Liubinska 93

Location

The site for this project is an existing playground within a long-established residential environment on Liubinska Street in Lviv — a place where more than one generation has grown up. These conditions shaped our approach to the project, grounded above all in thorough research and, as far as possible, in preserving the emotional connections people already have to the place.

Approach

Given the established social fabric and the site’s long history, two-way communication between residents and architects was the most appropriate approach. As part of the research, we organized a themed exhibition and presentation, which introduced residents to the possibilities and approach of the future project. Over a period of time, we spoke with residents and recorded their memories of the place, the time spent there, and the forms of leisure it had hosted.

Memories

The thoughts and memories gathered became the foundation of the project’s internal, informal brief. This allowed us to preserve the character of the space while developing it further and enriching it with new qualities.

Concept

The project site, along with all the adjoining residential courtyards, is an exceptionally green environment — and preserving this quality was our first priority. In addition, a fairly typical approach in playground design at the time relied heavily on artificial materials and surfacing. We chose a different direction, proposing a new quality of children’s space for the city — replacing the artificial with the natural wherever possible:

• decorative plants with tactile, auditory, and physical properties suited to different play scenarios, planted in the form of a maze;
• wooden play elements;
• water — specifically, the organization of its movement, the experience of watching that movement, and any children’s games connected to it. Water was part of the memories of nearly every resident we spoke with. It has always been one of the most compelling elements for children’s play, who, in an urban environment, often have limited access to it.

Design

One of the project’s key solutions is the construction of a new pavilion. The new pavilion introduces a number of new functions, chief among them a place for residents to meet and interact.

The pavilion’s large roof collects rainwater during precipitation and channels it into shaped depressions in the surfacing, creating streams and the movement of water across the playground. In addition, most of the surface runoff from the hard paving of the playground during rainfall will also feed into this flow. The route for these rain streams ends in a depression on the site, which fills during heavy rainfall and filters the water naturally.

A second scenario for children’s play on the site is a maze of decorative planting, complemented by wooden footbridges. The form of the maze is itself a play object; it is planted with carefully selected decorative species offering a range of tactile, visual, and physical qualities for children’s play.

Another important decision was to preserve the existing hill — a shared memory for many generations who grew up on this playground, and a distinctive feature for new generations to come.