UCU - Collegium Y. Slipoho
| Розмір | 6720 × 3780 |
Architecture: AVR Development
Landscaping: MI studio
Area: 8,500 sq.m.
Year of design / implementation: 2016-2021
Photo: 2020
For over 20 years, the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) has been gradually developing its campus. It is evident that the university is looking to the future and paying close attention not only to modern student development programs but also to architecture, learning, and living conditions. A fruitful collaboration with architectural firms Behnisch Architekten and AVR Development has made it possible to create cool architectural objects on the university campus. For two years, I have had the opportunity to observe the life of this unique student space, which is located in the area of historical buildings and in the immediate vicinity of Stryiskyi Park in Lviv. I am grateful for the great trust on the part of the University for the opportunity to work unhindered at any time of the day and year. This has allowed me to take a huge series of photographs that reflect the atmosphere of student life. Collegium-2 is not just a beautiful, modern building and a dormitory in the usual sense. It is a completely different philosophy of living and studying for students. The new Collegium combines many functions and offers a large selection of options for organizing student housing. Residents have not only recreation rooms where there are comfortable furniture with bathrooms and study areas. There are also cooking blocks on the floors with comfortable furniture and panoramic windows. First of all, the Collegium is a center for recreation, study, leisure, and development, with office blocks and guest rooms. It is a fully inclusive space that facilitates the comfortable movement of students with reduced mobility. Wide sidewalks, corridors, stairwells, and elevators. The huge area of panoramic glazing of public spaces gives a lot of light, a feeling of spaciousness, lightness, and visually expands the space, conditionally uniting the premises and the street. An interesting architectural solution is the rounded corners of the building. Such a streamlined plasticity of the facade looks friendly and gives the impression that the building embraces the inner cozy courtyard and invites you to take a walk around the University campus. It is worth paying attention to the special rounded windows, which are located at the corners of the building. The view through such windows to the outside leaves an extraordinary impression and a feeling of a special space. A significant part of the first floor and the lower level of the building is occupied by a unique student space. There are student club areas, a cinema hall, a cafe, game rooms, a fitness center, classrooms, the dean's office of student life and the student government office, a laundry, and a large bicycle parking. Separately, I want to mention the convenient, cozy, and green space around. Wide unobstructed sidewalks, huge areas of green lawns, and an interesting inner courtyard, which consists of a lower and upper part. The upper part is an open lawn with several trees and a terrace. The lower part is a small landscaped hidden courtyard, which creates a more private atmosphere. It is worth noting that the new Collegium is open to all UCU students and life here takes place literally around the clock. A cutting-edge view of the processes of learning and leisure of students has made it possible to create modern architecture with a well-thought-out space and great attention to detail, natural materials, and modern approaches to energy saving during construction. I have been here many times and I do not stop being inspired by the unique space and interesting modern architecture, and I always find new perspectives and subjects. This friendly space leaves only pleasant impressions, which encourage you to return to it again and again.