Before we begin this article, we need to make a small prologue and tell you a few interesting facts about ourselves. Firstly, we are convinced that an architect, choosing this profession, will immediately receive a mission - to make the world around them better. And secondly, we are very fond of our hometown, Odesa.
In fact, taking into account all of the above, we are happy to take on government projects that aim to help our city. This time, such a project is the Enthusiasts Park. It is located in the Kotovskoye district and has its own story, which may seem a bit comical, but it is also somewhat illustrative.
It all started with the fact that people in the "stone jungle" had no place to walk and spend time together. There are high-rise buildings or roads everywhere, but you want to get some fresh air somewhere, right? That's how a very ordinary... wasteland comes into play. That's right - a place with nothing but a few pieces of grass growing on it.
Of course, one particular fact made this wasteland unusual - the perimeter of this place was covered with high-rise buildings, where, in fact, the very people who had no place to walk lived. They looked at that wasteland, thought about it and started walking there. Basically, if the mountain won't go to Mohammed, then Mohammed... will find a wasteland closer.
This is how the history of Enthusiast Park began. It was from the human desire for the better, which, as history shows, creates all the best that we have in our lives.
After a while, the Soviet authorities installed a slide and a half for children and planted a few trees in a haphazard manner, and then confidently called it a ‘park’. Years have passed. The ‘incredible’ efforts of the Soviets came to naught even before the collapse of the Soviet Union - the park became substandard again.
In general, this is how we, NG Architects, appear in this story. This is not the first time we have taken responsibility for public facilities - we have completed the Preobrazhensky Park, the Zoo, the Memorial to the Fighters for Ukraine and many other projects. We are ready to cooperate with the state and are ready to do it efficiently, especially when it comes to improving the face of our Odesa.
So, when it comes to public facilities, we do not waste time. When we were asked to take this project into development, the list of needs sounded like this: to tidy up the park with updated landscaping and new beautiful alleys, to come up with several different recreation areas with atypical gazebos, to concisely tie up the area for children's outdoor activities and to create a space for events or performances by street artists.
In fact, each of these points was taken into account when planning and developing the project documentation, as you can see in the visualisations. Moreover, in a public space of this size, we have added something that is part of the daily needs of the residents of the area.
We are talking about the development of a specially arranged system of alleys for sports. This does not only mean a sports ground - although it is also available. The park does have areas for playing basketball, football, table tennis, etc., but there is something else that is interesting.
We're talking about a special system of alleys, which even includes a downhill bike path. This system runs in a wide ring throughout the park, where small children can rollerblading or cycling, and adults can go jogging, as it is five hundred metres long, which is very comfortable for runners.
And the icing on the cake is the central square. There is a tall rotunda along its perimeter, and in the middle we have a dry fountain where children can have fun running during the hot Odesa summer.
The design of the Enthusiasts Park is currently undergoing an expert review and is being checked by the city authorities. However, the NG Architects team believes that together we can achieve the desired result - to create more high-quality green areas for recreation in the city. Modern redevelopment will ultimately be our main ticket to moving away from the Soviet ‘style’ of architecture, which was based on a meaningless demonstration of one's own greatness. It's time to turn our backs on logical and laconic public architecture that prioritises the comfort and happy life of residents of districts and cities, and positively influences the development of tourism in the country. It is time to demonstrate love for your city and country not only in words!
