synergycity, Kiev

The limited competition for the Technopolis project envisages that living, working, education and recreation will not be housed in separate ‘urban districts’, but will be finely interwoven with one another.

We aim to create a pleasant and varied living and working environment at district level, which will be a self-supporting satellite town, called SYNERGYCITY.

SYNERGYCITY offers maximum flexibility for future developments and, at the same time, guarantees a number of essential spatial and programme-related qualities

For the design of SYNERGYCITY, we used the historically grown urban blocks in Kiev as our inspiration. It is precisely these hybrid urban areas, in which permeable blocks of buildings have developed into complex spatial structures with a mixed programme and a wide variety of public, semi-public and private spaces, that turned out to be the perfect spatial model for the inclusion of a diversity of programme components when developing a modern ICT city.

SYNERGYCITY offers maximum flexibility for future developments and, at the same time, guarantees a number of essential spatial and programme-related qualities. The means to achieve this is a generic zoning plan, worked out specifically within a sample plot arrangement – the master plan. The basis for the plan is formed by a series of linked urban blocks, so-called clusters, which are composed in various ways from four archetypal low-rise building blocks. In addition to this, a number of high-rise features are positioned throughout the development area.

In linking the clusters, we reserved space for zones in which no buildings will be built. These open areas offer space for vegetation, water, sports and recreation. In spatial terms, the central axis along the squares, streets and parks is the most important connection for pedestrians. This principal structure will be open to the public as much as possible, while neighbouring sections may be public or private.

Parking issues in SYNERGYCITY are resolved at three scales. At the scale of the entire plan area, parking facilities, including short-stay parking, will be built parallel to the main access route for visitors and short-stay parking. At the scale of the cluster, parking facilities will be built underground or at ground level. At the scale of the home, cars will be parked on site. The phasing of SYNERGYCITY is simple, because the programme is made up of small units separated from one another. Each cluster can be composed in such a way that it meets its needs by itself or in cooperation with neighbouring clusters. This results in a great deal of flexibility, whereby a limited number of clusters can be bundled together or distributed more across the site.

Project Details
  • Site
  • Kiev, Ukraine
  • Client
  • Information Society of Ukraine (ISU)
  • Design
  • 2006
  • Size
  • 50 hectares
  • Program
  • Mixed-use
  • Assignment
  • Competition
  • Team
  • Patrick Meijers, Jeroen Schipper, Stijnie Lohof
  • Visuals
  • A2Studio