Modern, effective, energy saving and high efficiency solutions – in 2016 Development Policy Foundation sought to promote the most creative among Polish business solutions for public space in Ukraine. The multilateral initiative supported by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs was implemented in Nova Kakhovka in cooperation with Ukrainian partners – Regional Development Centre ‘Top-Kaya’ and the Communal Enterprise ‘Regional Development Agency’.
At the initial stage of the project an on-line consultation tool was created enabling every citizen in Nova Kakhovka to leave suggestions as to improving shared urban space: infrastructure, special planning, cultural heritage protection and so on. The local authorities continuously monitor the alerts appearing on the electronic resource and take them into account in their own work planning.
Based on the data gathered through the online tool the most urging issues of the city have been identified and selected for intervention – riverbank municipal beach, lacking accessibility, lighting and place, where people could leave their clothes and other belongings while bathing. Following the direct consultations with the residents of Nova Kakhovka, the architectural workshop participants – students from Poland and Ukraine worked jointly to combine expressed wishes and expectations with the architectural experience and own ideas for public space improvement. The area was illuminated and equipped with unusual, modern benches created by the young designers based on special computer algorithms.
Arch&Engeeniring Lab was one of the Development Policy Foundation’s soeas + y projects that use an architectural workshop as an effective social capital boosting working method – ensuring residents involvement with added educational value for students as a future urban space change maker.
