The following project is a rooftop garden on the 5th floor of a shopping mall Smart Plaza Polytech, located in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The shopping mall serves as a busy public space and a hub for visitors of all ages and interests, as it’s situated on the busy city crossroads, near the Kyiv Polytechnical University and underground station, as well as on one of the busiest roads in the city – Peremohy Avenue.
The rooftop garden serves as a green isle, which suggests a peaceful stay and a local green “sponge” to cool the air and absorb the excessive water and sun, simultaneously minimizing the costs for the air-cooling in the building.
The bee-like honeycomb paving structure comes along with the overall building style as a sharp, minimalistic move, connecting the outer and inner space design.
The garden areas opens up with a welcoming entrance to barefoot area on the left, built up with small honeycombs of different heights, making it a space suitable both for quiet reading with no sandals on and a playful spot for the kids.
Coming up flows the gathering area space, suitable for holding small parties, yoga classes and social gatherings, framed with a digital looking chatting and resting area. The upper part of it adorned with a Alice’s imaginary yard, filled a variety of green shrubs and grasses, accentuated by some trees. The pattern of yard has a psychedelic formatting, making a visitor open up their hidden senses.
Opposite to the non-conformist garden comes up a classic cour d’honneur piece, formed by a three circular pockets, giving a possibility for a private talk or a business meeting, as well as a possibility to meeting new friends, while sharing a common semi-closed space, proposing a dialogue and a connection.
The space is also secured with a small classy garden on the back. Disconnected from the main area is an even more interesting piece of landscape design – a so-called nerd’s nest – a quiet area for the people who work a lot but still want to enjoy some greenery in the meantime. It’s a multilayered garden with a plenty of colorful geometry zones for an effective work and passive rest with no noise or disturbance whatsoever.
Location: 04116 Kyiv, Ukraine, Peremogy Avenue, 24
Design year: 2017
Year Completed: 2019
