Memorial

The vision for the memorial complex for the military burials of the Heroes of Ukraine is to create a place that commemorates the heroic actions of Ukraine’s defenders across several historical periods, and forms an environment for reflecting on the significance of this shared struggle for Ukrainian society today and for future generations.

The memorial is conceived as a restrained, open, and inclusive space that can accommodate a range of scenarios — both formal and informal: burial and remembrance ceremonies, prayer services, and visits by groups or individuals.

The space preserves a comfortable human scale and is designed as a coherent landscape through several visual axes, restrained object forms, a limited palette of natural materials, and distinct types of environments shaped by different planting schemes and bodies of water. This restraint and a certain austerity of the space allow attention to remain focused on what matters most — the dignity and heroism of the fallen. Alongside the burial sites, the complex includes symbolic landscape elements, such as memorial steles set within pools of water.

Spatially and symbolically, the complex extends the Lychakiv Cemetery, while retaining the character of a unified military memorial. The space is fully inclusive and human in scale, intended to become a living place for everyday visitation, remembrance, and honor.

Location: Lviv, Ukraine
Status: Competition entry
Year: 2024
Team: Natalia Mysak, Yurii Maksymiuk, Solomiia Halayko, Markiian Maksymiuk, Stanislav Khrypta

Location: Lviv, Ukraine
Status: Competition entry
Year: 2024
Team: Natalia Mysak, Yurii Maksymiuk, Solomiia Halayko, Markiian Maksymiuk, Stanislav Khrypta

Integration of the existing circulation route (1) and formation of a new axis linking the key objects of the planned complex (2)

Softening the boundaries between the complex’s functional zones to create spatial unity:

1. ceremonial square;
2. burial zone;
3. memorial park;
4. public zone;

Forming a green frame around the complex, connecting it with the green mass of Lychakiv Cemetery:

1. new green mass;
2. existing green mass within Lychakiv Cemetery

Construction phase one — forming the main complex of objects along the primary axes:

1. main spatial axis of the complex;
2. orientation axis of the central monument, which unites all burial zones, including the UPA memorial, and defines the spatial orientation of ceremonial processions;

Construction phase two — forming the complex of objects along the new spatial axis:

1. information and prayer building;
2. stream;
3. memorial park;

Integrating the memorial complex into the urban context

1. public transport stop
2. transit zone
3. pedestrian boulevard
4. bike lane

Information and Prayer Building

The building is integrated into the landscape and organized over two levels. The information center opens onto the public square through a glass façade. The prayer hall faces the water pool and is accessed from the ceremonial square. The building’s volume is clad in sandstone slabs matching the square’s paving, reinforcing its perception as a harmonious part of the landscape.