THE CURRENT FEATURES OF THE CENTRAL PUBLIC SPACE FUNCTIONING IN THE HISTORICAL CITY, A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

Central market squares are a characteristic feature of many cities in Central and Eastern Europe. Historically, it was formed in such a way that the presence of a market square was a sign of the urban status of a territory. They were laid as perfect geometric forms of the spatial centers of life of citizens, and due to the central location, economic and cultural value, were the core of the city, from which the street network was expanded.

The Lviv city center is the Rynok Square, the architecture of which was laid in accordance with that time trends of urban planning, and throughout its history, was the heart of the city, where all the most important events in the life of the citizens were held.

The aim of the article is to determine the features of the central area functioning as the public space of the historic city on the example of the Rynok Square in Lviv. The basis for this article is a field study conducted in October - November 2018, to analyze the geometric characteristics and the use of square as a public space.

The result of the study is to determine the key characteristics that are depicted in the diagrams and reflect the geometry of the area layout, the location of various public institutions (stage 1), as well as various quantitative data reflected in the diagrams that provide information about the numerous characteristics of different types of space use (stage 2).

Rynok Square has an almost regular geometric shape - a square (side 128.5 x140 m), from which eight streets diverge, two for each corner. The space of the square forms 44 tenements, and the building of the town hall in the center. Also here are four fountains that are significant landmarks for visitors.

As a result of measurements, the following characteristics were established:

- dimensions of the area - 147 mx 128.5 m;

- area - 14,200 square meters (excluding the area of the territory occupied by the town hall)

- the ratio of width to length - 128.5 m / 147 m = 0.87;

- the highest point - 65 m (Viewing Tower on Lviv Town Hall);

- the average height of the building - 16 m (the number of floors of buildings 3-4 floors)

- the ratio of length to average height of building - 147m / 16m = 9.2;

- the ratio of width to average height of building - 128.5 / 16m = 8;

- the ratio of the width at the highest point - 128.5m / 65m = 1.98;

- the ratio of the length at the highest point - 147m / 65m = 2.26;

- number of trees – 36

The plan of the Rynok Square took place in accordance with the then tendency to form regular development using a modular grid. The area was divided into modules of 9.25 m. (30 feet, or 2 rods), that is, 14 and 16 modules, respectively.

The study of the types of functional content of the active first floors, and the space of the area, provided the following data:

- administrative institutions -4 pcs. (it includes the largest building of square - the Town Hall)

- service institutions (banks, exchangers, pharmacies, shops, catering establishments, terraces of catering establishments) - 45 pieces;

- cultural institutions (museums, galleries, Observing Tower) -8 pcs.

As can be seen from the numerical data, the most quantitative in the Rynok Square is the service maintenance establishments (78%), among which catering establishments predominate (45% of all public institutions in the square).

The result of this survey was the division of the Rynok Square into five main zones for further research: four zones corresponding to different sides of the Rynok Square, according to their location relative to the cardinal points, and the fifth zone - the central part, which includes the Town Hall and fountains.

There is an imbalance in the functional planning of the Rynok Square. Thus, the southern side performs a significant transit role, since the tramway passes through it and the public transport stop is located here. The functional filling of the first floors are exclusively service establishments. The eastern side is formed by cultural institutions, mostly museums and galleries. The northern and western sides are the main catering establishments in the Rynok Square.

What is more, second stage of study allowed us to apply the results to the next steps.

- Areas of influence and activity of users of the square were calculated;

- Whole square is divided due to different action zones with their current and possible features;

- Institutions and places that are most and least popular are determined;

- The tendency of changes in the interaction of people with architecture is shown, according to the research time (Tuesday and Saturday, 8.00-22.00);

- Overspent points and potentially attractive areas are detected;

- Possibilities of the Rynok Square as a place of transit and destination point are estimated;

- Disproportion in use of architectural and social space of the square is shown;

- Specification of vehicle use is detected.

The authors’ methodology for researching the use of social public space, developed in the course of work on the analysis of the Rynok Square, allowed to obtain a comprehensive result regarding the significant features of the space: geometric and quantitative data. Due to this method, it was possible to analyze the current state of the Rynok Square, the next stage will be the analysis of adjacent streets, to discover the subsequent picture, and, as a consequence of checking this technique, for the use of city-wide structures that are different in scale.

The authors first conducted a study of the historical space as a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site, not only from the side of their geometric significance, but also according to its social characteristics. For this purpose, the separated concepts of architectural geometry and interactive-social space were introduced. Only in this combination can be developed the areas and streets of cities, both developing, and historically-formed architectural