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Nichtoffener Wettbewerb | 09/2019

Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center in Kiew (UA)

3. Preis

Preisgeld: 10.000 EUR

merz merz

Architektur

TOPOTEK 1

Landschaftsarchitektur

knippershelbig GmbH

Bauingenieurwesen

Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH

Energieplanung

Erläuterungstext

»…the screams of thousands of dying people echoed in my ears. We have no right to forget these screams. They have not become history. They are our present. And what will be tomorrow?« Anatolij Kusnezow

1. MONUMENT OR DOCUMENT

The Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center aims on one hand to be a documentation of the inferno that happened here, on the other hand it is an active place of mediation of civic responsibility, political openmindedness and tolerance. Places like this one are places of time blending and of learning, they look ahead - they aren’t a monument for archived history, time hasn’t come yet to forget. Design is not to be the dominant aspect, the emphasis is on conveying content. The Center is a frame to create a ground for an aura between visitor, place and content. «Either to posit a reality which is entirely permeable to history, and ideologize; or, conversely, to posit a reality which is ultimately impenetrable, irreducible, and, in this case, poetize.» (Roland Barthes: Mythologies) Design and composition of the Center are to make a non-reducible point that is inciting an attitude of «study». The design parameters of the concept are defined by three key words: destruction (fracture), reserve (reduction) and identity.

DESTRUCTION
A horizontal cuboid, the original form, is destroyed and breaks up into three parts. The elements are upside down, shifted, yet, despite their autonomy, they stay part of the whole. More fractures in the inner structure create fascinating overlaps. Gaps, light and shadow define the visual appearance inside and outside - they break up the alleged strength with an expressive direction.

RESERVE
The three components of a whole, pure and reduced in their form, discreet, straightforward and unpretentious. In accordance with their function they have different characteristics, their exterior however, made of glass with various surfaces, modestly unites them.

IDENTITY
The reduced idiom of material and style reveals a pure but assertive appearance of the Center in a disparate setting. The place isn’t turned into « speaking architecture » but it is highlighted by the objective, «translucent» appearance of the Center, obtaining thus an identity as a document not a monument.

The Center is located on the predetermined plateau, facing east-west and can be reached by foot from the park, the metro station, Oleny Telihy Street and the Alley of Sorrow. The Center’s south-west access is oriented towards the metro station. Busses, delivery and VIPs are led through the Interconnecting Area C.

2. INNER STRUCTURE / ORGANIZATION

The external as well as the internal appearance of the Center’s spatial structure is a dialogue between mass and void, fractures and structure. The two stacked elements facing west are reserved for visitor-oriented areas. The element facing east contains the non-public sector, the administration.

The visitor-oriented elements are characterized by a «tear» that stretches from the Foyer to the rest of the building. The breaking edges are at the same time guideline and separation between the introvert areas such as Exhibition, Learning and Dialogue Center and the communication areas like Foyer 1 (entrance, café, shop) and Foyer 2 (ad hoc exhibition). Both Foyers are connected by a central stairway, another staircase links the end of the exhibition tour with the working spaces on Level 2. The east-facing element comprises delivery and office spaces (on 4 floors). The administration area is separately accessible but also connected to the Foyer.

3. DRAMATURGY / VISITOR EXPERIENCE

On Level 1 the continuous hall (Foyer 1+2) is defined by two architectural interventions: sloping walls that subtly separate the exhibition area from the shop / café area and the central staircase. The information counter is easy to locate: placed directly next to the staircase it allows a first glimpse of the exhibition through big windows to both sides of the stairs. The hall on Level 2 is defined by the «Patio of Hope». At the end of the stairway that leads up from the exhibition on Level 1 an open patio with a birch grove marks the transition to the areas of post-processing. It forms a contemplative back for the lively ambience of Auditorium and Learning and Dialogue Center. The Patio of Hope is a reminiscence of the Square of Hope in Yad Vashem. The entire hall is covered by a construction of prestressed concrete girders with glazed interspaces that immerses the space in daylight. The permanent exhibition tour on Level 1 is characterized by darkness and light, eventfulness, impact and contemplation. Free spaces, merging areas that can be individually utilized, make up the permanent exhibition. Only three components are fixed elements of the tour. These are the spaces with external contact at the beginning (water surface) and at the end (Jewish Cemetery) of the tour and the corpus of the «inserted» Patio of Hope. The latter is a contemplative space with a circumferential light gap allowing daylight to enter and hit the rammed clay walls, where the destroyed synagogues of Europe could be thematized. Above the vitrified ground Olaf Metzel’s sculpture «Sprachgitter» that he created for the synagogue in Stommelen could be hung. The rest of the area (various ceiling heights help to accentuate individual spaces) can be adapted to the yet to be determined contents and the tour. Taking the stairs from Level 1 to Level 2 is like ascending to the light. The path continues alongside the birch grove towards a generous area that offers view axes to Foyer 1, spaces for ad hoc exhibitions, an entry to the Contemplation Room, access to the Learning and Dialogue Center and an entrance to the Auditorium, as well as a view of the landscape, towards the places of the massacre.

4. MATERIALITY

Support structure, ceilings and internal walls will be made of white, polished exposed concrete. The material’s surface is nidged in the foyer and the upper hall. The upper part of the birch grove (Patio of Hope) is grown on rammed clay that has been extracted from the excavation.* The lower area is glazed up to a height of 2.5 m.

* The excavation has to be sifted. Possible findings of bones will be belatedly buried at the topographical installation of the Jewish Cemetery)

Glass in various forms -transparent, translucent- is the key element of the exterior. The facade is covered with thermally reshaped large glass elements that have a reflecting back. Despite the functionally indispensable closeness, the building structure is open and translucent. In the area of necessary window openings the climate zone is ensured by double glazing; the superimposed reshaped glass elements here do not have a rear reflector, they are clear and transparent. By means of the translucent shiny surface of the materials, the facade and their plasticity, the building structure changes appearance in the light and reflects its surrounding. Fixing holes in the white exposed concrete walls of the foyer and the contemplative space on Level 2 are sealed with glass stoppers. For the floors in the latter spaces a light Terrazzo has been chosen.

LANDSCAPE

The concept takes up the existing spatial structure of the Babyn Yar memorial site close to the underground station Dorohozychi. The Parc, whose design dates back to the Soviet Union, is transformed into a landscape architectural memorial by means of deliberate interventions in the existing topology. This memorial confronts the historically monumental landscape architecture of Soviet realism with contemporary design elements.

Conceptionally mediation between the lower, western part of the area and the building of the new Holocaust Memorial Center located on a hill in the east is central for this new regional planning. The existing geometrically arranged pathways and vegetation are kept in principle. However, the paths follow a steady but gentle slope. Protruding from the surface in some places they form deeper narrow trenches in others. The new pathways work with the dichotomous feeling of open and enclosed spaces.. At first, they trigger a feeling of anxiety but then they also create an intimate space of reminiscence and commemoration.

Naming all victims of the Babyn Yar massacre of 1941, when the Wehrmacht killed 33.000 Jews living in Kiev, helps conveying the historicity of the place. Much like cuts in the ground the paths that are named after victims of the massacre form a landscape with visible and walkable scars and can thus be visually, spatially and physically experienced.

The memorial is directly accessible from the underground by the southwestern tip of the area. The building is accessible by naturally winding, moderately ascending paths in the northeastern part. Here, the existing vegetation is maintained for the open spaces and the two-tier, terraced installation of the building is taken up. The terraces with their geometric structures and pure stylistic elements form a precise conclusion to the setting of green outdoor spaces.

In some instances the pathways that directly lead to the clearly structured memorial building intersect and reveal the deep trenches of the new path system. These intersections offer an interchange between the two systems. They allow for access to the memorial while remaining their different emotional characters. The topologic structure of the area is thus clearly divided into two functions and aspects: The functional character of the access ways is opposed to the symbolic character of the paths of remembrance.

Enhancing the structural interventions to the site, new trees plantings ground the site in its history and beyond. Strengthening native species and making room for others by removing invasive species such as Acer negundo and Robinia pseudoacacia which increases the species diversity while simultaneously tying the site to its provenance. Genera present on the site such as Acer, Betulus, Pinus, and Quercus are bolstered by additional species and varieties of these genera, which are well adopted to the site. Such they integrate into the historic dimension of the trees while providing ecological services.

In closest proximity to the building three very special spaces create three unique and intense atmospheres. The enclosed courtyard of the building is planted with birch trees and covered with gravel. As a composition they capture the emotional intensity of the space and give it a physical form. To the east we find a garden that gives a new place to grave and gravestones of the area bedding them in a garden of beautiful pine trees. Without taking away from the seriousness of the place it allows beauty back into the space and presents it to those who have been wrongfully deprived of it. To the north we find a perfect surface from a body of water that reflects the light into the building. As such light is projected into a dark space, symbolizing memory as much as a strong and different future.v

STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONCEPT

The building is designed as a robust and economic concrete structure. The loads are transferred via upand downstand beams and continuous columns directly to the ground. The horizontal loads are distributed through the slabs back to the concrete stability cores of the building. The cores also serve as elevator shafts and staircases to access the upper building level. The column diameters vary according to the level of utilization. The one-way spanning roof structure is formed from slender precast prestressed concrete trusses, which are supported by concrete walls running along the main axis. The cantilevering parts of the upper level are supported by cantilevering deep beams at the same level. The regular slab areas have spans up to 15 m and are designed as t-beams. Some particular slabs with spans over 15 m consists of steel concrete composite grids.

SUSTAINABILITY

The design of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center is based on a holistic and sustainable design approach. First and foremost is user comfort. By maximizing thermal and visual comfort, the design provides high quality office and visitor areas. The high quality of the living space is provided in consideration of the ecological aspect, which fulfils an essential part of sustainability. The latter is the ability to satisfy our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their own. Passive measures are used to improve the building climate without actively using energy. The building has a very good building envelope with high insulation and thermal mass, which allows night cooling. In summer, solar loads are minimized by using external solar shading in the vertical office façade. In the museum area, the building has a high daylight availability due to the large skylights, so that artificial lighting can also be minimized. The choice of frosted glass allows a balance between daylight availability and solar radiation. A grating is placed on the roof, which also acts as a sun protection. The room air temperatures and humidity in the exhibition rooms are kept within a very narrow tolerance band by technical means. Surface heating and cooling systems are used for conditioning to provide an efficient and economical energy supply. Ventilation is mechanical with an enthalpy wheel to allow highly efficient heat and moisture recovery, resulting in a reduction of heating load consumption. In order to complete the holistic and sustainable design approach, this project focuses on the production of renewable energy on site. Photovoltaic modules are installed on the roof to produce renewable electricity. Heating and cooling energy is generated by a geothermal system. This energy concept focuses on the one hand on reducing the energy loads of the building and, on the other hand, on maximizing renewable energy production on site. This two-sided consideration ensures that Babyn Yar is a place of remembrance that also looks to the future.