Holden Sho Miles
Architecture
Explorations
Architecture
Explorations
Concentric Connections
A New
Civic
Symbol of Hope
Norman Foster Foundation Kharkiv Freedom Square Revival Competition
Kharkiv’s Freedom Square is re-imagined as a more accessible, adaptable, and human-scaled public space while preserving its flexibility for diverse programs. By narrowing surrounding roads and expanding green spaces, the proposal enhances pedestrian safety and its environmental quality. At its heart, a new regional administration complex replaces the historic yet divisive Stalinist-era building with a forward-looking proposal. Featuring a collection of CLT-diagrid towers linked by a raised oval skybridge, the structure symbolizes transparency, innovation, and democracy, merging respect for Kharkiv’s cultural heritage with aspirations for a hopeful future.
Freedom Square is the second-largest public square in the world and the central civic space of Kharkiv, Ukraine. Spanning over 30 acres, this teardrop-shaped landmark sits at the crossroads of the city's civic, educational, institutional, economic, and transportation hubs. Its vastness allows for programmatic flexibility, accommodating concerts, parades, weekend markets, carnivals, and sporting events. However, this same scale often leads to underutilization, as the square is rarely used in its entirety. As a result, it frequently remains empty or serves as a parking lot. This wasted potential is further exacerbated by its alienating scale and inadequate urban planning, particularly its car-centric design.
The site and its surrounding architecture exhibits the city’s variegated history which was influenced by shifting political and social movements. To the west of the square stands the Derzhprom, a quintessential constructivist structure which demonstrated the revolutionary attitude of experimentation and idealism in post-war Soviet Ukraine. To the east, weakly framing the square, stands the regional administration building. Originally an eclectic 19th-century structure, it was replaced in the 1920’s with a constructivist design. After suffering heavy damage during World War II, it was rebuilt to its current form—a Stalinist-era neoclassical structure. As such, each building surrounding the square reflects this often contradictory stratum of socio-political movements that have shaped Ukraine’s history.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Freedom Square and its surroundings have suffered extensive damage, disrupting local life and raising critical questions about how to recover and restore this historically complex site. In response to this new challenge, the competition urged participants to rethink two key aspects of the site:
- How can the Kharkiv Freedom Square be transformed to become a vibrant hub of civic activity that truly resonates with the people of Kharkiv?
- Can the regional administration building be reimagined as an architectural symbol of hope, democracy, and civic pride?
With civic engagement as its core principle, the proposal aims to enhance the site’s strengths through meaningful interventions, while introducing new elements imbued with symbols of resilience, hope, and democracy. By implementing research and local testimony, the proposal envisions a cohesive civic mission for the Kharkiv Freedom Square- one that addresses its tumultuous history while moving towards an optimistic future.
By acknowledging the square’s current ability to adapt to numerous programmatic demands, the proposal investigates smaller urban design choices to improve issues of scale and accessibility. Reducing the width of the surrounding road to a single one-way lane with designated parking minimizes congestion and pedestrian hazards by streamlining traffic flow and eliminating multi-directional movements. Additionally, this drastically reduces the amount of surface area dedicated to traffic which can be converted into pedestrian-centric spaces. Finally, the proposal replaces underutilized asphalt areas with landscaping. Increased vegetation, tree canopies, and intermediate lawns subdivide the expansive space into distinct zones, effectively “shrinking” an environment that was once alienating in its enormity.
At the eastern edge of the site, the regional administration building suffered numerous bombings. It stands defiantly, though severely damaged. While its ruined state serves as a potent symbol of resilience for the ongoing conflict, its historical significance complicates its public perception. Although admired for its architectural qualities, the administration building’s Stalinist-era classicism is a reminder of its soviet authority and emblematic of the present administration’s slow and obscured bureaucracy. As a result, the structure endures as both a ruinous symbol of resilience and as an outdated image of bad governance.
Without much sentimentality for historicity, the people of Kharkiv, while respecting (and perhaps mourning) the past, dream of a new architectural symbol of innovation, hope, and democracy. Based on these circumstances, a new structure becomes the most sensible approach in envisioning this future. It will address both the functional and symbolic shortcomings of the previous structure by employing a new architectural language and by incorporating public access as a primary precondition.
Instead of outright demolition, the current administration building will be respectfully dismantled, salvaging its materials—particularly the stone façade—to construct smaller structures throughout the square, such as kiosks, playgrounds, and outdoor furniture. This strategy eliminates waste by repurposing old materials while allowing the new architectural structure to take shape. By preserving remnants of the past within the public realm, the project ensures that the historical significance of the site endures in a meaningful way.
The new regional administration building aims to emphasize transparency, scale, and procession in ensuring accessibility and programmatic variety. It acknowledges local frustrations with the former administration’s inefficiency and rejects the rigid hierarchy symbolized by its façade. Drawing inspiration from the Derzhprom, the proposal introduces a lateral composition featuring a raised oval bridge that unifies the structures. This elevated walkway serves as a shared space for both citizens and officials, symbolizing the progress Kharkiv’s residents aspire to achieve.
The new complex consists of administrative offices and gathering spaces housed in towers, connected by the raised oval superstructure. Reminiscent of the Derzhprom’s elevated walkways, this skybridge fosters interaction and visibility between government officials and the public. Although security considerations necessitate some separation, the continuous space allows citizens to observe the workings of governance, reinforcing the ideals of openness and accountability.
The architectural expression relies on a combination of truss systems and diagrids, executed in two distinct materials: CLT-diagrids for the towers and steel-chrome for the bridge. Wood for the CLT is at once a humble material, common in Ukrainian domestic and folk architecture, while the metallic bridge offers a distinct sense of technological advancement and modernity. Furthermore, the diagonal forms are a familiar motif in traditional garbs and woven fabrics thus exhibiting a character familiar to the local eye. Together, these elements honor the city’s cultural heritage while projecting a vision of a hopeful, forward-thinking future.
Urban strategy showcasing Freedom Square‘s concentric “outdoor room” echoed within the new Admin Building’s layout. One can travel from Freedom Square’s central fountain to the Oval Bridge’s rooftop garden in a single, uninterrupted journey.
Spolia from the old Administration building will be re-purposed into follies and pavilions scattered throughout the square. They can take shape as new playgrounds for children, park follies, outdoor furniture, or kiosks such as the “Corinthian Coffee” stand shown above. Some of the classical details make a reappearance in these new structures and remind the onlookers of the site’s diverse history.
Material Expressions of Ukrainian Culture
Material Sourcing
Ukraine has a well-developed forestry and lumber industry, with extensive forested areas in the Carpathian region, Polissya, and other parts of the country. By sourcing lumber from sustainable forest farms, high-quality timber can be secured for CLT members, ensuring both quality and environmental responsibility.
Construction
By replacing conventional concrete structures with CLT components, the carbon footprint of the entire construction process can be reduced significantly. Assemblage and production of the diagrid forms can also be automated and produced on a mass scale.Accessibility
The complex is open on the ground and accessible from all sides of the site. As an extension of the square, the new administration complex encourages visitors to gather within its outdoor rooms, or transition seamlessly into the forum space below. The entrance to this subterranean program also functions as a new entryway to the metro station.
Skybridge
The skybridge, along with certain spaces within the towers, are also accessible by the general public. It acts as a band that unifies the disparate towers, echoing the social unity within the space between elected officials and the represented civic body. Transparency is now restored in the bureaucratic process.
Winter
During the winters, the southern facing diagrid façade will absorb and retain heat through solar gain.
Summer
During the summers, the spaces within the towers create a canyon of wind tunnels promoting a breezy condition to refresh visitors from the heat. Additionally, the operable windows on the tower façade may be opened to utilize passive cooling.
Public forum space for gathering and civil engagement. The windows allow for an abundance of light and views of Kharkiv, as well as the symbolic display of civic transparency.
The exterior stairs of new metro entrance become articulated as interior seating for the conference halls. The glazing allows visitors to witness public events with civil presentations juxtaposed against the vigor of daily commuters.