A prototype for an easily constructed town hall building, offering a possible solution for about 400 sites, across Ukraine, for better access to local governmental services.

The building was commissioned and funded by the European Union – under a programme named U-LEAD – to facilitate the building-up of transparent democracy (where there has been none) by increasing the physical accessibility and efficiency of citizen service delivery at the local level.

The requirement for a building with an inherent ‘official’ presence resulted in a symmetrical, solid and sculptural approach. The proportions, with its prominent, high-pitched hip roof, relates to a tradition of roofs constructed to withstand heavy winter snow but also made it highly visible and instantly recognisable.

There are only solid brick walls at the four corners, housing closed use functions, such as toilets and storage. The rest of the facades are glazed. Full visibility was an actual requirement, thus the walls are opened to a large extent along the central axis so that each ‘room’ is formed as a series of niches within one and the same space.

Project partners

U-LEAD with Europe Program is a multi-donor action of the European Union and its member states Germany, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Estonia and Slovenia.

Sida is a government agency working on behalf of the Swedish parliament and government, with the mission to reduce poverty in the world.

Sida is responsible for the implementation of the second component of the U-LEAD Programme with a focus on establishing effective centres of administrative services through delegated cooperation.

In order to do so, Sida has subcontracted the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR/SKL International).

Susanna Dellans

Sida Programme Director of U-LEAD with Europe

Alexander Mazurkin 

Project Manager SKL International

Olga Glazunova 

U-LEAD Team Leader in Ukraine