Architectural Battle for Kyiv

Architect Larysa Skoryk has become an iconic figure in Ukraine’s new history. Many remember her as a politician, when she was a Verkhovna Rada People’s Deputy in the early years of independence. She is remembered because this elegant woman could present her ideas in a well-reasoned manner. Moreover, in those days it was still unheard of for a woman to enter parliament. She did not always find understanding because in many ways the ideas and arguments of Skoryk the politician were ahead of their time and out of tune with public sentiment and political correctness. You could say that the ideas of Skoryk the architect are also ahead of their time in many ways. She was among the first to publicize the shortcomings of Kyiv’s architectural policy: Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), a fitness center under the walls of St. Sophia’s Cathedral, and countless other examples. Although the city fathers managed to vandalize Independence Square, Sophia has been preserved intact. Still, Larysa Skoryk is a force to be reckoned with. Efforts of the Public Resistance Committee, created with her participation, and pickets that she has organized show that her protests against the architectural absurdities of city developers are no longer a lone voice in the urban wilderness. It so happened that this year Larysa Skoryk’s birthday was timed to coincide with World Architecture Day observed on the first Monday in October. This has a deeper meaning, however, for architecture is Larysa’s lifeblood. As practice has shown, even an outwardly delicate woman can make a big difference in architecture. It is no accident that a friend of hers, Bravo Theater director Liubov Tytarenko, has called Larysa Skoryk the Edith Piaf of Ukrainian politics: a little woman with a powerful voice. We are pleased to have Larysa among the longtime friends of The Day. We are the only ones who ever took her on our “Walks Through Town,” and saw for ourselves that not all new building projects are benefiting Kyiv. Yet we would like to make this jubilee interview more personal and discuss her students (Professor Larysa Skoryk lectures at the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture), successful projects, and plans for the future. However, we did not leave out Kyiv’s current look and urban development problems, which is not surprising since Larysa has devoted herself entirely to defending Kyiv from architectural barbarism.

“Larysa, you are a practicing architect. Which of your projects are most gratifying? You are also a professor. Can you name some of your students whose education was not a waste of time?”

“Unfortunately, the academy also graduates so-called ‘professionals’ who are ready to do anything just to realize themselves — even to compromise with their conscience. It is the absolute truth when I say that it is mostly architects who are plundering Kyiv, not just bureaucrats and investors who are cashing in on this. Yet I always try to instill in my students the idea that the main thing is to do something for the sake of architecture and aesthetics.

“That is, there are some who enroll at the academy who have a God-given gift, and there are others. But I have to make the most of everyone, even though I instantly know that some will make brilliant specialists with a high moral credo, while others will become nothing more than bureaucrats. Sometimes you see that a person is not destined to be a top-level architect, but still has taste, is hardworking, and can differentiate between good and bad. But not everyone is destined to set the world on fire. Such people make splendid restorers. I frankly tell them about their domain, especially since restorers are also in demand; they are not falsifiers, and there are plenty of those around today. Ignorant of the art of restoration, they treat original works in a vulgar manner, which is what happened to the building with the gargoyles by Horodetsky. Moreover, an artist often can’t protect his work for objective reasons, as he is no longer among the living. And this is proof of people’s utter ignorance and immorality. Therefore, a tactful and highly educated restorer matters a great deal, especially when the work of architecture is in need of caring hands. Real tragedies happen to some of them. One of my students, a very gifted architect named Valery Ovsiannikov, made a superb design for a building on Desiatynna Street. Unfortunately, it was built in a completely different fashion. He was pressured for eight years to change the building’s style. The way it was built nearly gave Valery a heart attack. The client said he couldn’t wait any longer, and Valery had to meet him halfway, even though he admits that he’s ashamed that his studio had to agree to such horror.

“On the bright side, our graduates have contributed to the design of Kyiv’s Southern Rail Terminal. Many of them are working in Kyiv’s design institutes. Others work around the world: in Israel, America, Germany, and Moscow. Others have completed their master’s degrees and have started off on an independent footing. They work at independent design studios, and many have their own studios. They are engaged in high-profile projects. One of our graduates and his team received the Shevchenko Prize for restoring the Mariinsk Palace. Incidentally, they did this not so long ago, and it puzzles me why renovations at the palace have started all over again.

“It is not mandatory to realize one’s potential in Kyiv’s massive buildings because there are other types of architectural practice. A graduate of ours was chief architect in the town of Obukhiv, but went on to set up his personal studio. He now designs neat, modern, and elegant buildings for individual clients. These are no pseudo-castles with countless superstructures and all sorts of bells and whistles, which tend to give you the creeps. Thankfully, there are many wealthy people who do not have bad taste: they have seen the world and want European-style houses.

“That is, I cannot say that those who wanted to do architecture have not realized themselves. Of course, there was a period under the previous chief architect when his team monopolized all the good orders. Architects had a very difficult time then, and didn’t know where to find a place for themselves, or whether they should compromise with their conscience and simply work for the sake of money. Yet some made the right choice and went where they wanted, and today they have set up their own studios.

“But there is one big problem: lack of taste. The mushrooming, massive residential and office complexes inevitably affect the young, unspoiled soul of an architect. Today there are two erroneous trends in Kyiv. The first is a desire to shock: you get the impression that Kyiv’s architecture is a blend of ideas from different cities. It looks as though they searched the Internet for everything that is happening out there, and slapped it together to form so-called modern Kyivan architecture. The second trend is the poor imitation of ancient architecture. This is not even an attempt to introduce elements of antiquity into modern architecture. As a result, a young person who decides to make architecture his career is either repulsed by all this or attracted by filthy lucre, which makes him turn a blind eye to certain things. And that is the saddest part. After all, a specialist’s moral qualities are not the least important consideration. You shouldn’t trade architecture in for hard cash. If he has moral qualities, everything will be normal: he will have bread and something to go with it, and there will be architecture. You shouldn’t crave much: you should desire as much as an artist has the right to desire for the luxury of creating beauty. If you are a true artist, money will not be your immediate priority. You will only think that you have been presented with an opportunity to create a beautiful thing.”

MY STORY

“Usually, the design that is still in the computer or on the drawing board is most precious, and you feel that this is the one that will be the best ever. Seriously, early in my architectural career I was chief architect of the Shevchenko Grove in Lviv. Others later worked on this project, but it is gratifying to know that the original idea was mine and that I created the original designs. I was also very pleased when my renovation project for Ivano-Frankivsk won first prize and got the go- ahead. I recall the jury’s impressions, which thought that the project was true to the spirit of the city, yet very modern. In 1983 I designed the general renovation project for central Lviv. Whatever I do is connected to the historic environment. I have always favored contemporary architecture. Yet I like to integrate it into the historical nucleus. When such projects prove successful, this is superior mastery. Not so long ago I worked on St. Basil’s Church built on the historic street of Smyrnov-Lastochkin, and I like this particular work very much. I remember being asked why I was doing such a ‘small-scale’ project. But I believe this is the right scale, because it once dominated this part of town. Never mind the two high- rise hospitals that were built there, which I consider a huge blunder.

“It gives me pleasure to recall the results of my work on SS. Cyril and Methodius Church in Cherkasy. I was dismayed to see what they have done to my church in Boryspil, where the local priests decided to give vent to their creative impulses. I was a people’s deputy then and had no time to supervise the renovations. In the meantime they spoiled it by adding some baroque cupolas instead of hemispheres. But the most horrible thing happened just recently: they painted the copper domes of this church in different colors! It came out looking very patriotic: the center dome is yellow and the four others blue. Meanwhile, the miserable belfry, which I did not design, has a green dome and is built of red brick. Can you imagine?

“I’m now doing the designs for an Orthodox church in Kyiv. Next year the construction of the Church of Saint Theodore of Tyron will begin. This church, which is also dear to me, will be built on the block spanning Velyka Zhytomyrska, Desiatynna, and Volodymyrska streets. Lately I have become enamored of Podil all over again: I am now designing an extensive project for five new blocks along the Hlybochytska-Smyrnova-Lastochkina-Petrivka-Nyzhniy Val subway line. This is my life today. Two weeks from now I will be presenting this project to the Municipal Development Board.”

EMERGENCY ARCHITECTURAL ASSISTANCE

“Now let us discuss the things to which you devote much of your time: Kyiv’s urban development policy. Positive changes have undoubtedly taken place with the appointment of a new chief architect. Yet why are such absurdities as the construction of a sixty-story building near Zhovtneva Hospital with its daily traffic jams continuing?”

“This is the heritage of the past, when a single person and studios subordinated to him decided everything in the city. I wish the city fathers had told them to hold their horses back then. Bessarabska Square is another gigantic absurdity, not to mention Maidan Nezalezhnosti. That is no architecture but some sort of cheap operetta — short on substance and high on decoration. At some sites this process is irreversible: land has been allocated, money paid both officially and under the table, while at some sites construction began even before the appointment of the new chief architect. But it is too late to change what has begun near Zhovtneva Hospital. Two hideous parallelepipeds will be put up there, one of them occupying a big chunk of the hospital’s premises, even though it has nothing to do with the hospital. Here’s a question for the hospital administration: whom did they give their land to and for how much? One day I was on my way to see a girlfriend and ran into some doctors who pleaded with me to save their hospital. I think there will be no hospital there, because the situation is like this: ‘We’ll build a residential and office complex, and the hospital will operate on the remaining territory.’ What territory? So much for tradition, history, and moral principles! It’s as simple as that: how can one resist the temptation to put up a building on such a convenient site on the hill, where the tenants will have a splendid view from their windows, much like the view from the windows of the building at Hrushevsky Street, 9a, which is a glaring blight on the Dnipro slope. One square meter of residential space there costs a fortune. But even this is not enough. Investors recently sought permission to add another six or seven stories. Thankfully, the City Development Board headed by Mr. Prysiazhniuk has refused to allow this. Yet we must be ready for an uproar and backroom dealings. Some architects have already tried to show how nice it would be. Mr. Myrhorodsky must be given his due. He said, ‘I’m a Kyiv City Hall deputy from this constituency and cannot agree to this. I think the constituents objected to what was put up there because they have been fighting against this project for four years. The question is whether the public realizes how it is being fooled.’”

“This leads to our next question. How active is the community? Does it realize that it can and should influence official decisions?”

“We have already talked about Maidan, Bessarabska Square, what is being built near Zhovtneva Hospital, how the square facing the Sports Palace has been defaced by huge monsters to which I can see neither rhyme nor reason, let alone the underground commercial spaces in central Kyiv: it’s not normal for people to spend the whole day underground, in confined spaces, without ever seeing the sky or sunlight. I can understand when cars are parked underground, but when people are ‘parked’! Moreover, this absurdity has once and for all destroyed the chance to resolve the problem of heavy traffic in central Kyiv. This will be topped off by the European Square, should commercial underground levels be built under it, which will make it impossible to herd the multitude of cars into underground parking lots. Think of all the remaining absurdities: for example, Bohdan Khmelnytsky Street. I am ashamed to look at it. This is happening at a time when contemporary architecture is developing throughout the world. We are seeing nonsensical, dull, unaesthetic things that offend old architecture and do not add anything to suggest that Ukraine is capable of contemporary architecture. Yet we have an abundance of talented architects.

“Speaking of the people, they no doubt feel that they can change something, but unfortunately they often begin to realize this only when their own interests are at stake. When we campaigned against the construction of a fitness center near Sophia, quite a few people joined us, but not as many as would have gathered to protect Notre Dame de Paris or Germany’s Kolner Dom.”

THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO KNOW

“Perhaps something is preventing the people from exercising their lawful civil rights?”

“Unfortunately, the court and prosecutor’s office cause a lot of headaches, which is not their direct fault. At times Kyiv City Hall has overturned a ruling by the prosecutor’s office, which had decided that a certain construction project was illegal. Take this example. It was decided to erect another building in the immediate vicinity of a hospital and another residential building on Pidvysotsky Street. Before the construction, many trees that formed a buffer zone between the building and hospital were cut down illegally. According to elementary regulations, hospital premises should be separated from the nearest building by at least several dozen meters. So what do you think happened? The construction investors took the residents of this building to court because they replanted new trees, causing them to incur additional costs. Another victim today is Pavlov Garden (near Hoholivska and Pavlivska Streets) — an ancient, historic garden that has been earmarked as a construction site for a high-rise building. I often hear people who have not been to Kyiv for a long time asking: ‘What is happening to Kyiv? Where is all the greenery going?’ What if they start on the Dnipro slopes? This idea has also been kicking around for a long time.

“Our society is organized in such a way that it will be a long time before official posts cease to be venal. That is why architectural legislation is chaotic, because some bills clash with the interests of certain officials. Yet the people understand the current state of affairs. I must say that no matter how tired we may be, if, God forbid, it comes to construction projects on the Dnipro slopes and along the Dnipro bank, I think we’ll manage to rally people. If we can’t resolve this issue in a peaceful manner, we will take to the streets.

“It also gives me pleasure to note that at least sometimes the city fathers heed the vox populi, a graphic example being the Church of the Tithes. At one time some architects with vested interests convinced the city administration of the need to rebuild it, but now we have a different administration. They even sent a written request to the president. However, we managed to rally the public and archeologists, and prove that this unique foundation cannot be tampered with under any circumstances. This would be tantamount to desecration, as nobody even knows what the Church of the Tithes looked like! The only thing we can do there is to build a small chapel to commemorate the church. The foundation itself should be granted the status of a museum relic. We could even create an underground museum above the foundation, which would feature all the surviving relics of the Church of the Tithes and artists’ small-scale hypothetical reconstructions of the church. There are at least seven such reconstructions. I must say that our efforts have paid off: the president issued an order overturning the previous resolution. The order sets out in plain terms that the foundation is of immense historic value and should be preserved. So not everything is hopeless. The main thing is to keep on knocking on everyone’s doors and, most importantly, to do this before it’s too late. Indifference is the worst. Nothing will happen if someone decides to sit on his hands.”

“Every birthday is a time to sum up progress. This might sound too dramatic, but do you think the architectural battle for Kyiv has been won or lost?”

“It has not been won once and for all, but not lost either, which gives me hope. I think it will be a long time before we can celebrate a victory. Moreover, there are places in Kyiv that have been irrevocably destroyed. We cannot win in the case of the high-rise upscale building on Hrushevsky Street, 9a, perhaps only stop it from rising any further. But in any case this blight will forever remain on the beautiful Dnipro slopes. The battle for Bessarabska Square or Maidan has not been won, even though the latter can still be redesigned, and at a comparatively low cost too. The battle has been lost in parks that are cluttered with buildings, schoolyards that have turned into high-rise commercial construction sites. I’m extremely depressed at the site of the Tsar’s Village. You may wonder why foreigners should care about it. But when we were guests of former Israeli ambassador Anna Azari, she asked rhetorically: ‘How could one possibly deface this beautiful part of Kyiv like that?’”

“Finally, a traditional question: what would you wish for yourself on your birthday?”

“I would wish for my near and dear ones always to be healthy and also for more time.”