Krakidaly

The project reimagines Krakidaly Square as a space where different layers of the city — historical, spatial, and functional — coexist and interact.

This place holds the memory of former synagogues, the structure of lost buildings, a hidden water system, and present-day urban processes. Rather than being literally reconstructed, these layers are interpreted through spatial solutions — landscape, paving, water, and the organization of movement.

The site’s key potential lies in restoring continuity to the urban fabric in this fractured part of Lviv’s city center. Today, the area functions as a barrier between separate urban fragments. The project transforms it into a space of connection.

The solution is based on dispersing traffic flows and rethinking the role of the roadway. Narrowing the road allows for full-fledged public spaces to be formed along the street, including near the north façade of the Maria Zankovetska Theatre, where public space is currently virtually absent.

The result is a continuous, inclusive pedestrian route linking the city’s main pedestrian areas. A wide, level pedestrian crossing between the square and the adjacent streets reinforces this connectivity and shifts the character of the space from transit corridor to public space.

Working with the memory of the place is a separate guiding principle. The outlines of lost buildings are integrated into the space through landscape elements and the organization of courtyards that preserve the scale and atmosphere of the historic urban structure. The site of the former synagogues is treated as a zone of quiet remembrance — without active use, with an emphasis on contemplation and respect for the historical context.

The landscape modeling of the square also references the historical water system. A gentle depression in the surface traces the route of a former tributary of the Poltva River, while also creating space for the potential integration of public transport. Within this depression, stop infrastructure is worked into the terrain without creating barriers within the square.

In this way, the project brings together functional and symbolic aspects, forming a contemporary public space that works simultaneously as a piece of urban infrastructure and as a carrier of memory.