be more pedestrian-friendly to access and connect between different destinations. Whereas the biophilic network act as a soft urbanism strategy, ensure the rich natural greenery can be integrated well within the urban landscape and complementing the greater ecosystem and environmental wellness. The programmatic network comprises of varying typologies of follies, which embody multitude of program scenarios in a rustic form of representation of the history and culture. These overlays enable an integrated movement of circulations, urban wilderness, bottom-up programs and flexible development to emerge collectively.

Traversing through the revived Freedom Square and the administration building, we shall see the mirage, traces and imprints of its past, yet the projection of new lives inhabiting the place and its landscape for a hopeful future. The revival of the Kharkiv Freedom Square and Regional Administration Building is thus a portrayal of its circumstances and context to be restored as a historical, cultural, and civic heritage- a common ground of collective memories for Kharkiv’s citizens.