White Lines. Overview of the WAF finalist project

/ Architecture /

The White Lines residential complex from the developer company A Development and the architectural company ARCHIMATIKA became the first Ukrainian project to reach the finals of the prestigious international professional competition World Architecture Festival and will now compete for victory in the Commercial Mixed-use — Future Project nomination with 15 competitors from London. Toronto, Melbourne, Shanghai are megacities with exemplary architecture.

The White Lines residential complex from the developer company A Development and the architectural company ARCHIMATIKA became the first Ukrainian project to reach the finals of the prestigious international professional competition World Architecture Festival and will now compete for victory in the Commercial Mixed-use — Future Project nomination with 15 competitors from London. Toronto, Melbourne, Shanghai are megacities with exemplary architecture. We decided to find out what exactly the White Lines project managed to win the sympathy of 130 experts who were part of the jury of the competition, among them professional architects with world names, leading critics and winners of the WAF of the past years.

Undoubtedly, the fact that the Ukrainian project reached the final of the competition of such an authoritative platform as WAF, which for more than 10 years not only determines the trends in the field of urbanism and architecture for years to come, but is also an important field for meetings and exchange of experience of the world's leading architects, it can already be called a breakthrough of domestic professionals. At different times, the WAF award, which journalists like to call the architectural "Oscar", was awarded to the concepts of such "sacred cows" as Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and archbureau Herzog & de Meuron, Buro Ole Scheeren, Rogers Stirk Harbor + Partners. The jury of the competition is headed by the real stars of architecture.

Nathalie de Vry, MVRDV

Today, among the 130 arbitrators, Sir David Adjaye (Adjaye Associates), Nathalie de Vry (MVRDV), Mohsen Mostafavi (Rector of the Harvard School of Design) are the super judges.

Sir David Adjaye (Adjaye Associates)

Mohsen Mostafavi, rector of the Harvard School of Design

This year, the award shortlist gathered a record number of nominees — 39 best projects of architectural bureaus from 536 countries of the world were selected in 81 categories. The representatives of China have the most works — 56 finalists. Australia is in second place with 54 nominees, Great Britain is in third place with 37 projects. The privileged list of finalists is the only Ukrainian project, and our country can boast of it for the first time.

Alexander Popov, the director and co-founder of the ARCHIMATIKA company, explains this success by the transparency, relevance and boldness of the concept underlying the project: "The customer, A Development, is even, perhaps, more daring than we are. During the design process, we realized that the project still needs to catch up somewhere, to be restructured in order to realize all the ambitious tasks set by the developers."

The authors had to achieve a number of urban planning goals, focusing on the renovation of the territory of the former film copy factory named after Dovzhenko, located in the immediate vicinity of the largest park area of ​​the Ukrainian capital — Holoseivskyi Park, without destroying the history of the place, but giving the space a new impetus for development. The area of ​​mixed development, in which there are both private houses and modern high-rise buildings, is separated from the central part of the city by a powerful barrier - the railway, which literally forces residents to use the subway or the main artery - Holoseevsky Prospect. And this despite the fact that there is still no systematic office development in the district, that is, the people living here work, obviously, in other districts. A more in-depth analysis of the needs of the residents of Holoseevo showed the absence of a number of other infrastructure facilities - there are not enough sports halls, a grocery supermarket would be nice, and even to go to the cinema, residents also need to get to the center.

White Lines glass high-rises will be located in the second line from the point of view of the district's main transport artery — Holoseevskogo avenue. The illustration shows one of the initial sketches of the project from the ARCHIMATIKA company

Rustam Horpenyuk, the head of the creative department of architects of the ARCHIMATIKA company, describes the tasks set before his team as follows: "One of the main ones is the renovation of the territory. The second task is to create a large public cluster in which different functions will be concentrated. Well, the third task is architectural. Having studied the surrounding buildings, we realized that there is no image of the area, a building that would become a symbol of this place. We implemented 100% of the tasks. The complex is self-sufficient due to the set of functions provided in it, it will become a center of attraction for the entire area."

The very philosophy of the complex is innovative for Ukraine: White Lines is the first realization in Ukraine of the concept of a 3D multi-functional complex, combining the maximum number of functions demanded by the residents of the metropolis

It should be emphasized here that the urban landscape is primarily created by buildings. The connection of civilization with natural nature in urban conditions is a task that, if not insoluble, is difficult to implement in modern conditions.

Most of the world's leading urban architects emphasize that leaving greenery and grass exclusively to nature is a huge mistake.

The White Lines project will radically transform the post-industrial landscape of Holoseevo, and not just decorate it with greenery

An entire hectare of usable stylobate roof forms the natural heart of the complex — a privacy zone for its residents with controlled access. Sports and children's playgrounds surrounded by man-made hills with large-sized trees will be located here, and a built-in kindergarten with its own designated area under the open sky is also planned.

 

A unique plastic solution of the facades of the complex works here as a unifying technique in contrast to the powerful verticals of the residential towers - fascinating stylobate structures that delicately match the Dovzhenko Center building

Actually, the self-sufficiency of the complex is an important component of White Lines. Designers worked on creating a space in which a modern person can fully spend all his time: work-relax-communicate. The chief architect of the project, Maryna Bosenko, emphasizes: "The complex is full of various functions - sports, trade, recreation, entertainment, offices (work) and apartments (housing). This city in the city gives the opportunity to comfortably spend every day, without intersecting with the traffic of the metropolis and without feeling its disadvantages."

Multi-functional complexes of the Mixed-use category are not uncommon for the Ukrainian capital. The situation is different with objects in which commercial and office components are adjacent to housing, because in each of the designated functional zones of this type of real estate, there are different players who have their own requirements for the arena. And this is the main challenge to the architect and developer. Taking into account all the needs of a modern city dweller and creating the most comfortable residential infrastructure is exactly how A Development builds its projects. The very philosophy of the complex is innovative for Ukraine: White Lines is the first realization in Ukraine of the concept of a 3D multifunctional complex that combines the maximum number of functions demanded by the residents of the metropolis. A large selection of entertainment and services takes into account the expectations of adults and children, allowing each member of the family to spend precious time on really important things.

White Lines will have everything you need for recreation, shopping, sports, cultural and family activities right in the house - its own shopping center (more than 150 shops and restaurants), a cinema, a fitness room, a closed guarded area.

The exceptional location deserves special attention: a 1-minute walk to the subway and the largest park zone in Kyiv — Holoseivskyi Park

"The project is located on a unique site. There are practically no such ones left in the capital. This is an amazing place where, with active urbanization, there is no shortage of green spaces! At the same time, innovative facilities, co-working spaces, and bicycle paths appear every day; Park zones are upgraded, transport interchanges are modernized," says Daria Kukharenko, Deputy General Director for Commercial Affairs of A Development.

An entire hectare of usable stylobate roof forms the natural heart of the complex — a privacy zone for its residents with controlled access

All sports and entertainment functions in White Lines will be concentrated in the two-story stylobate part, including the shopping gallery on the first floor. "Now there is a dead zone," explains Dmitry Vasiliev, chief architect of the ARCHIMATIKA company. — People walking along the avenue from the subway to their homes pass along a blank concrete fence — lost time, lost space. We want to make a lively street with shops, pharmacies, cafes - everything that the residents of not only our complex, but also the entire district might need."

The complex provides more than 50 types of planning solutions. Living spaces in White Lines are designed within the framework of the PRO concept professed by ARCHIMATIKA architects. The illustration shows the floor plan with the types of apartments

The living spaces of the complex were designed by architects into three 24-story towers for 566 apartments (that's almost 40 square meters of housing). The glass high-rises will be located in the second line from the point of view of the main transport artery of the district — Holoseevskogo avenue. The architects had to solve one more problem: on the one hand, the three verticals should look like a single organism, and on the other hand, they should not create the impression of chaotically planted massive volumes. A unique plastic solution of the facades of the complex works here as a unifying technique in counterbalance to the powerful verticals of the residential towers - fascinating stylobate structures that delicately match the Dovzhenko Center building. White lines of different widths with a staggered rhythmic row not only smooth the overall impression and seem to hint at the organic generation of architecture, but also combine aesthetics and functionality.

A unique plastic solution of the facades of the complex works here as a unifying technique in contrast to the powerful verticals of the residential towers - fascinating stylobate structures that delicately match the Dovzhenko Center building

"We wanted to create a simple monoform that combines a huge number of complex functions," says Dmitry Vasiliev, co-founder and chief architect of the ARCHIMATIKA company. — I'm sure that this will become a trend: simplicity and horizontal lines," Vasiliev says. This decision of the facades was prompted by the history of the location itself — horizontal white lines imitate a film strip. White sheds have a functional load: boxes for air conditioners are hidden behind them, and individual terraces are covered with them.

As for the living spaces in White Lines, they are all designed within the framework of the PRO concept professed by ARCHIMATIKA architects, which we wrote about in detail in the pilot volume of PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA. The layouts here are developed by the method of careful analysis of parameters to achieve maximum efficiency of space use. The complex offers more than 50 types of apartments for all types of families, for every taste and every lifestyle, including apartments with access to the stylobate roof terrace and penthouses with second light and panoramic windows more than 5 meters high.

"This is a project that takes into account the urban planning interests of the capital and the interests of an ordinary person. There is no such number of beautiful and interesting apartments in any project," says project manager Yury Batluk.

A Development company will start construction of the White Lines complex in the 2018th quarter of XNUMX

"Our school of architecture has made a huge leap over the past ten years. The work of Ukrainian bureaus is interesting, competitive at the international level, but still unknown. Ukraine is the European terra incognita. I predict: there will be a breakthrough, our success will open the doors to all Ukrainian architects, in the coming years there will be many Ukrainian names and architectural brands in all competitions", - assures Alexander Popov, director and co-founder of ARCHIMATIKA.