We talked about the concept of the new General Plan with the head of the developer company Sergey Bronevytskyi; learned the point of view of the expert in the field of historical heritage protection Olga Rutkovskaya; transport expert Viktor Petruk; designer Elena Fateeva, engaged in the protection of green areas of the city; representative of the development company Daria Kukharenko.
This collection of subjective opinions cannot be perceived as a sociological study, since it cannot claim any representativeness. Our goal is to simplify the task for all participants of future public hearings, discussions, and discussions and help them focus on the strengths and weaknesses of such an important document for Kyiv.
Olga Rutkovskaya
Art historian, heritage expert, member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
Olga Rutkovskaya
PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: The historical and architectural plan of Kyiv, which can be metaphorically called the heart of the General Plan, is ready and sent to the Ministry of Culture for approval. Judging by the graphic materials that are publicly available, what can be said about the quality of this document?
Olga Rutkovskaya: The historical and architectural reference plan is the basis for the general plan of any historical settlement. Monuments of architecture, town planning, history, archeology, science and technology, garden and park art, the territory of historical and cultural designation of Kyiv — all this is a special category of objects and sections of the city that must be taken into account in any town planning decisions. As far as we can judge from the published materials, this reference plan is another version of the documentation developed back in 2011. Since then, a lot has changed, even from the point of view of the attitude to the objects of historical heritage. Much has changed at the legislative level. There have been norms that concern World Heritage sites. So far, we can study only the graphic and regulatory part of the documentation, and even then not in full. The regulatory part is represented only by regulations, which do not contain basic initial data. And it is precisely these data and the nature of their use that worries everyone - has the status of a monument been preserved for this or that object, what are the plans for the use and development of the territory?
Kyiv is a zone of conflicts. Many hotspots arise precisely because the community does not have complete, reliable information. While the citizens are confident that the object is under protection, it is part of our national heritage, but it turns out that this is not the case. Many objects have a difficult fate. For example, some have "disappeared" from the register, some do not have a complete package of documentation, and some are brought to the point of complete destruction. Therefore, the society's reaction to the development of urban planning documentation and the requirement to publish the project of the historical and architectural plan are quite understandable.
For the majority of Kyivans, historical value is an abstract category
Photo: Yury Ferendovych
PM: How can architectural monuments disappear from protected registers? Who deletes them?
O.R.: The grounds for removal from the registers are those organizations that, in theory, should preserve this heritage. The Law "On the Protection of Cultural Heritage" provides for the possibility of removing an object from the register if it has lost its characteristics, due to which, in fact, it became a monument. That is, if a monument of architecture ceases to exist, it is destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed. Entrepreneurs cynically use this provision of the law to justify the complete loss of cultural value of a heritage object. In Ukraine and Kyiv, proper control of the state of objects is not ensured. The law and executive power rely on the awareness of users and owners. But the fact is that the value of cultural heritage objects in our society is not obvious to everyone. There is no policy aimed at clarifying the value of heritage. Only an insignificant part of the society understands the value of monuments, how it can be used in practice, what return can be obtained from a city that has managed to preserve historical architecture. What can the owner who owns the monument gain? There is no such understanding. For most people, historical value is an abstract category. As a result, on the streets of Kyiv, we see many historic abandoned buildings. Without an urgent change in state and city policy regarding the priority of heritage preservation and development, the moment will soon come when monuments of cultural heritage will disappear from the face of the earth, and in their place will appear faceless multi-storey objects of new construction.
The number of monuments, their status, condition, address, balance holders — all these data are considered the basis for the development of a historical and architectural reference plan. It is necessary to know the boundaries of the protected zones that exist in each object. Not only in huge complexes, such as Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Sofia Kyivskaya, but also in small houses, parks, memorial complexes, and landscape monuments. Collection of these data, systematization, analysis, programming of preservation for such a city as Kyiv is very time-consuming work.
A heritage object, if we are talking about a monument of architecture, is not only facades
PM: So now you don't have confidence that this painstaking work was properly carried out?
O.R.: We already have a sad experience of the consequences of previous developments of this same city-planning document for Kyiv. The 2011 version of the historical-architectural reference plan did not withstand criticism. This was not even a basic plan, but proposals to preserve the heritage of the city of Kyiv. Proposals are conceptual development. After all, the historical and architectural reference plan is developed according to clearly established rules and norms, according to the DBN.
According to available data, Kyiv has more than three and a half thousand objects of cultural heritage, in addition, there are many historical objects that deserve the status of a monument. And the assessment of their cultural value with the proposal of inclusion in the register is done precisely during the development of the historical and architectural reference plan. In addition to their location, the developers are obliged to indicate on the schedule the areas of preserved valuable buildings, territories of historical and cultural designation, nature reserves.
So far, the only positive moment that I have seen is that a graphic part has finally appeared, displaying the lands of historical and cultural designation. Around them, now and for the most part, conflict situations arise. One way or another, any construction is work with territories. Any property interests are work with territories. And lands of historical and cultural designation, according to our legislation, are intended exclusively for the preservation and development of heritage objects. There are restrictions on the function. This is true both in relation to nature reserves and in relation to territories with heritage objects.
Photo: Yury Ferendovych
PM: Is that how it should be? This is, in fact, conservation. And we have many European examples before our eyes, and not only when architects carry out renovation of monuments with a change in function. For example, not necessarily even a museum can be built on the ruins of an ancient temple, but also an office, restaurant or housing, while all preserved parts of the building, fragments, are carefully restored, and public access to them is preserved. Isn't a similar approach more rational?
O.R.: In the existing law on the protection of architectural heritage, many definitions related to revival and the search for new methods of adaptation to new life, which were previously used, have disappeared from the conceptual apparatus, and new ones have not appeared. Today we have "protection", "conservation", "museification", "restoration"... In principle, all these are almost similar concepts, they pursue one goal - to preserve and demonstrate the object as qualitatively as possible.
But what is "renovation"? Here we are talking about renewal, revival. This is closer to rehabilitation. That is, the restoration of the structure of the object and the expansion of the possibilities of its use, as well as development prospects. After all, heritage sites should also be developed. But, unfortunately, this is not reflected qualitatively in the conceptual apparatus today. As well as the concept of "regeneration".
PM: There is no concept of "conversion", which just implies changing the function...
O.R.: Yes, the lexicon and terminology must be expanded. Today, when we hear the word "renovation", we immediately imagine that this applies exclusively to some post-industrial zones. But at the same time, renovation is a good method of monetization and development of complex objects. Conversion of heritage objects, cultural capital, cultural resource are very important concepts and directions for an objective understanding of the role and possibilities of monuments, when their value for society is irreplaceable.
Photo: Yury Ferendovych
PM: Why don't we follow in the footsteps of many European cities and at least allow the reconstruction of historical buildings while preserving the facade?
O.R.: This is a common request. The majority of users, developers, and owners believe that it is possible and quite simple to significantly change the planning structure of the building. But the object of heritage, if we are talking about a monument of architecture, is not only facades. And the entire material and technical structure as a whole, the initial capital structures of the object and their decor, the features of the planning system. And how to preserve and resuscitate it is a separate and difficult story.
For 15 years of work in the field of restoration, I realized how laborious it is, which requires constant research and a painstaking attitude to the object from the start of preliminary work and preparation for design to the completion of restoration (conservation). And also a lot of experience. You can call yourself a restorer, having worked in this field for at least 10 years. It is impossible to do restoration if you just graduated from university yesterday. It is necessary to go through a very long production practice under the guidance of professionals. Because every object of cultural heritage, when you start working with it, actually presents such a number of surprises that an unprepared person simply cannot cope with it.
At the next UNESCO session, Kyiv must confirm that the General Plan has been adopted
PM: So, let's assume that we will receive a historical and architectural plan, in which all the information about the heritage is entered in detail. But in the absence of methods and even the terms "renovation", "conversion", it turns out that we are again conserving our entire heritage and not solving the question of its prospects and development. But does planning still presuppose development?
O.R.: The historical and architectural reference plan is a binding document. It really reflects the status quo of heritage, historical and cultural territories, already approved protection zones. But everything that concerns perspective is presented in another document, which is called the project of heritage protection zones and includes regulations for use and possible perspective construction. These are regulations that are prescribed for particularly valuable territories and are necessary for assessing the prospects and opportunities for the development of the architectural landscape of the city in the historical part. In Kyiv practice, this is a direct answer to the question, what volume and how many commercial meters can be placed.
It is obvious that we cannot engage in the renovation of Sophia of Kyiv, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or temples? There are objects that have a stable status, and we will not change it for many reasons. And at the same time, there is, for example, a brewery complex on Kirillovskaya Street. What to do with this object? It is clear that it will not be able to work as a factory, but it is very interesting as a heritage complex with its historical and architectural characteristics. Such objects require creative solutions - how to breathe life into them. For such objects and territories, the developers in the General Plan are obliged to offer at least something. At least in a compressed form.
Of course, in each specific case, such objects require an individual, subject-specific approach, a separate project. But often such territories, usually post-industrial, are recognized as city-forming at the same time. Bolshaya Ploshchad, a complex of facilities. What can be the function of each of them and the entire complex? Who can become a consumer, a user? Yes, this is a separate project. But the developers of the historical and architectural reference plan are already obliged to outline the possibilities, the new fate of such objects in the future.
Photo: Yury Ferendovych
Well, to begin with, they had to assess the situation "in kind". Get acquainted with all heritage objects - not on paper, but personally check their condition. Then check all accounting documentation. And make recommendations. Including recommendations not only about the desired perspective for heritage objects, but also specific recommendations to authorities and owners.
In short, there are many internal subtleties that need to be resolved in order to get a full-fledged, daily-demanded and correct document. And when we make corrections for corrections, especially since the developers received the task back in 2010, the result of such work will not meet modern requirements.
PM: And yet, what exactly worries and worries you, the activists, the public?
O.R.: Lack of transparency and practice of full-fledged discussion of urban planning documentation, although the law requires it. We are all afraid that there may be manipulations, that is why everyone insists on openness and publicity. The information that appeared on the official website of the Kyiv City Administration on January 3 does not allow us to judge whether the work was fully completed and the decisions made were correct.
An example is the results of a powerful public movement for the creation of an ecopark in Osokorky, a direct continuation of the recreational territories of the landscape and history monument "Historical Landscape of the Kiev Mountains and the Dnieper River Valley". Not only local residents, but also experts in ecology and urban planning joined this project. As a result, the territory received the status of a reserve. But it is absent from the published graphic of the historical and architectural reference plan. Although the status must be reflected in all regulatory acts, the town-planning cadastre.
It is good that at least in the center of the city, the borders of the lands of historical and cultural designation are already marked on graphic materials. It will check whether they are correctly reflected in the details, there is no possibility, the low resolution of the graphics does not allow it to be done. But from my own experience, I know that today almost every territory of urban planning monuments - Khreshchatyk, Kostelnaya, Andreyevsky descent, Kontraktovaya ploshchad - has its own problems. Often, the boundaries of monuments and protected zones are drawn incorrectly. The developers had to correct all these inaccuracies.
Renovation is a good method of monetization and development of complex objects
PM: If it turns out that they have not been corrected, incompletely processed, and not specified, how much time can be required for the correction? And do we have this time at all?
O.R.: That is very difficult to answer. Today, at the international level, the issue of creating a unified, modified buffer zone of World Heritage sites is being resolved. This is a separate document that is practically fully developed and submitted to UNESCO for verification. This is our national priority and obligation, after all, we have ratified all relevant conventions. In February, a UNESCO mission is coming to Kyiv, and international experts must answer whether the documentation developed by us on the buffer zone meets international requirements. And in the middle of the year, another UNESCO session will be held, at which Kyiv must confirm that the General Plan has been accepted.
PM: That is, the authorities of Kyiv have already taken on such a commitment to UNESCO?
O.R.: On the strong recommendation of UNESCO. After all, from the point of view of international experts, it is the approved General Plan that documents the prospects of World Heritage sites in the Ukrainian capital. And today, the buffer zones around Kyiv-Pechersk Reserve and around Sofia are constantly being attacked by developers with high-rise projects. And the absolute right of UNESCO representatives requires the fastest possible approval of documentation that excludes the possibility of influencing the objects. According to the logic of international law, if the General Plan is adopted, it means that it must be strictly adhered to.
Photo: Yury Ferendovych
PM: But does this mean that all work on amendments to the General Plan will take place under extremely tight deadlines?
O.R.: And this too. We found ourselves in a difficult situation. On the one hand, the Ukrainian delegation at the UNESCO session promised that the General Plan would be accepted and approved. On the other hand, we see that many fundamental sections are qualitatively not ready.
I want to believe that the confusion with the addresses has been resolved, the objects that accidentally fell out of the register have returned, it has been supplemented with newly discovered objects in 2019... But I would like to make sure of this. Ideally, of course, I would like the General Plan to take place and be adopted. But I do not share the confidence of international experts that its adoption can stop the chaos. Today, by-laws tell us that without a supporting plan - and as we remember, there is no such plan yet - construction on the territory of historical Kyiv is impossible. Nevertheless, active construction is underway.
