Background

Prior to the game, Melitopol participated in a European Council project aimed at developing intercultural cities. Proposals for the regeneration of Gorky Park were subsequently submitted to the EC guests. In addition to its honey and cherry production, Melitopol boasts a truly multicultural population, with a long, peaceful intermingling of more than one hundred nationalities within its confines.

Objectives

The overall aim of the game was to create an intercultural park on the current site of Gorky Park. According to the organisers, the park has become the main leisure centre for city residents, as well as attracting tourists travelling on summer holiday to Crimea. The game was co-organised by the Department of Culture of the Melitopol City Administration in cooperation with the NGO Democracy Through Culture.

Winning idea

Intercultural Park of a Hundred Cells
The name refers to honey, an important component of regional identity. The team proposes that the park become a centre of recreation and creative activity. A fountain called ‘Dandelion’, with added elements representing cherries, honey, and elements of technology to represent the city’s manufacturing base, would occupy the central position in the park.  Adjoining the fountain would be ‘Unity Square’. The various nationalities of the city would be represented as the cells of a beehive. National cuisine, a children’s railway, a centre for crafts and artisans, a ‘lovers’ lane’, a medieval castle, and others would be featured as vital expressions of national identity. Viewing the park as a map of the globe laid flat, the city’s various ethnic groups would be represented in cells that, in the park, roughly correspond to their place on the globe. Garbage bins that respond with "Thank you" were also proposed. A lover’s lane ending in a monument/statue in the form of wedding rings; a winter park and the reestablishment of the summer theatre in the park; a “walkway of the senses”, where the environment responds to passers-by through motion sensors; a separate area for children's entertainment; a service that offers the chance to have a short film made of your visit to the park.

Winning ideas from the other teams

Park of One-hundred Cultures
The idea divides the park into four zones corresponding to the seasons, to be located around a five-storey ‘Tower of a Hundred Cultures’ resembling the Tower of Babylon. The following innovations were proposed by the group: a ‘Path of the Senses” circling the globe; a planetarium featuring new technological attractions; an intercultural park where flora from around the globe is cultivated; a walkway bordered by lime trees and highlighted panels; a skating-rink and stadium complex with a sustainable micro-ecosystem; “dancing waters”; a tree monument where wedding processions could plant a cherry tree in a show of civic responsibility and unity; an exhibition hall for modern art, and a literary café; commissioning a graffiti fence and featuring other techniques of modern art. The group members surveyed 138 people, soliciting still further ideas and receiving a favourable response to their proposals.
 
Friendship Land
The group proposed an idea of the park planned around a central fountain celebrating friendship and built in three-tiers with separate rooms inside. Inside the fountain, the space would be used for art exhibitions, a café, and a viewing platform. Water and water attractions would be the main feature of the park, complete with canals, and a skating rink.
  
Intercultural High Tech
Participants approached the project with the mindset of offering a realistic, and new, city identity. They proposed exploiting the existing land, landscaping and park features to their full potential. The “Dandelion” fountain, for instance, would remain the central focus of the park, adjoined by an area of international cuisine and a Melitopol-in-Miniature exhibition. Converting the café-disco "Panorama" into a concert venue would enrich the music scene of the city. Cycling has become an important aspect of city-life, and a sports and recreation area would capitalise on this trend. Extreme sports activities would also feature in the transformation of this area of the park. The team proposes creating a GOOGLE Monument with a WiFi hot-spot. A summer stage is proposed to address the needs of the alternative music and arts scene. This proposal envisions a park whose special character encourages people not to litter and to pursue a healthy, active and ecologically-conscious lifestyle.

Origins
The idea proposed to demolish the Gorky Monument and rename the park. Park attractions would correspond to generational interests and divisions. A tower called ‘Alexeyev’s Rainbow’ would be built. Much attention was paid to the needs of children in this project: a youth complex called ‘Chill-Out’, as well as other attractions and recreational areas for children. The adult zone would be called ‘Vernissage’, where retirees would not be bothered by the activities of the young and active. ‘Alexeyev’s Rainbow’ itself would be comprised of a multi-storey building, with each culture in this diverse city having its own zone.