Architects propose a new vision for the Maidan

On May 26, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko called on protesters to clear their encampment on the citys Independence Square. Six days later, facing heavy criticism from those who toppled former President Viktor Yanukovych in last winters EuroMaidan Revolution, Klitschko changed his mind.

Kyivs top official is not the only one confused about what to do with the Maidan. In the wake of billionaire businessman Petro Poroshenkos election and inauguration as president, many are skeptical that Ukraines government will embody the democratic spirit of the EuroMaidan Revolution.So, whats next for the Maidan?

Lviv-based architects Erik Herrmann and Ashley Bigham have an idea.

In a recent competition sponsored by CANactions, the largest architecture festival in Ukraine, Herrmann and Bigham presented a proposal to build The Kyiv Forum, a semi-permanent structure on the Maidan designed to facilitate political and cultural dialogue.

The Kyiv Forum is a 10-story egg-shaped steel structure with a wooden lattice that includes an amphitheater, art museum, and library, and hopes to recreate the political spaces of antiquity in modern Ukraine.

Bigham says their goal was to create a framework of political space that people would come and change...on a daily, monthly, or seasonal basis. This transience, they say, would allow for the kind of spontaneous association that characterized the EuroMaidan Revolution.

Our idea for the forum was to create a venue for those who want to continue occupying the Maidan, but want to change from a culture of reaction to a culture of pro-action, says Herrmann.

Bigham, a U.S. Fulbright Fellow, and Herrmann, a German Chancellor Fellow, say Ukrainians resourcefulness and organization during the EuroMaidan Revolution inspired them to design a piece of non-programmed architecture on the Maidan.

Bigham hopes their project will create a more formalized system for meeting, discussing, and creating with just enough formality...allowing people to manipulate the space as they need...These amazing events are happening [but Ukrainians] are really lacking the proper public space for them.

Herrmann believes Ukrainians can benefit from a piece of architecture that has enough structure to create a cohesive environment, and enough cues to demonstrate how a space might be potentially used, but that would be open to a variety of political and cultural events.

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Architects propose a new vision for the Maidan