Category
Interior design
Development
2022
Location
Kyiv, Ukraine
Area
m²
The six-story campus of KSE University in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv is designed to accommodate 600 students comfortably.
On the ground floor, part of the hall is occupied by a coffee shop, and on the top floor, there is a spacious event hall. The rest of the space is occupied by classrooms, meeting rooms, as well as offices of analysts and a charitable foundation belonging to KSE.
The design of the campus is distinctive because of its history. The university building was remodeled with the support of donors. They are conscious companies and individuals who see their mission as developing education and strengthening the country's intellectual potential.
In the lobby on the first floor is a kind of "wall of gratitude" with the names of benefactors and donor companies that provided funds for the development of KSE and the campus facilities. The second place of honor, where the partners of the educational institution are listed, is the event hall on the top floor of the building. Entire floors, corridors, and auditoriums are dedicated to companies that were involved in the project to the fullest extent possible and supported it with large sums of money, and their logos are branded with their logos.
The interior of the educational institution is a highly functional space designed to meet the needs of students, teachers, and staff. Classrooms, teachers' offices, and lounge areas in the corridors are all designed with the concept of minimalism with color accents.
Students come here for information, so creating an interior as a metaphor for a clean sheet was important. The white walls of the classrooms with laconic furniture contribute to concentration and practical learning. Technological solutions, such as monitors with schedules at the doors of classrooms, help organize the institution's work efficiently and clearly.
Students come here for information, so creating an interior as a metaphor for a clean sheet was important. The white walls of the classrooms with laconic furniture contribute to concentration and practical learning. Technological solutions, such as monitors with schedules at the doors of classrooms, help organize the institution's work efficiently and clearly.
The building has many areas for informal communication and relaxation between couples. Every free square meter of shared space is used for lounge islands. Laconic beanbag chairs, colorful swings, and cozy acoustic furniture in the corridors of all floors contrast the school's white walls and offer a place to switch and relax.
The sixth floor of the campus is occupied by an event hall for 150 guests. The modular system of podiums is designed for different scenarios of events and presentations. The podiums can work as seats, creating an amphitheater effect in the auditorium, or be combined with each other to form a stage.
When designing this space, we had to solve several problems. Firstly, the transparent ceiling of the building on sunny days caused the space to heat up. Secondly, the large area of the glass facade and roof created a reverberation effect when sounds reflected, forming a subtle background hum. Acoustic panels placed around the perimeter of the ceiling helped solve both problems.
– It was an exciting challenge for us to fit the structure of a modern and progressive educational institution into a building that was built earlier and originally had a different purpose. The project's specifics required the most careful attitude to the budget, so the functional tasks had to be solved most efficiently and with minimal means, focusing on the comfort of students and teachers. – shares Olga Bogdanova.
Photographer: Yevhenii Avramenko
Architectural team: Olga Bogdanova, Oleg Matiushchenko, Halyna Mozoliuk, Mariia Krasiuk
“When I first entered this space, my heart stopped. I was astounded - the view from the windows was incredible. It is a real pleasure to glaze at the sunset at the end of the work day in the walls of my favorite office with a team of like-minded people”, says Olga Bogdnaova. An architect is like an artist, the space around - it is a blank piece of paper, a canvas for creativity. To reach the effect of passe-partout, walls and ceiling were painted in French gray color. It is a neutral and comfortable for the eyes font which shows what is important.
The space of the office is an open space in which are connected workspaces, meeting area, and an open kitchen. The office of the main architect takes up a humble space and is cut off from the main zone only by glass doors. This is also the logic for sustainable luxury because the real treasure of a modern leader is the team from which there is no need to hide in an office behind closed doors.
A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design Category: 2021 - 2022
