The local developer invited 5 architectural bureaus to participate in this competition: 2 each from Moscow and France, as well as one from Germany. The site is stretched along the west-east axis, once the border of the Upper and Lower Towns passed here, so there are many monuments of historical heritage around. In addition to the Lavra, here on the corner is the Church of Theodosius of the Caves, on the very site - the building of the 18th century barracks, around - fortification ramparts, the remains of the entrance gate from one city to another and the square of the arsenal. Due to the proximity of the latter, the project was named "Arsenal Palace".
In accordance with the terms of reference, it was necessary to locate an A + class office center, elite housing, which could become the most expensive in Kiev, a five-star hotel and premises for exclusive boutiques. Based on the customer's requirements, Sergey Skuratov arranged the buildings into several groups. In the southern part of the site there is the largest hotel and residential block, resembling a large boat in its outlines, with a horseshoe-shaped hotel similar to the bow of a ship. This image is very welcome on the banks of the Dnieper. In turn, the old barracks are turned into a shopping center, and in the northwest corner there are 3 towers of the office center, united by a stylobate, with a parking lot on its roof and a small exhibition center building.
There is no need to talk about any historically established layout of the shoe factory, nevertheless, several of its buildings, including the largest, were placed perpendicular to the Lavra fence. The authors of the new complex abandoned such a decision and turned their hulls 90 degrees. This orientation creates the most comfortable light regime in residential buildings, where most of the apartments face both west and east, especially since the east offers gorgeous views of the Lavra and the Dnieper. In addition, a long boulevard appears, dominated by the Church of Theodosius of the Caves. Thanks to him and the presence of the natural slope of the site, the church will be visible from distant approaches, despite the fact that the new building is much higher than the factory building. The building preserves the amphitheater of the high bank, due to which all penthouses of the residential block should have views of the Dnieper.
With their project, the authors also solve an important urban planning problem in this part of the city. Those who have been here remember that despite the historical significance of the area, it looks quite uncomfortable for a pedestrian until you get inside the Lavra complex. The new quarter promises to be a pleasant place to spend time due to the refusal of architects and developers to create a closed area in favor of including public functions in the project and the almost complete removal of highways from the intra-quarter space.
On the other hand, the comfort of residents is ensured due to the vertical separation of private and public areas - all courtyards related to the residential part are raised 5 meters above the ground, forming a second tier of open spaces. Thus, the theme of historical ramparts is supported, which are complemented by new relief drops and are included in the overall play of the landscape. I must say that for Kiev such an active attitude to the landscape is still uncharacteristic, here they often level the site and build on it something similar to standard villages near Moscow. Therefore, whatever the fate of this project turns out to be (the results of the competition are unknown), we can already say that the project, one way or another, has outlined a new direction in the manner of development of Kiev by developers.
