On 20 November, the Warrior’s House hosted a presentation of a draft design for the creation of the National Heroes’ Space in Lviv
The project was developed by Lviv architects at the initiative of the Agroculture West Society.
Presenting the project, well-known Lviv developer Volodymyr Zhenchak noted that the idea of this architectural project was an initiative of socially responsible business in response to a public request, namely the need to create a place in Lviv that would symbolise unity and memory, where the families of heroes could find support and honour their loved ones.
“There is a Mars Field in Lviv, the burial place of the Heroes. There should also be a space where families of fallen soldiers can meet, communicate, and think about creating positive things,” he said.
The space will include a long promenade starting from the park at 1 Chmoly Street, which will be equipped at the company’s expense. The alley, according to the approved detailed plan of the territory, will connect the new Memory Park with Stryiskyi Park through the walking Educational Zone (O-zone) of the Ukrainian Catholic University. Along the way, the families of the fallen soldiers and everyone else will be able to pray at St Sophia’s Church. As conceived and proposed by the architects, the Memory Alley will lead to the amphitheatre in Stryi Park.
The amphitheatre, which is also proposed to be modernised at the expense of Agrokultura Zakhid, will become the crown of the Memory Space. It is here that the families of the military and everyone else will have a place to meet, hold thematic events and commemorate the soldiers, as it is proposed to erect a Stele of Remembrance next to the amphitheatre with the names of the heroes who died fighting the Russian aggressor. Instead, in bad weather, the families of the victims will be able to gather in the future conference hall of UCU.
The new space will also be accessible to people with reduced mobility. It will have a modern transport interchange and will include existing bicycle lanes.
Volodymyr Zhenchak emphasised that the advantage of the proposed architectural design is that it takes into account and incorporates the existing urban space to the maximum extent possible, and therefore this proposal does not require significant additional investment or other complex decisions from local authorities, meaning it can be successfully implemented in the near future.
Relatives of the fallen soldiers, as well as members of the city and regional councils, took part in the discussion of the draft design of the National Heroes’ Space in Lviv. They stressed that the Agrokultura Zakhid initiative is a good example of developing a partnership between government and business in solving important problems of the Lviv community. After all, in times of war, the community’s top priority is to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and there is a lack of funds for many other social projects. At the same time, they noted that the proposed idea requires a deeper discussion with the participation of experts and the public, so that the needs and positions of all parties are taken into account in its implementation.
At the end of the discussion, the participants supported Volodymyr Zhenchak’s proposal to create an initiative group of civil society representatives, as well as the families of fallen soldiers, to support the project of creating a National Heroes’ Space in Lviv. Volodymyr Zhenchak, for his part, promised to provide maximum assistance and support to the group’s activities to bring this idea to life.