Square "Yhuyen" / "Legend"

Area: 2.9 hectares

Verkhoyansk is considered to be the coldest point in the world where people live year-round. Extreme athletes and thrill seekers from all corners of the world come there every year. Undoubtedly, the development of a comfortable environment directly affects the tourist potential of the area. At the same time, the creation of a modern facility makes residents of a remote northern region feel part of a large community.  

Verkhoyanskiy district is also famous for being the birthplace of the beloved Yakut folk tale "Bies ynakhtaakh Beiberiken emekhsin" (Yak. "Old Lady Beiberiken with five cows"), the work on which the identity of the proposed public garden is based. The public garden is named "Yhuyen", which means "bylina, legend, lore" in Yakutian. According to the authors' idea, it embodies an island of warmth and fairy tale in a region with a harsh climate.

The projected area is located in the city center near the shore of Lake Is-Baigal. The central Novgorodov street passes nearby. The lake is unattractive, slowly shallowing. But despite this, our team was able to create a harmonious and ecologically friendly public garden. There are also two monuments on the territory, dedicated to veterans of the Great Patriotic War and a local narrator of the Olonkho, the heroic epic of the Sakha people.

Since ancient times, storytellers have performed olonkho "without a break for seven days and seven nights" at the Yakut kamelek stove. This image became the identity of small architectural forms in the form of traditional Yakut furniture "oloppos" and kamelek-shaped lamps using infrared heat. Together with modern elements of urban furniture, they present a unique space with children's and sports grounds, canopies, tables with benches and walkways, as well as a year-round pavilion.

The variety of functional zones: sports, event, play and quiet recreation zone, contributes to the creation of a place of attraction for all citizens, where they can organize various events, do sports, play with children or just relax by the lake.

The general composition of the "Yhuyen" public garden is made in the form of the sardaan (lily) flower, which has been revered by the Sakha people since ancient times. It is a symbol of beauty, long-awaited summer, happiness and prosperity.

The project is the winner of the All-Russian competition of the best projects for creating a comfortable urban environment in small towns and historical settlements in 2020 (federal funding - 45 million rubles). In 2021, the project won first place in the Federal Contest of Best Practices of Development and Digitalization of Urban Environment, Improvement of Public and Backyard Spaces in the nomination "Best Public Space in the Arctic".

You can read about the project in more detail on the official website of the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation: https://minstroyrf.gov.ru/press/v-samom-severnom-gorode-yakutii-postroili-sovremennyy-skver/, on the website of the Project Directorate of the Ministry of Construction of Russia: https://pdminstroy.ru/tpost/49bexjnhl1-verhoyansk-ostrovok-skazochnosti. 

The project was included in the "Arctic" library of practices for the development and improvement of the environment of Arctic settlements in Russia and around the world: https://arctic-library.ru/library/skver_yeen_v_verkhoyanske/?sphrase_id=369.