Rooms to Breathe

This project reimagines Vyzvolennia Square, the DASU building, and a section of Mira Avenue as a unified “common breathing field” that prioritizes pedestrians, cyclists, and community life. The proposal constricts vehicular traffic to a peripheral loop while converting the square and park into flexible, year-round public space for fairs, recreation, and gathering. Anchored by the concept of “Rooms to Breathe,” spatial volumes for play and pause, including sunken cafés, performance floors, and food courts as well as leisure lawns, art stations, and woodland clusters, are linked by a serpentine pedestrian spine. These rooms integrate sustainable landscape strategies, preserving tree cover, incorporating permeable surfaces, and introducing water features for cooling and play. The DASU building is revitalized as a community center with porous façades, active terraces, and inclusive programs that blend indoor and outdoor life. Together, these interventions create a resilient urban commons that is playful, inclusive, and regenerative, setting a precedent for Mariupol’s future corridors of breathing spaces.