Dnipro Cliffs

Dnipro Cliffs is a project of eco village on the right bank of Dnipro river at Shevchenko places with stunning panoramas of 10km water surface. 5 houses architecture evolves according to landscape features. Dwelling integrates into the topography and designed based on sustainability, energy efficiency and cradle-to-cradle concepts.

NAME: Dnipro Cliffs
WORK NAME: Trakhtemyriv/TRK
LOCATION: Trakhtemyriv peninsula, Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine
AREA: Site appx. 15000 m2, houses total appx. 1200 m2
DATE: 2016-2017
PROGRAMME: Eco village with minimal intervention into natural context
AWARDS: Low-rise housing nomination award, National Union of Architects of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, 2017

ARCHITECTURE: Dmytro Aranchii Architects
DESIGN TEAM: Dmytro Aranchii, Ihor Kishta, Yurii Petreniuk, Aliona Bondar, Yelyzaveta Tymoshchuk, Yevhen Kravchenko

The designed buildings are located on the shore of the Kaniv reservoir on the Trakhtymyriv Peninsula on the territory of the existing village. The location is perhaps the most inspiring view of the Dnipro ever seen by a man. Neighborhood with the reserve and woody landscape with ravines of the peninsula provoke the creation of architectural mimicry.

The buildings are located along the topography lines of the site in order to be a continuation of the natural plan and initiate a minimum amount of excavation work. At the same time, the dipping of architecture provides the opportunity to enjoy the natural advantage of cooling in the summer and warming in winter. Evolution of building plans penetrates their continuous elongation along the isolines, which in turn enables longitudinal glazing and maximal visual connection with the environment.

At sites of 35 acres buildings are located at maximum distance from each other. Orientation of buildings in avarage is the east, but slightly varies regarding to the characteristics of local topography. In addition, integration into the landscape facilitates visual intimidation of the inhabitants – each neighbor sees only the Dnipro and the views, along with the natural intimacy of the neighbors, thanks to the terrace concept.

The ecology and energy efficiency of the concept are based on:
1 – reducing the trace of CO2 – that is, energy saving (economical heat pumps, the use of semi-damp location for compensation of cold in the winter and summer heat on one side and maximum thermal insulation and sealing on the other)
2 – the use of environmental friendly materials, craddle-to-craddle – the concept of reuse or environmental recycling of materials, such as metals and wood
3 – the application of alternative energy sources as the main power source
4 – the use of the inflow and exhaust system with the recuperation, which allows to get fresh air without significant heat losses
In general, it is planned to achieve A+ energy label

5 energy effective houses 200-240 m2 each with terraces and outdoor pools, as famous Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko said, ‘rise and then they drow’

Site located 100km from Kyiv

Trakhtemyriv peninsula has rich history: trypillia culture, schythians, cossacks, world war second. Perhaps all the main epochs of Ukrainian history

The houses are located at a distance of 50-60 m apart from each other and oriented on the views of Dnipro and the forest of the neighbouring ravine

Neighbors do not see each other, but admire landscapes instead

The geometry of buildings is integrated into the structure of the relief

This makes it possible not only to mimic the architecture and get the warmth / coolness of the earth, but also to orientate the homes to the water naturally