KVP Urban Landscape

The KVP Urban Landscape project aims to think comprehensively, interconnectedly and strategically about revitalising public spaces in the housing estate in Košice with climate changes in mind. Comprehensive revitalisations addressing the climate crisis focus on improving the quality of public spaces, expanding the offer of leisure activities and improving civic life. The project is a collaboration of Sídlisko KVP, a borough (city ward) in the city of Košice with us, Spolka, and other experts in landscape architecture, urban planning and mobility.

We called the project Urban Landscape KVP because we consider it a top priority to strengthen the existing greenery in a nature-friendly way, strengthen the interconnectedness of the ecosystem and link community and civic activities.

In the autumn of 2022, we started the project in cooperation with the borough by analysing the available documents and strategies. Initial interviews and field mapping, analysis of good practice and a preparatory study were also carried out at that time. The project will continue in the future when funding is secured. In 2023, several sociological and urban studies are planned after the implementation of the intervention. In 2024 and 2025, broader engagement with people towards comprehensive, connected and strategic thinking on revitalising public spaces on the estate with the climate crisis in mind.

##More about the project

Connected strategic thinking necessarily links physical space planning with process plans – professional and non-professional public engagement and maintenance management, that complement physical infrastructure changes. Involving the people of the urban area is an important aspect when deepening trust and also for mutual cooperation in improving and caring for the public spaces of the housing estate.
Many studies (e.g. in Jilemnice and Szczecin by UNIT architects, the regeneration of the Závod Míru housing estate in Pardubice by TAKTIKA, work of Interboro architects in Detroit) underline the fact that hand in hand with a good strategy, communication and co-creation, small, well-targeted interventions in a space are enough to significantly improve the thinking about the quality of life in a housing estate and thus, over time, the trust in new municipal solutions and the quality of life as such. The plan is therefore to carry out several interventions to strengthen the performance side of the project.


The aim of the first intervention at this stage is to introduce the project and highlight its purpose. To strengthen the existing green space in a nature-friendly way, to reinforce the connectivity of the ecosystem and to link to community and civic activities. The tool for realizing the objective – as based on the quality for which Spolka has been selected to work on this – is to create a positive future. Creating this future is also a shift from the established rut of focusing on fixing current problems instead of holistically grasping solutions.

The KVP Urban Landscape project is an impulse to think about the new future of the housing estate, which will be a long time in the making. This future is sustainable, beautiful and inclusive. We see the meaning of the first intervention as an opportunity to visualize this future and to kick-start the imagination of local people.

The intervention was made in the spring of 2023 in the area near the playgrounds in the wider radius of the Primary School on Čordákova Street, Košice.

We will only see the results of the intervention over time, by observing both the growth of the plants and the activities encouraged by its existence in the area. It consists above all in creating a place that communicates the possible values of the estate in the future:

There are a number of features on the housing estate that allow for rainwater management, e.g. concrete gutters. These are replaced at selected locations by a 'soakaway', which allows water to soak in or retain it, allowing it to evaporate. This also increases soil moisture. A 'soakaway' planted with perennial vegetation is also an aesthetic landscape feature that promotes biodiversity and improves the microclimate of the site. The perennial bed changes its appearance all year round. A well-designed bed is also sustainable in terms of care – it requires much less human labour than, for example, annuals.

We work with existing materials instead of creating new elements. Concrete production is emissions-intensive, so extending its lifespan is a way to reduce the ecological footprint of a project to a minimum. By recycling the elements, cleaning and coating them, we have a new modular system that can be used in many ways.

In collaboration with Polish landscape architect Natalia Budnik, we have planted perennial beds. Alongside it, we are using concrete modules to create a new type of furniture that will last for many years. Its variability makes it possible to create different elements for sitting, lying, planting and other activities. Abstract shapes without a clearly defined function stimulate the imagination for a variety of uses. At the same time, they draw attention to themselves and thus help to inform the housing estate transformation project with a positive example.

The project is a collaboration of Sídlisko KVP, a borough (city ward) in the city of Košice and Spolka: Architects MgA. Viktória Mravčáková, Ing. arch. Katarína Onderková and Ing. arch. Kristina Roman and sociologists Mgr. Lýdia Grešáková and Mgr. et Mgr. Zuzana Révészová, PhD.

We would like to thank other included experts in landscape architecture, urban planning and mobility for their support. The project was financed from the Sídlisko KVP budget.