The discussion around the role of architecture in collective memory, how buildings consolidate the values of their era, as well as the problems of heritage, took place within the framework of the public program organized by the Pavilion of Culture for the solo exhibition of Ai Weiwei, an architect and artist who set himself the goal of confronting regimes. A series of workshops and conversations began in the first days of the exhibition "Three Perfectly Proportioned Spheres and Military Camouflage Painted White" with the support of RIBBON International. The series of events, organized by Lizaveta German and Maria Lanko, curators, co-founders of the Pavilion of Culture and The Naked Room gallery, is an opportunity for a meeting and open dialogue about the role of art and culture in times of war, the formation of memory, mechanisms of censorship and freedom of speech.
The speakers at the discussion were Maria Panchenko, Partnership Manager of the NGO "Mapa Renovatsii", Hlib Ushakov, Candidate of Architecture, Associate Professor of the KNUBA, researcher of Kyiv architecture, and Volodymyr Shevchenko, Honored Architect of Ukraine, co-author of the Salyut Hotel and the clinic of the Writers' Union of Ukraine in Kyiv. The conversation was moderated by Iryna Miroshnikova, architect, partner of the architectural office "FORMA", director of the Pavilion of Culture.
The participants in the discussion were united in the opinion that modern Ukrainian architecture is in a crisis of memory and identity, facing the threat of losing its modernist heritage due to economic interests, and systemic shortcomings in education and the lack of state orders for cultural objects exacerbate this gap.
Despite the ancient history of Kyiv, the total destruction that occurred constantly almost destroyed the architecture of previous periods.
"Architecture is a much broader concept, it is a discipline that unites science, art, and the practice of creating the environment in which a person lives," noted Iryna Miroshnikova. "So I suggest looking at it through other dimensions, through time, to find out how architecture reflects its period, the social, cultural, and political conditions in which it is created. Which buildings preserve memory, and which erase it."
Between eras and abysses: the architectural paradox of Kyiv
According to Hlib Ushakov, despite the ancient history of Kyiv, the total destruction that occurred constantly almost completely destroyed the architecture of previous periods. Almost nothing remains of medieval Kyiv, the period of the city's birth and flourishing. Baroque Kyiv was also largely dismantled by the Soviet authorities in the 30s. Capitalist Kyiv, whose center was comparable to Vienna or Berlin, disappeared in 1941 as a result of sabotage bombings on Khreshchatyk. This continuity of losses created a kind of paradox: having extremely deep historical roots, Kyiv remained without visible traces of most of its periods. The city, which witnessed the formation of statehood, cultural ups and downs, does not have a coherent architectural narrative that would tell about these stages. Instead of a continuous history, there are fragments of past eras, scattered and often devoid of context.
"If you look at Kyiv as a whole, things are quite sad: on the one hand, we have an ancient city, one of the largest centers of world history, which has always been full of architecture of each period. But then there were total destructions, this happened periodically and became characteristic. The buildings were not integrated into each other. And therefore, for us, all layers have value, but, unfortunately, for society, this value is very ambiguous," adds Ushakov.
But Kyiv is not only a city of loss, but also a space for searching for a new identity. Architects who strive to work with this context face the challenge of how to restore the connection between eras when, it seems, "there is nothing to lean on." It is this lack of material continuity that opens up space for rethinking - for creating architecture that is capable of not simply imitating the past, but recreating its memory in new forms.
Heritage under bail: "Salyut" as a test of the city's maturity
Volodymyr Shevchenko suggested considering the history of the Salyut hotel as an example of the topic of architectural heritage disappearing before our eyes. In the socio-economic conditions of the Soviet era, Salyut was a kind of architectural calling card of high technology. The architect said that when creating the hotel, the designers tried to go beyond the initial technical task: to make the project high-quality, beautiful, and in a way that would convince not only the customer, but also everyone who agrees and approves such decisions. “We had to show what value everyone would receive — both the city and the community. There were skeptics then, as there are now, especially those who propose new ideas,” explains Volodymyr Shevchenko.
Model of the Salyut Hotel. Photo: Volodymyr Shevchenko
The Salyut Hotel is now 41 years old and is being auctioned as collateral for a bank, while its value as an object of collective memory is being reconsidered. Volodymyr Shevchenko sees various scenarios for its further development, both positive and negative, but is confident that every historical period has a chance to remain in history, and its legacy should be supported, not destroyed. PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA previously wrote in detail about this unique modernist object and its inherent flaws in the material "Macrocosm and microcosm of the Salyut Hotel"The co-author of the building believes that during the reconstruction it would be possible to return to the original design, which was rejected during the approval process for reasons of saving resources.
The functional content of modernist buildings can be adapted to modern needs without losing authenticity.
Maria Panchenko noted that many people have a romantic attitude towards the Salyut Hotel, so she hopes for its preservation with respect for the principles of the Venice Charter. That is, according to activists, the restoration should take place with the preservation of the actually built hotel.
One of the projects of the Salyut Hotel. Photo: Volodymyr Shevchenko
The functional content of modernist buildings can be adapted to modern needs without losing authenticity, but the problem is that some developers, focused on quick profits, are not ready to wait for investments to return in five years, rather than in one. Maria emphasizes: since very little of the past has survived, it is important to preserve what remains as carefully as possible.
Between ambition and authenticity: professional dilemmas of the new generation of architects
Gleb Ushakov sees the danger of a distorted perception of the real situation, which can affect the new generation of young architects. "In fact, the life of architects is very specific. There are periods of some kind of construction boom, like ours. There are periods of construction chaos, also like ours. And there are periods of construction crisis, this is also like ours. And each time architects work continuously, and there are a lot of interesting projects. Students must be unpleasant to hear this, but very little of their work reaches implementation - and many projects are not implemented at all. Often they work not for the customer, but for the sake of a test," noted Ushakov, describing the realities of studying architects. He suggests developing "paper architecture" (concepts, competitions, virtual worlds) and preparing students for the fact that architectural education has many iterations and provides access to various types of creative activity: subject, interior, landscape design, urban planning.
Volodymyr Shevchenko and Gleb Ushakov: a conversation about architectural education. Photo: Dmytro Prutkin
Volodymyr Shevchenko hopes that Ukraine's integration into the EU will open a free market for European architects, who will create competition for Ukrainian designers, providing new experience and skills.
The participants of the discussion also touched upon the issue of copyright. In the context of the reconstruction of historical monuments, young architects face a difficult professional dilemma: how to combine their own vision and creativity with the need to preserve the authenticity and cultural memory of the city, since not every change can be justified as a manifestation of progress.
Cultural construction on pause: why revitalization is becoming the only strategy
As Iryna Miroshnikova noted, today Ukraine is experiencing a period when there is no state order for cultural and public buildings, which are an important part of the formation of the country's identity.
Maria Panchenko believes that “superstructures” are becoming less relevant, and restoring what already exists is more interesting, environmentally friendly, and economical. In her opinion, the community can form a request for support and adaptation of existing structures, such as “Promprylad” or Zhitniy rynok, since it is more difficult to agree, for example, on a new philharmonic hall financially and conceptually.
"Superstructures" are becoming less relevant, and restoring what already exists is more interesting, environmentally friendly, and economical.
It is natural that in conditions of war and economic crisis, state resources are directed to critical infrastructure, and cultural construction falls out of priority funding. As a result, the focus of attention of architects and developers is shifting from large-scale new projects to more realistic and economically justified solutions. Therefore, Volodymyr Shevchenko predicts that due to the war and the need to restore the infrastructure, there will be no orders for the creation of new cultural objects in the near future. The transition to revitalization as the main strategy is also dictated by the understanding that large investments in new construction will not be available in the near future. That is why experts emphasize the need to preserve and integrate the existing material heritage into the modern urban environment.
The time factor also plays against the architectural renewal of Ukrainian cities - the best areas (for example, the coastal part or the upper plateau of the hills) are used for residential complexes, and not for public cultural spaces, noted Gleb Ushakov. Thus, even the hypothetical appearance of funding does not guarantee the construction of cultural facilities in strategically important places. This is due to the fact that commercial residential development, which maximizes profit, consistently takes priority over public interests, occupying the best locations in terms of visual attractiveness and transport accessibility.
Maria Panchenko and Iryna Miroshnikova: a conversation about a state order. Photo: Dmytro Prutkin
"Let's remember other cities in Europe. They built their new philharmonics in the central part of the city, where there is convenient transport access from all sides, where there is a connection to all the main public spaces of the city center nearby, and where the plot is beautiful from afar. That is, where high-rise residential complexes have now been built in Kyiv, there were actually the best plots for new public cultural spaces: museums, philharmonics, entertainment facilities, and other cultural objects," Ushakov concluded.
Today, Ukrainian architecture is not only a space, but also a battlefield for time. The participants in the public conversation agree that without the preservation of architectural heritage, Kyiv risks finally turning into a city without historical continuity, where each new layer erases the previous one. If architecture is a "politics of memory", then without conscious preservation, each demolished object becomes an act of forgetting, which voluntarily erases part of the national identity. To withstand the challenges of the future, society must become the main defender of heritage, forming a clear request to the state to implement modern strategic planning.
