What were the conditions of the competition
Steel Freedom is held in Ukraine for the 11th year in a row and the third year during a full-scale war: for the safety of the participants, the final ceremony on November 30 took place in an underground shelter. The main organizer of the competition is always the Ukrainian Center of Steel Construction, whose mission is to promote steel structures in the field of architecture and construction.
In 2024, 109 teams from 15 Ukrainian higher education institutions applied for the competition - that's 407 students. Only 66 projects made it to the semi-finals, ten to the finals. In addition to Lviv Polytechnic, students of Kyiv University of Construction and Architecture, Kharkiv University of Urban Economy named after Beketov, "Poltava Polytechnic" and Odesa State Academy of Construction and Architecture.
Steel Freedom finalists with partners and jury members after the award ceremony. Kyiv, November 30
The organizers of the competition note: every year the level of competitive projects increases. The students' work has become complex, they carefully work out the conditions, pay a lot of attention to the technical aspects of the project, involving design engineers and other specialists. The depth of development of the projects is impressive: conceptually, they are not inferior to the ideas of advanced Ukrainian bureaus.
Anna Gontarenko: "As a designer, I am impressed by how competently they work in calculation complexes. They are already very close to specialists"
“Some are participating in Steel Freedom for the third time, so we see an incredible growth in skills, expertise, experience. As a designer, I am impressed by how competently they work in calculation complexes. How they subtly embody the mission of the competition. They are already very close to specialists. Even for a professional team to complete this amount of work in two months is a very difficult task. And we are always happy when they come with such cool projects to the finals. Students study, learn something new, we are supported by partners who also share their experience. Contestants have the opportunity to receive consultations from practicing architects who conduct master classes and lectures. This year we held additional lectures, including from world-famous architectural bureaus", he says Anna Gontarenko, head of the Association of the Ukrainian Steel Construction Center, co-organizer of the competition.
From left to right: Anna Gontarenko, temporary acting director of the Association of the Ukrainian Center of Steel Construction (UCSB); Danyil Apanasenko, Head of PR of archimatika architectural company and curator of Steel Freedom; Maria Chuyenko, manager of administrative activities of UCSB
For the third year in a row, the Steel Freedom team of ideologues forms only one competitive task for participants, primarily taking into account the context of a full-scale war in Ukraine. In 2022, students designed a sports school in Irpen destroyed by the Russians; 2023 — a rehabilitation center in Zhytomyr. This year's competition task included the development of a project for a comprehensive school in Lviv, which should be combined with a kindergarten. The winning project will be implemented in a new residential area of Lviv at Stryyska Street, 129.
For the third year in a row, the final of the Steel Freedom architectural competition is being held under cover for the safety of the participants
"I have a dream. I would like us to design an airport at one of the future Steel Freedom competitions. And this will be such a ticket to our peaceful life. In general, we try to form tasks realistically: we look at what customers need now, what the market needs, and these are mostly social objects. Therefore, in the last three years, we have been laying social infrastructure in the competitive task," Anna Gontarenko explains.
According to her, the organizers not only make the technical task as accessible as possible, but also help architectural students to "read" it: they prepare references to the regulatory framework, involve partners and winners of previous years for consultations, lectures, etc.
CEO and chief architect of archimatika Dmytro Vasiliev announces a prize from the company in the amount of 40 thousand hryvnias for the team — the author of the L-310 project
In this year's TOR there was a requirement to adapt the school and kindergarten to the concept of the New Ukrainian School (NUS) and the principles of sustainable development. The planning and design of educational institutions should be such that they support the child's development and motivate him to study. Traditionally, the main requirement was the design of a solution that can be implemented primarily in metal structures. There were also limitations: when choosing an architectural concept, it was not advised to focus on expensive facade or planning solutions, and the school and kindergarten had to be combined with the existing residential buildings.
Who took the main award
The organizers divided the eleventh Steel Freedom into two parts: in the first, the project presentation took place; in the second, awarding the winners directly. The finalist teams presented their works and defended them in front of the jury in person.
This year, the students' projects were evaluated by the CEO and the chief architect archimatika Dmytro Vasiliev, head of the architectural workshop "A. Pashenko" Andriy Pashenko, creative director and co-founder of AIMM Anna Izquierdo, architect and founder of ArchObraz bureau Oleksiy Obraztsov, project director and co-founder of the architectural and engineering company AVR Development Volodymyr Yosypchuk, chief project architect of the AVG group of companies Oleksandr Maksymov, commercial director of the construction company "Interhal-Bud" Anna Laevska, and Vasyl Pasichnyk — chief project engineer of the research and design department of civil and industrial buildings of UkrNDIproektstalkonstruktion named after IN. M. Szymanovsky.
Jury of the competition. From right to left: Oleksiy Obraztsov (ArchObraz), Oleksandr Maksimov (AVG), Andriy Pashenko ("A. Pashenko"), Anna Iskierdo (AIMM), Dmytro Vasiliev (archimatika), Anna Laevska ("Intergal-Bud") and Vasyl Pasichnyk ( V. M. Shimanovsky Institute)
The second part of the Steel Freedom final included the awarding of prizes from partners: this year the competition was supported by the companies Metipol, Ruukki, Tekla, SketchUp, LIRALAND, SVL, archimatika, Vodaland, Oscar Group. Metinvest was the general partner. In the final part, laureates in special nominations from the architectural companies INBO and MVRDV were determined and, in fact, the main winners of the competition were announced.
"Strong work. I perceive it precisely as a conceptual work, where there are many ideas in a concentrated form - you can study them, be surprised, rejoice", — Oleksiy Obraztsov
So, these are the prizes for the Steel Freedom 2024 Finals.
Third place the team of students of "Lviv Polytechnic" with the project L-495: Dmytro Mazur, Sofia Leibych, Yaroslav Ivaskiv and Sofia Kiyko sat down. The curator of the team is Leonid Vozniuk. By the way, this is the team of 2023 took first place.
Visualization of the L-495 project: third place
Second place — a team of KNUBA students with the project code L-473: Matviy Kuzmuk, Kateryna Horbatova, Yehor Perepelyuk, Valentin Domashenko. The curator is Iryna Kravchenko.
Visualization of the L-473 project: second place
First place and the chance to realize their concept was given to the Lviv Polytechnic team with the L-428 project: Tereza Karlyk, Gordiy Svyatiy, Serhiy Dilai, Denys Skrypets and Sofia Hamela. The curator is Volodymyr Babyak.
Rendering of the L-428 project, which won the Steel Freedom 2024 competition
The L-428 project was clearly the winner of the Steel Freedom finals: in addition to the first place jackpot, the team received prizes from the architectural companies ArchObraz, AIMM and abmk. Lviv students also received the main award in the special category from the architectural company MVRDV and the first place in the special category from the architectural company INBO, which worked together with MVRDV on the Markthall project in Rotterdam.
"Strong work. I perceive it precisely as a conceptual work, where there are many ideas in a concentrated form - you can study them, be surprised, rejoice," said Oleksiy Obraztsov, the founder of the ArchObraz bureau, about the winning project. CEO and Chief Architect archimatika Dmytro Vasiliev added that the authors of the L-428 project are one of the few teams that took the topography of the area into account when developing the concept. Vasiliev also noted the three-dimensional scheme and laconic facades of the school and kindergarten, which were developed by Lviv students.
Oleksiy Obraztsov, the founder of ArchObraz architectural bureau, awarded the winners with an award from the company and invited the students to visit Dnipro
According to the competition task, the school and kindergarten had to be harmoniously integrated into the residential area of Lviv, which is currently being actively developed. In the project proposal of the winners, the public area of the school gradually dissolves into the space of the park, and the nearby sports area also merges with the urban environment. "In this way, we are forming an active public center of the district, where both schoolchildren and local residents will gravitate," the authors of the project noted.
The winning team during the defense of the L-428 project in front of the jury: Serhiy Dilai, Tereza Karlyk, Gordiy Svyatyi, Sofia Hamela and Denys Skrypets
The participants decided to separate the flows of younger and older children and designed the school and kindergarten as two separate buildings. The territory around the educational institutions is full of activity zones: there is an open multi-purpose sports field, playgrounds, three 100-meter running tracks and one large track around the school for 360 meters. In the inner yard, between the kindergarten and the school, a large radial amphitheater was designed, which will serve as a place for events. In total, almost 1000 square meters are provided on the territory of educational institutions. m of green spaces.
Rendering of the L-428 project. To decorate the facades, the authors used sandwich panels, HPL panels and polycarbonate systems
Many active spaces are also designed inside the school and kindergarten: a sports hall, a swimming pool, a rock climbing wall, a library, a two-level assembly hall. The architects also envisioned an underground level in the buildings, which will have a dual purpose — it will serve as both a shelter and an additional space: for example, a shooting range, a dance hall, and a swimming pool will work there. Another uniqueness of the project is the exploited roofs. In particular, several sheltered playgrounds for the youngest children and a network of solar panels are planned to be located on the roofs, which will provide the facility with renewable energy. According to preliminary calculations, the total generation of solar electricity per year will be about 300. kW/hour In the warm seasons, when there will be more sunny days, there will be enough energy to provide light to the entire school and kindergarten. To decorate the facades, the authors of the project used sandwich panels, HPL panels and polycarbonate systems.
"Victory on the third attempt": an interview with the authors of the L-428 project
All five winners, who worked on the L-428 project, are fellow students studying in the fifth year of Lviv Polytechnic. Three members of the team — Tereza Karlyk, Gordiy Svyatyi and Serhii Dilai — are teammates. This is not the first time they are taking part in the competition, they applied for Steel Freedom in 2022 and 2023, and finally won in 2024. To the question of what united them in working on the project, Gordii answers: "The opportunity to be children again." In a conversation with PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA, Gordiy and Teresa talk in more detail about the idea that won.
PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: The competition task was the same for all participants, but it was your vision of this TK that brought you victory. Tell us about your own reading of the competition task, what main goals did you form based on it?
Participant of the winning team Gordy Svyatiy: "Our school will form free and independent children"
Proud Saint: The technical task stipulated that residential buildings of medium height - 10-12 floors - would soon be located around the school. Considering this, our goal was to make good insolation in the premises, comfortable classrooms, to create a social space in which children can learn and develop. We tried to integrate into the school everything that we lacked when we were schoolchildren. Our entire team studied in ordinary public schools, and each of us "sucked" into this project some idea that he lacked in childhood.
"We wanted to give children an absolute opportunity, just as our parents gave us the opportunity to choose a specialty to our liking. We also want children to have this opportunity," Gordiy Svyatyi
PM: What element did each of you add?
GS: Personally, I did not have enough space for communication at school. Of course, I love my school. But inside there were only corridors and no interactive areas. So I proposed to integrate an open amphitheater into the project, so that in the warm season, children could sit, chat, and spend time as they wanted during breaks. Also, this space is available for concerts, events, etc. I also added interactive corridors with rest areas, comfortable stairs where you can sit and rest.
Interiors of the comprehensive school in the winners' project. The rendering shows the library space
Interiors of the comprehensive school in the winners' project. The rendering shows the library space
Teresa Karlyk: I mainly worked on interiors. She offered to make them concise, so that children perceive them easily, casually. Imagine: you wake up, go somewhere at eight in the morning, and then you are still pressed by these oppressive walls. No, we tried to make such a school where children will be happy. Sit on the stairs, read a book, drink tea, relax, enjoy school, not stress.
Visualization of the climbing wall, which was proposed to be integrated into the school by Serhiy Dilai, a member of the winning team
GS: I also lacked a gym at school - we only had broken playgrounds outside. So we envisioned a nice, big three-level gymnasium with bleachers on the second and third levels. This is, of course, an inclusive space where people with disabilities, people with limited mobility, etc. can come. Tereza suggested the swimming pool, Sergey and I - the climbing wall. Of course, these are quite expensive sports, and the implementation of a wall for climbing can turn out to be too expensive a solution for a developer. But our project is adaptive: what does not fit into the budget can be removed. In fact, in the space of the school, we envisioned many areas that can serve as commercial space in the future. Conditionally, the swimming pool works before lunch within the framework of physical education lessons, and after lunch it is used by residents of the microdistrict. And there are a lot of such premises: the same amphitheater, assembly hall, rock wall - all these premises can be adapted for commercial use.
PM: There is an expression: architecture shapes our behavior, our thinking and our life. In short, what kind of life will your school shape for children?
GS: Our school will form free and independent children. With this space, we sought to form a freedom-loving consciousness in them: you can not be afraid to express yourself as a person. We have created a multifunctional space with all kinds of possibilities. If you want to be an athlete, please. If you want to be a musician, the school has a recording studio, we have provided for it too. That is, some freedom of self-expression is laid down. We wanted to give children an absolute opportunity, as our parents gave us the opportunity to choose a specialty to our liking. We also want children to have this opportunity.
Statuette of the winners of Steel Freedom 2024: for the second year in a row, the students of Lviv Polytechnic have won the first place in the competition
PM: What united you around this project?
GS: The idea is to be a child again.
PM: I mean, what made you sit down at the same table and work for two months on this project?
GS: In fact, we have all known each other since first year. Me, Tereza and Serhiy are classmates. Serhiy and I worked together in the first year. That is, we have been friends for a very long time, we communicate, we know each other. This is not the first time we are taking part in the competition, we also applied last year, but we developed a project without a designer and paid for it - we did not make it to the finals. Even earlier, we served together with Teresa. When we learned that this year Steel Freedom's task is to build a school in Lviv, we immediately decided to participate. In a few days, a team was formed, responsibilities were delegated. At first, we were overcome by doubts, but then we promised ourselves that we approach the competition very seriously and responsibly and plan to collect the maximum number of awards and win. So we said to ourselves at the start: we will win. Doubts, of course, did not leave us until the last, they say, we are not specialists yet. But when we got on stage…
The winning team (left) was congratulated by the architects of the archimatika company (right)
PM: I join in all the greetings! Tell us how you organized work on the project, who was responsible for what?
GS: Everyone worked at home, and then connected via Zoom and discussed all the details. We often held joint brainstorms, sat, drew. Sometimes they quarreled, quarreled, reproached each other, saying that you work less than I do (laughs — Ed.). But then they hugged in a friendly way, reconciled and sat down to continue working. I think that our desire to make the project really high-quality and good was decisive. We did not perceive this project as a typical term paper. We approached it as an enjoyable job.
K.T.: I would like to add that our victory this year is a great merit of our designer Denys Skrypets.
"We were not afraid of experiments and separated the kindergarten from the school. We took a big risk, our project might not go through at all. But at the same time, this is what made our idea the best," Gordiy Svyatyi
GS: It really is. This is undoubtedly the most important component of the project, because it is more of a design work, not an architectural one. This is a design and architecture project, and 50% of our success is due to Denis. We are also very grateful to our curators Leonid Vozniuk and Volodymyr Papik — these are our two sensei who have guided us all the way since the first year.
PM (to Denys Skrypets): Is the base you received at Lviv Polytechnic sufficient for you?
Denis Skrypets: This base is sufficient, but still design education should be improved and developed. Lack of practical skills. After all, in order to become a good designer, in any case, you need to go to work somewhere, do an internship. We all started by going and asking for internships for zero hryvnias in order to gain practical knowledge.
Visualization of the school facade in the L-428 project, which won the competition
PM: In addition to the strong design basis, what else do you think impressed the jury with your project? What are his other strengths?
GS: We were not afraid to experiment and decided to separate the kindergarten from the school. We took a very big risk, because our project could not go through at all, because our kindergarten is a completely different building, which is located separately from the school. But at the same time, this is what helped us and made our idea the best. We really approached the development of the project very thoroughly, and for good reason. We have proven that our idea is completely acceptable to technical specialists.
Visualization of playgrounds and the facade of the kindergarten in the L-428 project, which won the competition
PM: What references inspired you while working on the project? Perhaps there were some cases taken as a basis?
GS: First of all, MVRDV projects are probably one of the coolest architectural bureaus in the world. We were inspired by their works not only during the competition, but actually from the first year. The Czech school project was also taken into account.3 courtyards» from Oleg Drozdov's office. This case also has many inclusive and open spaces and is also combined with a kindergarten. We took the best of this project and the best of MVRDV projects.
Visualization of the sketch project of the 3 courtyards school by the office "Drozdov and partners". The team considered the school as an element of the social infrastructure, which should be both pragmatic and flexible
T.K.: And we also took into account the Nord Architects case — they have a very interesting one project educational institution, which they designed together with the COBE office. From there, we adopted the approach of delineating streams of different age groups. We were very excited by this idea. We thought that maybe we should also create a comfortable space for each group and even for each age group. That is, we have a zone for teenagers, and for those who are 9-10 years old, and for the youngest children. In a similar way, these zones are segmented on the street.
Oleksiy Obraztsov (ArchObraz) and winning students: Karlyk Tereza, Gordiy Svyatyi, Serhii Dilai, Sofia Hamela and Denys Skrypets
PM: Do you have ambitions to unite your team and establish your own architectural office in Ukraine?
GS: Of course. Everyone wants to work for themselves, to be the coolest architect in Ukraine, or even in the world. As far as we understood today, with the victory we got the opportunity to become co-authors of this project. I am more than sure, it will be a very important push for all of us.
PM: Last question, what are you thankful for at the Steel Freedom contest?
GS: If possible. For the fact that we can prove ourselves, that we can succeed, even if it didn't work out the first or second time. For the fact that our project is evaluated by cool and top Ukrainian architects, and you have the opportunity to talk with them personally and ask their opinion. Even if this opinion is critical, it is still an opinion. It's really cool to be criticized by people who have achieved something in life.
