The building of the Printing House is located in Honcharivka, an area adjacent to the old center of Kharkiv, next to the railway line. The district begins with an architectural landmark - the restored Burkevich House. Opposite the KhSHA (Kharkiv School of Architecture) is the open Firefighters’ Square, where the citizens relax, and the teachers of the KhDAK, the building of which is nearby, sometimes hold their lectures. There is access to the river through the streets. In a small yard at Kontorska 16, the children's studio Tsvitna Kapusta once worked; it held holidays open to the townspeople and held children's camps. Next is the Shapar House, a monument of modernism, which held the first domestic radio broadcast in 1924 ("Hello, hello, hello! Kharkiv is speaking, Kharkiv is speaking, Kharkiv is speaking!"). At Dmytrivska 22, there is a bookstore-shelter of Kharkiv publisher Oleksandr Savchuk, where you can buy specialized Ukrainian literature on ethnography, history, local history, and philosophy.
According to a study of this area by the Urbanyna Architectural Bureau, carried out for DRUK, almost 30% of the surroundings of Drukarnia is a closed area. These are mainly warehouses, residential areas, construction sites and factories, schools, and educational institutions. This reduces the transit capacity of the area and it means that citizens do not have access to the leisure infrastructure in the area. The area along that river bank that belongs to the district, which could become a potential public space, is not obvious to pedestrians.
In general, there is little street infrastructure in the area. There is one seat for every 3,614.6 m². Compare: in Copenhagen, one seat is every 830 m². Besides the Firefighters' Square, there are no parks or open green areas in the area. And there are only a few public spaces on Honcharivskyi Boulevard.
One of the principles of changing the industrial center is the creation of a public space with sustainable landscaping and the revitalization of the territory. Therefore, the open space of the yard of the Printing House can become an important and popular "magnet" for citizens where they can rest and have various activities. Public space with landscaping in the building Printing House of S.P. Yakovlev will become an "oasis" in the middle of an industrial district.
An important influence on the development of the district was the railway station, which became the main magnet of the district and formed an active space around it. However, this influence does not spread throughout the district, but instead the entire flow of people passes through Poltavskyi Shliakh Street to the main city center.
Since part of this city-wide center is located on the territory of the district, a large part of it is filled with historical buildings. In several blocks, it forms a continuous perimitral building. This is an obvious advantage of the district and the possibility of creating a comfortable public space. For example, Kontorska Street along its length has a preserved front of the historical building with a preserved part of the buildings. It is located away from the main flows of mobility along the river, which has made the street an important recreational route with potential for development. However, Kontorska Street currently does not have a convenient and comfortable connection with Poltavskyi Shliakh Street.
Honcharivskyi Boulevard could become such a connection if a sufficient number of active points of attraction and a comfortable clear route are created in it. The Printing House building has the potential to become such an anchor point that will connect the active space around the station and the recreational space of the river embankment. The building of the printing house is an important historical attraction, which is located on the border of two functional areas and at the same time could be a kind of connection between the old classical building and the new areas on the territory of the former industrial development.
The study area covers a significant part of the city center. In the southwestern part of the district, the city center borders the industrial zone, which gradually loses its industrial importance and is used for other purposes. These industrial quarters are potential spaces for the development of multifunctional spaces in the city center.
33.4% of the study area is inhabited. According to data on residential areas, approximately 11,000 people could live here. However, it is likely that after February 24, 2022, this figure could decrease. Offices occupied 23.3% of the area and could accommodate approximately 20,000 employees. The district is quite lively in terms of its functional content, as it is connected to the traffic of Poltavskyi Shliakh Street. According to the general plan, the district is dominated by residential buildings and sometimes has interspersed public buildings. However, this public development is not publicly accessible and active, because it is mainly represented by health facilities. In general, there are no anchor cultural objects in the district.
The revitalization of industrial zones has the opportunity to activate the life of the district, by creating in it all the necessary additional functions that the citizens currently lack. Due to the proximity to Station Square and Poltavskyi Shliakh Street, these functions would be popular not only for the residents of the district but also for all citizens in general. The city can develop and expand according to all-European practices of renewal of the industrial zone.
To do this, it is necessary to change the purpose of the site and the functional content of the Printing House building. Ground floors clearly define the main routes of people along the buildings. Active ground floors and available service functions there create a surrounding space that is pleasant to use. Street businesses are concentrated along Poltavskyi Shliakh Street and around the Railway Station Square.
There is an opportunity to create a connection from Poltavskyi Shliakh Street along Honcharivskyi Boulevard to Moskalivka due to the existing public transport route.
The new center could become a destination for the active route from Poltavskyi Shliakh Street and the recreational route through the Honcharivskyi Bridge, which currently ends up with nothing; the new center could connect these two sites. If such an object is created, then Kontorska Street, which is currently secondary and almost unused, will also be activated.
Most of the district has low-density neighborhoods with large areas of open space. This space is often underdeveloped and lacks appropriate landscaping.
The ratio of the total built-up area of the district to the plots is also low, which gives the potential for densification of the district and the addition of new functions. The district is gradually being filled with new residential buildings with significantly higher floors than historical buildings around. This building is mostly dotted. High-rise buildings, despite the accent height, are mostly located chaotically. The street network of the district could be supplemented with important accent buildings.
Due to the sparse construction and broken functional connections of this area, DRUK has the opportunity to become an important urban planning accent in the direction of Poltavskyi Shliakh Street.
Now, the visual accent is dominated by the Soviet residential building opposite. We have the opportunity to emphasize our historical Kharkiv building, by drawing attention to it, and to restore its significance, while preserving the historical value of the site. The creation of an active center in the building of the Printing House on Honcharivskyi Boulevard could become an important center for the citizens. Since this center is located far from residential buildings, it would be comfortable for the residents even with the active development of cultural events.
The research can be found on the page
