Program

Competition Scope

The scope of the competition is the territory which historically included:

  • Babyn Yar—the site of the mass murder and burials of Kyiv's Jews and other killings during the German occupation of Kyiv;
  • the surrounding area, including the historical multi-faith necropolis that had been in formation over many centuries and included Christian Orthodox, a Jewish, a Karaite, a Muslim, military as well as other cemeteries, as well as the area of the 1961 Kurenivka disaster.

The competition site today includes the territories:

  • National Historical-Memorial Reserve “Babyn Yar”;
  • Lukianivsky State Historical-Memorial Reserve (a full cemetery which is only open for burials in existing family vaults);
  • "Kyrylivs`ky Gai" park that is a registered landmark of landscaping and gardening art;
  • Shevchenkivskyi district park “Babyn Yar”;
  • “Repyakhiv Yar” protected nature reserve;
  • Metro (subway) station "Dorohozhychi";
  • Kyiv television tower;
  • the television center;
  • “Avanguard” sports complex;
  • a dump yard for disused buses;
  • gas (petrol) station “Motto”;
  • a building belonging to the municipal landscaping company “Kyivzelenbud”;
  • “Hertsen Park” residential complex (under construction);
  • office buildings complex of the State Archive of the Kyiv Region;
  • office buildings complex of the regional State Labor Inspection; 
  • Military cemetery; 

Competition Guidelines

Competition participants must take into account the following principles:

  • the site must remain a public space, accessible to individuals with disabilities;
  • participants should avoid gigantomania;
  • participants should comply with the current land zoning regulations of both historical-memorial reserves and the territory of protected areas of the historical-memorial reserve “Babyn Yar” and the landmark of national significance "Kyrylivska Church";
  • all the existing objects of cultural heritage as well as memorial objects and other buildings/structures must be preserved; entries should also take into account the repurposing of buildings which will be handed over to the National Historical-memorial Reserve “Babyn Yar” (the former office of the management of the Jewish cemetery will become the Memorial Museum for Commemoration of Victims of the Babyn Yar tragedy; the gardener's house will become the office of security and technical personnel of the Historical-memorial Reserve “Babyn Yar”);
  • competition participants should provide proposals for creating a space with the possibility of development over time, where new monuments might be erected in the future;
  • participants should provide proposals for the guidelines of territorial development, including parameters for possible new monuments and location(s) where they could be installed, with the view toward rational use of land and compositional unity with the surroundings;
  • the existing natural landscape must be preserved to the greatest possible extent and presented in the context set forth by the competition brief;
  • participants should provide proposals for the memorialization of space outside the competition site (e. g., the path which Jews took to their deaths on September 29, 1941; monuments; former Zenit stadium (currently Start stadium); former garages of a tank repair shop; part of the execution zone in Babyn Yar; the territory of the former Syrets concentration camp with its burial sites; the cemetery of German prisoners-of-war, former streetcar maintenance depot named after Krasin (currently, the Podil streetcar depot) as parts of a joint memorial space;
  • entries should provide for methods of navigation around the competition site and the memorial space outside them  in the form of information boards.

It is recommended that design projects:

  • do not call for construction of new buildings and large structures;
  • do not include new monuments of their own;
  • minimize the use of new national, religious or political symbols;
  • do not include fences or separated areas on the territory under design;
  • provide proposals for a pedestrian walkway system on the territory;
  • use economically sound solutions;
  • follow the Principle of Sustainability.

Competition Format

The competition is held as an open international architectural ideas competition.

The Competition will be conducted according to the UNESCO/UIA Standard Regulations for international competitions in architecture and town planning.

The competition is a single-stage competition, with the requirement that the authors of winning designs submit materials for the exhibition.

The registration fee for participants is 35 USD.

The language of the competition is English.