Lands of Borderlands

The Polish-Ukrainian borderland (formerly the Eastern Borderlands) is a territory with a complicated past, full of mysteries and dramas, which evokes emotions but thanks to its rich history may present universal truths. The project deals with the subject of spaces which, for different reasons, end up in the sphere of invisibility - physical or/and metaphysical. It talks about memory in the landscape and the importance of the identity of a space. It emphasises the role of emptiness and the practice of mindfulness. The aim is to show that invisibility does not mean absence - in a broad sense.

The designed sites are located near the Polish-Ukrainian border - in the Gmina Lubycza Królewska. The idea is based on noticing and emphasising the titular Lands, appearing in the plural, in order to show the variety of layers that build the image of the Eastern Borderlands. The project is presented in seven parts: the cemetery, the forest, the flowers, the river, the gardens, the tserkov, the light - each preceded by an introductory sentence. Conceived as coffer, storing stories, the designed places are meant to show the identity of sites - based on the memory preserved in the landscape and its elements, the metatext of space and the remains. The project does not intend to tell everything - that is impossible - but, it may expand to other sites. The locations were selected on the basis of interviews with residents and in situ studies. Hence, each part begins with a micro-reportage. The selected sites are scattered - an important element is the movement (e.g. wandering) that can occur between and inside them. The designed sites are not in one form forever - they become rooted and evolve with the landscape, changing according to the seasons. Process is a value in them. The materials and technologies used are environmentally friendly, which allows to penetrate more deeply into the landscape. Although the project contains references to memory and history - the present is just as important - it teaches mindfulness. The designed spaces, with their intimacy, refer to the idea of emptiness in architecture, which enables ‘happening’ - allowing a pause in consumerism and the rapidity of life. Rather than explaining, the spaces are meant to make visible, to show existence - they are not there to illustrate fully - they preserve mystery. The essential in them is the unspeakable.