A new life for the old boiler house: continuing Ro3kvit’s work in Truskavets

This August, the Kotelnya architecture and art laboratory took place in Truskavets. Over two weeks, participants worked with the former municipal boiler house, exploring what the future of the building and the surrounding area could look like.

Ro3kvit had already worked with this part of Truskavets through the Neighbourhood Development Concepts in Lviv Region project, supported by UN-Habitat. Together with the local community, we explored the residential area between Stebnytska, Ivasiuka, Stusa and Danylyshynykh streets and considered how it could change.

The former boiler house was one of the places we focused on. Together with residents, we discussed how the neglected site could gradually become a public space and connect more closely with pedestrian routes and other public spaces in the neighbourhood.

Now, a local team is continuing the work with the boiler house. From 3 to 16 August, architects, artists, researchers, volunteers and residents worked on site. They explored the building and its surroundings, looked for new ways to use the space, created outdoor furniture and art installations, and organised lectures, discussions and workshops. The team plans to gradually transform the former boiler house into a space for art, research and community activities.

Ro3kvit architect and urbanist Ruslan Antonenko also joined the laboratory. Together with local residents, he worked on the courtyard next to the boiler house, much of which is currently covered in asphalt. The group looked at where hard surfaces are actually needed, where they could be removed, and what could take their place.

For this conversation, Ruslan drew on WILDA: Creating Space for Wildlife Nearby — a project that offers a different way of looking at neglected urban areas and the nature that gradually takes root there.

What if the places we tend to think of as empty already have inhabitants of their own?

Birds, insects, small mammals and plants often find space in areas where human activity has declined. WILDA proposes making room for this life as these places change, rather than pushing it out. This can be done through small ecological interventions, more greenery, and the reuse of materials already available on site.

In the courtyard next to Kotelnia, this came down to a very concrete question: how much asphalt is actually needed here, and what could emerge if there were less of it?

Last year, together with the community, we began thinking about the future of this part of Truskavets. Today, a local team is carrying that work forward.

For us, this is an important outcome of working with a city: a project may end, but the process it started does not.