A poignant historical project billed as the largest museum initiative in Ukraine is under construction
Jez Abbott
The National Museum Memorial to Holodomor Victims is the creation of Warsaw-based design studio Nizio Design International owned by Miroslaw Nizio. The practice prepared an architectural design for the Kiev museum with Ukrainian studio Project Systems.
Last November marked official celebrations to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the 1932-1933 Great Famine, which gripped Kyiv. Events were attended by the several national presidents. Miroslaw Nizio, who heads Nizio Design International, met the president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, along with Ukrainian architect Andriy Myrhorodsky, and Ivan Vasyunyk who is helping organise the design of the Museum of the Great Famine: Holodomor.
The starting point for the design of the memorial building is the concept of blending in the tectonics and landscape of the Dnieper valley slope. The museum building is located on an axis leading from the viewpoint to the existing candle-shaped monument commemorating victims of the Holodomor – the man-made famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933.
The architectural form of the building is an image of the idea of bringing to light the deliberately hidden truth about the Holodomor (Great Famine). Through artistic and architectural solutions, the designers intend to arouse emotions and reflection on the tragedy that took place in Ukraine. Construction work will take several years. Total usable area of the Museum is almost 14,000m2, while the exhibition area will occupy over 3,500 m2.
Nizio Design International was involved in the creation of shows at two of the most visited cultural institutions in Poland: the Warsaw Rising Museum and the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.
