At first glance, it looks like something out of a Wes Anderson movie. Orderly buildings in whimsical colours punctuate the otherwise grey cityscape. Comfort Town is a 40-hectare complex in the heart of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. This urban oasis, with its affordability and affable charm, was created to lift the spirits of its 20,000 residents. The project boasts numerous schools, a retail center with a supermarket, three swimming pools, a gym, 22 playgrounds, sports fields and office facilities. Comfort Town has been deemed the most successful commercial project in Ukraine in the residential property sector for the last 25 years.
But it’s the colour that defines the development. Co-designer Dmitro Vasyliev says, “The only instrument we had to work with was colour. We used the simplest materials and the simplest techniques. We really just had the colour and the lines of the skyline.” The colours help spread hope, especially during the brutal war with Russia. Tetiana Donets, 23, a film producer who lives and works in Comfort Town, says, “Most people moving here want to be as far away from the past as possible. I think (the developers) are trying to achieve a revolution of happiness.” Colour has a way of achieving just that.