Curating the Common | Lviv Ukraine | ATLAS lab


The redevelopment of the Bernardine Monastery Complex is based on the need to cultivate the district’s contemporary identity and needs while engaging with the site’s unique heritage. The system of open spaces and streets that encompass the complex need to reveal the multiple layers of both historic and contemporary events while editing the numerous urban configurations that obstruct the flow/flux of urban life.

The complex is rich with history yet is slow to promote the continuum of urban life through art and civic events. The historic building fabric is both an asset and a crutch – the dispersed rigidity of existing buildings, infrastructure and artifacts constricting the continuum of the city of Lviv to curate it’s community.

In order to allow Lviv to curate its own unique resources and local community, Curating the Common outlines a formal composition of unifying ground planes and articulated vertical layers that flank and inhabit the complex through three distinct zones: Cathedral Grove, Cathedral Sculpture and Performance Plaza and Valova Art Café. Exposed vertical layers acknowledge Lviv’s rich history through a series of strategically located vertical strata that render visible local historic events and local artifacts comprised of seat walls, multi-media public art walls, information panels, and sculptures. Conversely the ground plane edits the planar elements to link disparate spaces and streets to provide a continuous platform that permit and proliferate the flow of everyday urban life. Curating the Common seeks to strengthen Lviv’s public life and activity within the core area, while bolstering its connectivity to the rest of the urban fabric into the greater Lviv metropolitan area.










Curating the Common | Lviv Ukraine | ATLAS lab
ATLAS lab: Andrew tenBrink, Kimberly Garza and Erik Prince

About Damian Holmes 3253 Articles
Damian Holmes is the Founder and Editor of World Landscape Architecture (WLA). He is a registered landscape architect (AILA) working in international design practice in Australia. Damian founded WLA in 2007 to provide a website for landscape architects written by landscape architects. Connect on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianholmes/