Revival of the Ypsilanti Estate. The interior of the new Samna restaurant by the YOD Group studio

Architect
YOD Group
A type
a restaurant
Status
implemented
Year
2020
Size
726 square. m

When this building of the XNUMXth century, two steps away from Arsenalna Square, was bought four years ago for reconstruction, they decided to return it to its lost historical appearance. Today, this building with sky-blue facades and a restored portico houses the Ypsilanti Estates Museum and the Samna Middle Eastern restaurant, which was designed by the YOD Group studio, which treated the historical spirit of the place with respect and a certain asceticism.

This historic building on Mazepa Street, which leads to one of the main cultural and historical pearls of our country — the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra — bears the name of Konstantin Ypsilanti, a well-known dignitary of the Ottoman Empire, a dragoman, the ruler of Moldova and Wallachia, a fighter for the independence of Greece. The new Samna restaurant occupies the basement and first floors of the former manor house, where he lived at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, when he fled to Kyiv after participating in the failed uprising of the Greeks for liberation from the Turks.

It is interesting that when the building was erected in 1797, the current basement floor was the first, but over the past few centuries it has sunk so far underground that it has turned into a basement. Likewise, the arched windows that once overlooked the streets of Kyiv are now located below the ground level and, in a modern interpretation, have become decorative niches with illumination. By the way, before the reconstruction, there was a famous restaurant of Vietnamese cuisine "Hanoi", as well as some state and diplomatic institutions.

"Old buildings speak for themselves," says architect and co-founder of YOD Group Volodymyr Nepiyvoda. — When we first got to the facility, we saw a textured room that demands respect and restraint. They started work on studying the history of the building, raised a historical certificate. It turned out that at the beginning of the XIX century. the Ottoman prince and fighter for the independence of Greece Constantine Ypsilanti lived here. By the way, there is a version that he was the prototype of the hero in Dumas' novel "The Count of Monte Cristo". An interesting historical figure, thanks to which the name "Ypsilanti Estate" was attached to the house.

Thick brick walls and arched vaults, which have survived despite the numerous reconstructions of the estate (in the XNUMXth century, a second floor was even added to it, which was removed during the renovation), windows-niches of the appropriate shape - the authors of the project subtly felt the historical architectural elements of which formed the image of this house. "Several centuries ago, there was already a mix of many cultures within these walls," continues Volodymyr. - We had to repeat it - to mix cultures and preserve the identity of the house. We did not reproduce history, because the data about what this interior was like has not been preserved, besides, such an approach is doomed to the creation of fakes. Not our method!"

The restaurant, the total area of ​​which is 726 square meters. m, has 5 halls for 120 seats. Visitors start their journey through the establishment with a welcome bar and delicious aperitifs, and then they can choose, for example, one of the three halls where tables are served. The next point of the journey is a hall with a copper bridge, a DJ balcony and a contact bar. This is a place to socialize and immerse yourself in the Samna atmosphere. "The task was to create a modern project with respect for the past. It was important not to overdo it, because such a rich texture does not tolerate excess. To some extent, we aimed for minimalism. A reference to history was a set of materials that we used in the decoration - these were the ones that were common in the heyday of the "Ypsilanti estate": copper, steel, wood, leather. The brickwork of the walls was restored and left open in part of the halls, and partially covered with plaster of a warm milky shade," says Volodymyr.

There is a lot of copper in the interior of the restaurant. It emphasizes the nobility of the establishment and works in contrast with the laconic forms of the bar island, console tables and a shelf with glasses suspended on metal cables. There is also a soft shade of copper in the lighting of the restaurant. The beams of spotlights are reflected in copper "plates" suspended from the ceiling, and from there fall on the tables. Such an illumination scheme gives the effect of a thick and warm bundle of light, which comfortably illuminates the space and does not blind the eyes.

A separate Samna hall is dedicated to the culture of winemaking. The glass cabinets placed around the perimeter symbolize the terroir - the area where grapes are grown. The drawing of soil sections is applied to the facades by the method of printing on glass. In the upper part of the image there is a gradient - through the translucent glass we see bottles of wine that "grew" from this soil.

"The most difficult challenge was communications: a modern facility cannot function without electrical wires and an air conditioning system. But brutal air ducts under arched vaults would look foreign. At the time when the house was built, they simply did not exist. We solved this task in favor of clean walls and hid all engineering networks in furniture and structural elements," Volodymyr notes. Thanks to such a refined approach and a fine balance between the past and the present, the authors of the project succeeded in reviving the character of the original premises and making it attractive to contemporaries. So it seems that the life of this house will be long and interesting.

 

Text: Nadia Bogata

Photo: Andriy Bezuglov