Re-Form : from interstitial infrastructure site to trans-local urban space

Odessa is a capital of Odessa region and a main port of Ukraine. Due to its location on the coast of the Black sea, the city developed both as an important industrial and transportation hub however it has an important role in touristic life of Ukraine. Especially after annexation of Crimea, city became one of the main touristic destination of the country however in the present moment the city doesn’t have enough services and economy to operate this touristic flow at a good level. After the Revolution of Dignity happened in 2014, the government started the massive process of “De-communization” which means that all the symbols and attributes of Soviet Union times are being dismantled. Odessa is going through the process of building the new identity and looking for an answer of what is the new role of the city in the 21st century in a globalized world with open borders , as well as the whole country does. I concentrated my attention on the industrial district Peresip which is located between the historical city center and the residential district Kotovsky built in times of Soviet Union. Peresip is a deteriorated area full of abandoned factories, warehouses and gigantic green voids which is located 15 min away from the city center and has an exit to the sea front on the East and two coastal salt lakes on the North West. Due to its privileged location I believe this area has a potential to become a new symbol of redevelopment and bring new meaning and quality. Spaces are waiting for a project of relations and occasion to re-form a marginal and heavy infrastructure, transforming barrier into connection. Recover and redevelop open spaces with abandoned industries and create a multi-functional core which would integrate segregated neighborhoods and create heterogeneous urban fabric with potentially isotropic quality of centrality along the city’s main axe.