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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY in Lviv, Ukraine by Behnisch ArchitektenNovember 3rd, 2019 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Behnisch Architekten The Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), located in Lviv, is the first Catholic university to be opened in the former Soviet Union, with a mission to provide an open, progressive and democratic learning environment for its students and the surrounding community. The UCU has various goals. It wants to make the university accessible to the public and at the same time serve as a role model for higher education in post-soviet Ukraine, a private university accessible to the public.  Image Courtesy © Oleg Babenchuk
 Image Courtesy © Oleg Babenchuk The university is currently building a new campus. At the heart of this campus is the Metropolitan Sheptytsky Information Research Center, the first building of its type built in post-Soviet Ukraine. It includes a library for the humanities, academic and research spaces, and public spaces that serve the community. From an architectural point of view, the term openness plays a major role in the design of the building. This concept is reflected in the barrier-free ground floor of the building. The reading, exhibition and conference areas as well as a café and the university bookshop are located here. The upper levels of the building are more academic in nature, with a predominantly open-stack collection, various reading spaces, quiet study zones and group work rooms. Both the public and academic portions of the building are flexible spaces organized around a vertical atrium space that always affords views out to the beautiful Stryiskyi Park located adjacent to the campus.  Image Courtesy © Oleg Babenchuk  Image Courtesy © Oleg Babenchuk How did you get the originality or motif? Does it have any meaning? The design motif for the facades for the Sheptytsky Center was based on a number of fundamental principles. The goal was to celebrate the decorative arts that have been an integral part of Ukrainian history for many centuries. Particular focus was given to the filigree geometric patterns found in traditional Ukrainian embroidery, which is defined by geometric forms, repetition and color. The rich and diverse architectural history of Lviv, in particular the varied relief patterns of the historic facades, also played an important role in the development of the facades. The decorative motif of the facades was then developed in conjunction with the technical requirements of a university library. Through geometric patterning and alternating opaque and transparent surfaces, daylight is optimized while restricting excessive sunlight radiation, which needs to be controlled to protect sensitive printed material.  Image Courtesy © Oleg Babenchuk  Image Courtesy © Oleg Babenchuk What are the highlights? Any innovation or green technologies? Although the design had to deal with the typical active climate requirements of library spaces, passive measures were maximized where possible to provide optimal user comfort with minimized energy consumption. These measures included strategic placement of glazing in bookstack areas, passive shading systems on fully glazed facades and light re-directing louvers placed in selected windows. Triple glazing and LED lighting are also used exclusively throughout the building. This is a first for a modern building in Ukraine.  Image Courtesy © Oleg Babenchuk  Image Courtesy © David Matthiessen Anything interesting or worth mentioning during the process of realizing? The design project for the Sheptytsky Center came with the opportunity to work with a forward-thinking client in a country where contemporary models of sustainable thinking – those that have become standard in Western Europe – are seldom a part of the overall design process. The technical and social goals of the project were clearly laid out from the very beginning: this was to be a building that would set an example in Ukraine of what can be achieved through innovative technical approaches and holistic design thinking. Realizing these goals meant working within the framework (bothin terms of cost and technical feasibility) of what is currently available in Ukraine, including a clear understanding of whether services and products could be locally sourced or would need to be imported.  Image Courtesy © David Matthiessen  Image Courtesy © David Matthiessen Anything you wish to improve? The challenges of building in Ukraine restricted some of the overall goals for the sustainable performance of the Sheptytsky Center, however, in its realized form, it sets an example of what can be accomplished in modern-day Ukraine—a socially sustainable project where the social well-being of the users is enhanced through good design and the potential of future generations is fully supported.  Image Courtesy © David Matthiessen  Image Courtesy © Behnisch Architekten  Image Courtesy © Behnisch Architekten  Image Courtesy © Behnisch Architekten  Image Courtesy © Behnisch Architekten  Image Courtesy © Behnisch Architekten  Image Courtesy © Behnisch Architekten  Image Courtesy © Behnisch Architekten  Image Courtesy © Behnisch Architekten
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Categories: Autocad, Rhino, University, University Building |
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