Ukraine has not yet decided on the typology of prospective urban development, and the Dnieper slopes disfigured by high-rise buildings, the dystopian panorama of Poznyaki in Kyiv or the anthill of the Rainbow residential massif in Odesa are clear evidence of this. Even individual examples of Ukrainian high-rise construction can rarely be compared with Western landmarks, and the poverty of typical residential skyscrapers, which have been actively overgrown in Kyiv in recent decades, cannot be hidden either by colorful facades or bright murals.
The war, the decline of the economy, and the need for rapid reconstruction of cities make us forget about the ambitions of Manhattanizing Ukraine, instead turning to European practice. We described the experience of the post-war reconstruction of European cities in the articles of the special project "Post-war reconstruction of cities". And in May 2021, an entire volume of the magazine was devoted to the topic "City from above", where the advantages of high-rise construction and the motivation that makes cities reach for the clouds and investors eagerly participate in the pursuit of height records were analyzed in detail.
2022 showed that it makes no sense for Ukrainians to immediately prove their uniqueness to the world: it is obvious even without designer megatalls
Especially since the blackouts forced some adepts of life at a height to reconsider their opinion. Concern for creating comfortable conditions for people who have experienced stress and loss due to war is much more urgent, isn't it?
Below please!
Europe actively began to reduce the number of floors in the 70s of the last century, when the modernist vision of a "tower in the park" formulated by Le Corbusier was considered undesirable in the future. It turned out that areas built up with typical high-rise buildings are quickly marginalized during crises. They lack what we today call stability. "Brusselsization" - the replacement of old buildings with new high-rise modernist "housing machines" - was also recognized as a tragic mistake, which resulted in the loss of hundreds of valuable historical structures to the architectural landscape of Europe. Since then, a course has been taken for rigid height adjustment.
La Défense is a reservation for skyscrapers in Paris
The even urban landscape of Prague dominated by historical cathedrals and towers
There are no general height standards for EU countries, but the vast majority of cities — and not only the capitals — have strengthened municipal regulations, forcing developers to limit themselves to the construction of low (1–4 stories) and medium (5–10 stories) buildings. Separate reservations have been set aside for daring architectural experiments. For example, La Défense in Paris or Pancrats in Prague, although they are already familiar and integral parts of the skyline, they do not visually compete with the historical towers and do not block the panorama of the center.
Each of the cities focuses on its own heritage: for example, in the center of Rome it is forbidden to build anything higher than St. Peter's Cathedral, in Athens - higher than 12 floors, so as not to block the view of the Parthenon. In addition, UNESCO monitors the height in historical areas. This organization cannot prohibit the city from building towers, but if the construction contradicts the rules of monument protection, the city can lose the status of an object of cultural importance. This almost happened to Prague recently. Several years ago, the development company Central Group announced its intention to create a new mixed complex on the territory of the telecommunications office center in the Zhizhkov district.
Unrealized construction project of three high-rise residential towers in the Žižkov district of Prague. Image source: Central Group
The new building on the bank of the Vltava in the center of Prague does not compete with the historical one in terms of height. Dominants of the horizon are the Zhizhkov television tower and the spiers of the ancient towers
The Nové Žižkov Center project envisaged the construction of three hundred-meter towers, but the UNESCO commission expressed a strong protest and said that if the new buildings exceed the maximum height of the historical background buildings in Žižkov (54 meters), then Prague will be excluded from the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. Therefore, the project had to be significantly revised. It should be added that it is in Žižkov that the 216-meter TV tower, famous for its aggressive appearance, is located. At the end of the 80s, during the construction of this landmark, it seems that all urban planning and moral norms were violated (destruction of part of the Jewish cemetery, violation of the panorama of the historical center), but times have changed.
Even in London, the tallest city in the Old World, the model of British housing of the 2007st century has been officially declared Donnybrook Quarter - a new low-rise urban quarter in East London, opened in XNUMX
This project by Peter Barber Architects became the winner of the prestigious competition "Innovations in residential construction", in which more than 150 architectural companies from all over the world participated. At first glance, Donnybrook is nothing special: white two- and three-story townhouses with terraces and working roofs lined up along two streets. Shops are located on the first floors of three-story buildings, facing the street. And on the other hand, each of the houses has its own private garden. According to British critics and urban planners, this is the most comfortable format for residents and ecological for the city as a whole.
Donnybrook Quarter is a reference residential complex in London. The architecture differs from the historical buildings and is adapted to the needs of people of the XNUMXst century, but the authors of the project did not exceed the average height of buildings in the area. Photo credit: Peter Barber Architects
There are shops or public spaces on the first floors of buildings. Photo credit: Peter Barber Architects
The number of urban population is growing. According to UN forecasts, by 2050 it will increase by 2,5 billion people. One of the most common myths is that high-rise buildings provide housing for more people. Politicians from the developer lobby often claim that height limit laws only serve the interests of native residents, home owners, but reduce the chances of newcomers to own an apartment or rent affordable housing. But it is silent that as the buildings become taller, they need to be built further from each other - to maintain the standards of insolation, natural ventilation and other norms. If sanitary standards are ignored, the result will be a gloomy dystopian stone jungle. But the dense construction of medium floors allows you to increase the number of apartments without reducing, but even increasing, the quality of life.
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Architect Mykola Morozov believes that it is unacceptable to ignore the advantages of the European model: "First, medium- and low-rise buildings are an absolute gain in time. Investors get the product faster, money turns over faster. This is especially relevant now and in the post-war period. Secondly, medium-rise construction makes it easier to achieve good density indicators of square meters per hectare, especially in the case of complex construction for large plots.
Opposing the ambitions and selfishness of corporations to care for the urgent needs of ordinary residents, European urban planners regularly remind us of the advantages of living on the lower floors. They are: fewer neighbors, easy access to the street, the possibility of rapid evacuation, lower maintenance costs of the building, earthquake resistance, an even microclimate in the premises (no wind load) and, as a result, lower heating and cooling costs.
Ascension Paysagere is a new residential complex in Rennes, France. MVRDV's cascading architecture offers a compromise between building height and density. Photo: Ossip van Duivenbode
Each of the Ascension Paysagere apartments has a terrace or balcony. Thanks to the cascading form of the buildings, none of the residents suffers from a lack of insolation. Photo: Ossip van Duivenbode
Recently, a group of scientists from the University of Edinburgh decided to compare the environmental friendliness of high-rise and low-rise buildings. They took into account CO2 emissions during the construction of buildings, their maintenance, disposal after the end of the life of the objects, the availability of free space for landscaping, the costs of plant care. And they came to the conclusion that a low-rise but dense building can accommodate the same number of people as a high-rise building, but with a smaller carbon footprint. Low-rise, high-density cities like Paris are more than a third greener than high-rise, high-density cities like New York (link to research).
In addition to people's personal ideas about the comfort and scalability of the environment, low-rise cities contribute to the solution of global problems of humanity
Architect Mykola Morozov: "Low and medium storeys are easier to form the human scale of the building, more opportunities to create chamber spaces, comfortable streets and pleasant squares. This is becoming increasingly popular among investors, especially those who have lived in the EU for some time. Such a building creates closer social ties. The fewer neighbors in the house or on the floor, the easier it is to form a society of like-minded people."
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Architect Oleksandr Stolovy suggests that planners wishing to program the formation of communities rely on Dunbar's number (a limit on the number of permanent social ties): “150 people is the average number of permanent social ties that a person can maintain. 150 is the maximum you can get together as a group and agree on something. The more people there are, the more difficult it is to find a common language. On average, 2-3 people live in each apartment. That is, there should be no more than 60 apartments in the entrance - this is the ceiling, friends, for your successful life as a happy citizen. And 60 apartments is a nine-story building."
The Sunflower Houses is a social housing complex in Vienna in the Emil-Behring-Weg district, built by the team of architects Arenas Basabe Palacios and Buschina & Partner. Photo: Kurt Hoerbst
Despite the small distance between the buildings, the yards are spacious enough for residents to play and relax. In the landscaping of The Sunflower Houses, the architects used local plants that are easily adaptable and do not require special care. Photo: Kurt Hoerbst
But all this argumentation is useless if it contradicts the principles of the market economy. Tall buildings would not exist if there were no people willing to live and work in them. How many are there among Ukrainians?
"Of course, there are users who value life at altitude the most. And that's normal, but I think that after this winter, many people will reconsider their priorities," he is sure Mykola Morozov.
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"Actually, there are not so many supporters of life at altitude. I think there are about 15% of them, and mostly they are young and lonely, - believes the Lviv architect and urban planner Julian Chaplinsky. — Life at a height is attractive in its own way as a temporary residence with an incredible view of the city. I recently stayed on the 20th floor of an apartment in Vienna at the Triple Towers. And I liked it. If I were to live by myself temporarily for a few years in a new city, then life at a height, with a continuously working elevator, is very attractive. If a family topic is already starting, it brings many difficulties. The blackout showed us how crazy people are now going up on foot. And everything above the 9th floor is already critically uncomfortable."
Triiiple Towers, which mentions Julian Chaplinsky, is a multifunctional complex of three hundred-meter towers, built according to the project of Henke Schreieck Architekten in 2021 and recognized in November 2022 by the international Council on Tall Buildings and the Urban Habitat (CTBUH) as the best skyscraper in the world. The building's technological advantage is a unique CO2-neutral cooling and heating system that operates autonomously using water from the Danube and wind energy. However, CTBUH's assessment has been criticized. Urban planners are confused by the fact that one of the towers is a set of 670 micro-apartments intended for rent, which in principle excludes the formation of a sustainable neighborhood community.
Triple Towers is an accent residential complex in Vienna
The opinion of the developers
For Ukrainian developers, building high-rise buildings, especially in the central areas of Ukrainian cities, is clearly profitable today and will be profitable in the future, even despite the blackout test. This is what the developers themselves say.
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Anna Laevska: "The height of the project depends on many factors. For example, in the company's portfolio there are objects that are considered high-rise (usually 16-24 floors), and there are low-rise buildings. First of all, the developer takes into account the location and the general concept of the future residential complex. Buildings built in the city center, on plots with good visual characteristics, are usually high-rise. This is justified from the point of view of the economy of the project, as well as due to the demand from buyers.
For example, our flagship complex has excellent visual characteristics, from the windows of the buildings you will be able to admire the slopes of the Dnipro River and the Motherland-Mother monument. Accordingly, high floors are the most popular among project buyers. We observe the same tendency among our competitors. The premium audience mostly prefers beautiful views from the window, panoramic glazing and private terraces.
If we talk about the comfort of residents, then this is a very subjective story. For some, comfort means living in a two-level apartment with panoramic windows and a view of the bustling metropolis. Others prefer low buildings and even ground floors.
Investors were never frightened by high floors, on the contrary. If there is a differentiation of prices for apartments depending on the floor, apartments higher up are more popular, despite the fact that they are more expensive. At the same time, the difference in cost can be 30–40 y. at. per square meter for every 5-7 floors
Of course, in the conditions of long blackouts, life on a high floor causes certain difficulties. However, we believe that this is temporary. Like war. And houses built by developers will have a long life.
In addition, the comfort of living is influenced not so much by the number of floors of the building, but by the surrounding environment, infrastructure and its accessibility. Modern Ukrainians first of all look at the presence of commerce nearby, social facilities, schools, hospitals, etc., and the presence of a sufficient number of parking spaces.
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Iryna Mikhalova: "The main reason that motivates the modern developer to grow in height and not in width is the shortage of land plots within the city limits, which would have a number of infrastructural advantages: convenient transport connections (for example, the construction of promised metro stations to remote areas of the capital could partially to resolve this issue), a pleasant neighborhood with green areas, not with factories, the presence of a developed social infrastructure around the site, although it is this advantage that the developer, if desired, can create on his own by building these objects as part of the complex.
System developers are also successfully fighting the lack of serviceable and reliable communications around the areas. We repair old and lay new roads, water and sewage networks, street lighting, etc. And so, having purchased or rented a good plot of land and invested considerable funds in all these works, the developer receives a certain economic model that dictates its own rules.
A large number of our customers had and still have a request for the highest floors. Of course, the current blackouts "play" not in favor of such decisions, but let's remember: sooner or later, the constant supply of electricity will be restored, and the stunning views from the windows of the apartment and the absence of noise from the yard and nearby roads will remain forever. In addition, under normal conditions, it is quite comfortable to live in high-rise buildings: we provide them with a sufficient number of high-quality elevators, modern window systems, reliable communications, etc.
Today, the availability of plots with attractive characteristics at normal prices/rates, the adoption of adequate and clear master plans of cities that will dictate transparent and fair work rules, the growth of demand and the level of sales, etc. can motivate the developer to reduce the height.
Of course, the comfort of the residents is above all else, and variable storeys of residential complexes, which is a trend today, perfectly cope with this. For example, one of our projects in the center of Kyiv is a five-section building with cascading floors. The buyer can choose a floor that will meet his expectations and wallet."
The Iceberg residential complex in Aarhus, Denmark, is an example of accented mid-story architecture. Joint project of SeARCH, CEBRA, JDS and Louis Paillard Architects. Photo: Mikkel Frost
Whip or gingerbread
According to the architect Oleksandr Stolovy, the most effective motivation for the developer is the introduction of changes to building regulations: "Low-rise buildings need our lobbying in the regulations, because so far it loses to the "ants" on all fronts."
Oleksandr even formulated several amendments that would promote the appearance of low-rise residential buildings in the "economy" and "comfort" segments. Some of the amendments allow the developer to reduce the budget, and some limit the height for safety purposes.
- During the construction of no higher than 5 floors with a building height of up to 15 m, you can use stairs SK2.
- During the construction of no higher than 5 floors with a building height of up to 15 m, with a lower building opposite, insolation is not taken into account.
- During the construction of no more than 5 floors with a building height of up to 15 m, fire engine access can be made from one side of the building with access to all stairwells from this side of the building.
- To prohibit, as in all normal countries, the use of stairs H1-H4 without an urgent need, with fines. "Because there you would have seen what they were doing! And the little trestle with bars on the wall, and the boxes with apples from my mother, and the old sofa will soon be removed."
- Prohibit the construction of residential buildings higher than 15 meters in the absence of the available number of appropriate firefighting equipment in cities: 20 sections per 1 car with a lift (ladder).
Residential complex Broadway Housing in Santa Monica, USA. Social housing was built according to the project of the architectural studio Kevin Daly Architects. Photo: Iwan Baan
New residential quarters of Prague
Residential apartments Residenz am Zwinger 200 meters from the Zwinger museum complex in Dresden
Julian Chaplinsky believes that all the levers for controlling the height of cities are in the hands of local officials: "The only thing that can restrain developers is local politics. If it goes in parallel with the vision of the developers, then the height will increase accordingly. And the arguments in favor of increasing comfort will work only if it is about the construction of elite housing in some historical district, when the developer himself understands that there is a demand for expensive housing with a small number of neighbors and with a lower density."
Containment of cities within their borders, in opinion Julian Chaplinsky, is not so much a worldview dogma as an economic issue: "The sprawl of buildings leads to the fact that it is necessary to build infrastructure: build schools, gardens, haul water, sewerage, etc. And all this is a matter of comfort for residents. If a city is rich enough to provide infrastructure, then sprawl is not critical. But, of course, it is more correct to work with the bodies of cities that have already formed, to use post-industrial territories and to densify them based on the existing infrastructure."
New residential areas of Copenhagen
New residential quarters of Stockholm
Urban planning policy aimed at reducing the number of floors can be a situational solution for the sake of the fastest possible post-war recovery of Ukraine. In the same Europe, the discussion about height did not stop for a year. But this is also great: the competition between supporters of low and tall buildings allows for the development and improvement of architecture and technology. And in the conditions of this rivalry, the appearance of frankly marginal, faceless anthills is no longer possible. Ordinary townspeople will win, who won't have to choose between "living comfortably" and "wishing there was somewhere to live."
Main image: sketch for The Sunflower Houses social housing project in Vienna. Image credit: Arenas Basabe Palacios and Buschina & Partner
