Glance out of the airplane window as you descend into Kyiv’s Borispol airport and you are likely to spot a 40-hectare explosion of rainbow-colored concrete on the ground below. This is Comfort Town, erupting from its drab surroundings like Lego on a shabby grey carpet. Comfort Town’s 180 low-rise apartment buildings are indeed inspired by children’s building blocks; a playful response to the sprawling 1950s and 60s communist-era housing that encircles them.
Residential complex
Timeline: 2009 – 2017
Total area: 512 200 sq.m
Location: Ukraine, Kyiv, 4 Reheneratorna St.
Link: https://archimatika.com/en/projects/comfort-town
Lead Architects: Dmytro Vasyliev, Aleksandr Popov, Olga Alfiorova
Design Team: Dmytro Vasyliev, Aleksandr Popov, Olga Alfiorova, O. Stolovyi, K. Romanenko, O. Lymarenko, S. Hrabar, O. Chubarov, V. Bebeshko, V. Pleshynets, Y. Zynovieva, O. Myhda, M. Morkovnyk, S. Kovalchuk, O. Hrytsak, K. Onachuk, A. Denysenko, V. Sinenko
The secured grounds operate as a city-within-a-city, housing everything needed for modern life, from shops and restaurants to schools and gyms. “Your little slice of Europe in Kyiv,” declares the brochure. Indeed, for the most part, its 8,500 apartments and manicured courtyards have been embraced by a generation of young families and urban professionals who feel culturally closer to Europe than to the country’s Soviet heritage.
The first residential complex in Ukraine based on the block development principle, instead of customary Soviet micro-district type. A different number of stories of adjacent buildings (ranging from 2 to 16 floors) forms a picturesque image of every street.
In the conditions of a limited budget, architects created sections with simple geometric shapes and made flat facades, thus excluding balconies and decorative elements. The focus was on three techniques: silhouette: different turns and height of dual-pitch roofs allowed to achieve an interesting shapes; window: the first housing project in Kyiv to use the French balcony system and the window shifting system, which allowed to avoid monotonous rows; color: the first daring color solution for a residential neighborhood in the country.
Residents have received a complex, comfortable environment with green pedestrian courtyards. Full infrastructural service includes fitness clubs, stores, kindergartens, and schools. A restored park with perennial trees, sculptures, and a fountain, block development, pedestrian courtyards where you can play with children – all that makes this residential the status of the district as a whole increased.
Comfort Town is the most successful residential property in Ukraine. Sales indicators peaked at over 200 apartments per month.
