The participants of the discussion were the architect, co-founder of the abmk studio Bohdan Protsiv; chief architect of the A-Station project Yulia Polyukhovich; architect, co-founder of the urban projects office "Urbanina" Maxim Golovko; architect and political activist Anna Bondar; chief project architect of BIP-PM LLC Tatyana Grigorova and co-founder and chief designer of Between the Walls Victoria Kareva.
The event took place in the innovative space ARCHICLUB
Facades as identity and energy efficiency: partner cases
The discussion was preceded by a short presentation from the event partner, demonstrating how modern facade solutions can shape not only the aesthetics, but also the functionality and comfort of buildings.
Anna Ivashko, marketing specialist at Komfort Line Plus
Anna Ivashko, marketer Comfort Line Plus, presented a case study of an office and residential complex Be the One, which implements the concept of “live where you work”. The uniqueness of the project lies in the complex facade solution with honeycomb modules, which creates the impression that the building is “floating” against the sky. “Today, the facade is not just a shell, it is an element that forms the identity of the building, its comfort and accessibility. This project is a vivid example of how modern Ukrainian engineers and architects can implement solutions that make our cities more beautiful,” Anna noted. The project was awarded the European Property Awards, which is a confirmation of Ukraine’s ability to create high-quality architecture recognized at the international level.
Kostyantyn Kovshevatsky, editor-in-chief of PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA and moderator of the event
Where does inclusion begin?
Building facades can also be inclusive, because architecture is not only about aesthetics, but also about accessibility and comfort for all users. In modern urban planning, the inclusiveness of facades is considered as part of universal design, which takes into account the needs of people with different abilities. A facade can be inclusive not only thanks to the entrance group - ramps, wide and automatic doors - but also thanks to visual navigation, tactile elements, uniform lighting and safe material surfaces. Editor-in-Chief of PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA and moderator of the event Konstantin Kovshevatsky started a discussion about who owns the facades: the people, the city, or the developer? In addition, he shared a painful observation: despite constant talk about inclusivity, its understanding in the public space still remains superficial.
Discussion panel: Tetyana Hryhorova, Hanna Bondar, Viktoriya Kareva, Maksym Holovko and Bohdan Protsiv
Tatyana Grigorova was the first to speak, noting that despite the fact that the facades conditionally belong to the city, the problem starts with the residents themselves. “Every day we see how much our facades are being defaced by the citizens themselves. Balconies are glazed, air conditioners are hung, something is being built on top. This topic requires long-term work.” As for inclusivity, current attempts to create it often look like imitation. “Recently, my child asked: ‘Mom, what is happening? Wherever you go, sidewalks are being torn up, curbs are being broken.’ You walk through the city and see that the tiles have been removed, the curb has been lowered, but what have they done? They just rolled it into asphalt. It’s like some kind of patchwork. We don’t have a project, no one is doing it. They’re doing it just to do it,” the architect shared her impressions.
Hanna Bondar reflects on legislative issues
On mind Anna Bondar, the root of the problem lies in the legislative plane. "Since 2011, we have had a very strong liberalization of legislation, no permits are needed for glazing balconies. On the other hand, in 30 years, a system of regular technical inspections of buildings has not developed. And most importantly, the concept of public space is not defined anywhere, so the townspeople believe that the facade is a public space, and the owner of the apartment believes that it is his own piece of the wall. And what happens is that happens," she explained.
Yulia Polyukhovich joined the discussion via video link.
Yulia Polyukhovich added that, in her opinion, there is already a noticeable clear division in approaches to old and new buildings: "For example, in old houses, secondary housing, people do whatever they want with their facades: superstructures, extensions, three-meter balconies. And in new buildings, residents no longer have the right to do this. I have an apartment in a new building, so I even agree on the color of the wood that will be used on the loggia. That's why I like these regulations, when facades are so protected."
Victoria Kareva shares her experience creating a social hub
The only designer among the speakers, Victoria Kareva, highlighted an important problem: often a perfectly thought-out inclusive space inside the building encounters an unfriendly environment outside. She shared her experience in developing a social hub: “We are currently developing an inclusive environment. This will be the 4308 Hub social project. It is designed so that all people, including veterans, can socialize after military operations. We take into account all the norms inside the building, but when we go outside this space, we understand that we need to rebuild almost the entire road from the bus stop. After all, you can only make your own interior or work a little with the facades, but without a fairly deep analysis of the environment, you will not get a good result.”
"Inclusion in the broad sense of the word is not about one category of people. It is generally about all people having the opportunity to use public space," — Maksym Holovko
Maksym Holovko reflects on the concept of inclusivity
The discussion has moved from stating problems to finding their causes. Why do people in the West talk about the "fine-grained" and transparency of the first floors as an element of comfort, while in our country everything comes down to a solid glass display case, which is also not a good story?
"The facade is a membrane and a boundary between the private and the public. And what we see on the facade is actually a perfect example of relationships between people: how we are willing to share our private things with someone we don't know," he explained. Maxim GolovkoHe emphasized that the glazed balcony is just a story about "this is my pantry, my space that no one should see."
Maksym also expanded the concept of accessibility, which is often narrowed to the needs of only one category of people. "Inclusion in the broad sense of the word is not about one category of people. It is generally about all people having the opportunity to use public space. This includes parents with children and children who go to school on their own. The fact that scooters can ride on sidewalks without hindrance is also not about accessibility, because the space is dangerous," the architect emphasized. He told a story he witnessed: a mother and a child with disabilities were riding a bus, and when the child started making noise, all the other people demanded that the mother leave the transport. Inclusion is not only about ramps, but also about society's willingness to accept otherness, adds Maksym Holovko.
Bohdan Protsiv shares his own experience with accessibility
He shared his personal experience Bohdan Protsiv: "My first active user experience with accessibility was when my daughter was born. I started walking with a baby stroller through different squares and streets of Kyiv and realized that it was actually not easy at all. There were many things I wanted to change as an architect. However, I understand that clear legal boundaries are established between all private, public, communal, and urban spaces, which significantly complicates work on the public environment as a single organism."
Who should be the customer of change: the government, the community or business?
A key aspect of the discussion was the question of who should initiate and finance the transformation of Ukrainian cities into comfortable spaces. Yulia Polyukhovich, talking about the experience of restoring and redeveloping the historical buildings of the former Arsenal factory in the A-Station project, demonstrated how a strict design code can create a high-quality space. "At the beginning, we developed a design code, where everything was clearly spelled out: the font, its thickness, the location of the sign. If the tenants did not want to comply with it, we simply refused. If they violated it, "we have the switch, we can turn off the light." Even McDonald's, which in principle did not want to give up its branded red sign, agreed to our conditions out of respect for the building - a monument of national importance," Yulia shared her experience.
"We need to understand very well how the government works and influence it. We elected it. We need to go to the polls, read the Constitution and demand that the government form the policies that the residents want," — Hanna Bondar
However, Maksym Holovko noted that the perfectly “sterilized” spaces created by businesses are often not truly inclusive. “To see what a public space really looks like, where all categories are represented, it is worth looking at the central station in Kyiv. This is a mirror of what our society looks like,” he noted. According to the architect, the problem lies in the lack of a third party — the city administration, which would act as a referee between the developer and the community and do its job.
Hanna Bondar explains how city government works
This opinion was supported by Hanna Bondar, explaining using the example of creating a cycling infrastructure that changes begin with policy formation: "When I was working in the city planning department about ten years ago, we had an advisor on cycling infrastructure - Kseniya Semenova from the Cyclists Association. In 2014–2015, she and her team developed a draft of a city target program for the development of cycling infrastructure in Kyiv. As a result, the program did not progress: the finance department refused, because there was no political request from deputies. Then we ordered the development of a cycling concept for Kyiv. It was created for nine months through hearings and discussions with the public. The document turned out to be of high quality, but it "brewed" in the departments and the city council for another year. And only in 2017–2018 did the city officially approve the cycling concept. At that time, I was no longer working in this area and did not attach much importance to it.
Later, during the quarantine, when the metro was closed, I tried to get to work by scooter for the first time. And I was surprised to see: sections of cycling infrastructure appeared in the city. These were still patches, but they worked: you could safely ride a block, cross the road and continue your way again. Over time, there were more such routes. Today, I can safely ride a bicycle from Pechersk to Podil on a safe route, only occasionally bypassing individual blocks. And this became possible precisely thanks to the cycling concept: now, when the city repairs a street, it refers to this document and takes into account where the bike path should be.
Hanna called on citizens to be more active: "We need to understand very well how the government works and influence it. We elected it. We need to go to the polls, read the Constitution, and demand that the government form the policies that the residents want. Because without that, nothing will happen," she emotionally summed up.
The guests in the hall were actively involved in the discussion and asked questions.
The discussion clearly outlined the classic triangle of responsibility, where each of the participants — government, business, and community — has its own unique role, but at the same time its own limitations. Private initiatives, although they create high-quality oases of comfort, cannot replace systemic urban policy. The government, which has the key levers for large-scale transformations, often remains inert and requires constant pressure from below. The community, being the ultimate customer of a comfortable city, does not always have effective tools for influence and a clear understanding of how to implement it. It is obvious that an effective model of change is possible only under the condition of synergy, when an active community formulates a request, the government creates transparent rules of the game and has political will, and business acts as an effective executor, working within the framework of a clear and long-term city development strategy.
Photo: Maksym Drobinenko
