The festival brought together architects, developers, urbanists, investors, cultural figures, and city residents — more than 3,500 guests spent the day in discussions, networking, excursions, and the atmosphere of a big city celebration.
Among the main events of the festival were:
◽️ Panel discussions in four halls — from investments in renovation and revitalization to the future of urban infrastructure;
◽️ Presentation of the new issue of DMNTR magazine;
◽️ Excursions to sites from leading developers;
◽️ A gala evening with a performance by Yevgen Khmara and a jazz band featuring Oleksiy Kogan.
Comments from participants:
Oleksiy Baranov: how city spaces are being rebooted
The general sponsor of the festival was Oleksiy Baranov, CEO of A Development. He participated in a professional interview entitled “Restoration and revitalization as an act of rebooting space” and conducted an exclusive tour of the A-Station space for partners and speakers.
Read the full interview with Oleksiy Baranov – https://share.google/pILaOIoTySJK96KGE
“Concept and location are two factors that drive real estate. We must create projects that change the face of the city and make Kyiv a modern European capital,” the developer emphasized.
Pavlo Somov: Restorative infrastructure is about people
EcoBud Building Group founder Pavlo Somov took part in two key discussions:
“Reconstruction through the eyes of a developer: is it profitable to invest in the restoration of the old city?”
“Restorative infrastructure: investment in restorative social infrastructure as a driver of sustainable urban development.”
“Restorative infrastructure starts with people. It’s not just buildings or parks, but above all, human potential, the ability of society to regenerate and create new spaces.”
Roman Ivanenko: Architecture of trust instead of fences
Roman Ivanenko, managing partner of Urban Development Group (UDG), presented the project “Architecture of trust: a park instead of a fence” and shared his experience of working on revitalization and new residential complexes.
“I want there to be no more fences around residential complexes in Kyiv. Fences do not provide security; they separate. If we build a city with fences, it will no longer be a city.”
One of the key themes of the festival: How has the demand for new buildings changed?
“Today, the key criterion for customers is confidence in the developer and their ability to deliver projects on time. In times of turbulence, trust becomes the decisive factor,” emphasized Boris Tsomaia, marketing director at RIEL.
The festival brought together key ideas about the future of cities:
◽️ Renovation and revitalization are the main tools for creating new value in abandoned properties.
◽️ Veteran spaces are becoming a priority in restoration — from rehabilitation centers to venues for entrepreneurship and community.
◽️ The investment attractiveness of urban projects directly depends on partnerships between business, communities, and government.
◽️ Development and architecture must work for people, creating sustainable and inclusive solutions.
Panel discussion: “Renovation. Revitalization: developers’ investment strategies for the future of cities”
Key points:
◽️ A new approach to urban development — developers face difficulties due to limited mechanisms for interacting with authorities, even when they have good ideas.
◽️ Revitalization “for the soul” — there are projects that are interesting to implement even without economic benefits.
◽️ Lack of urban planning policy — developers are ready to build, renovate, and restore, but are waiting for the right rules of the game.
◽️ Investment mechanisms — traditional instruments are high-risk, and there is no infrastructure for tokenizing assets. Legislative changes could significantly boost investment.
◽️ Cities after the war — the war may encourage the state to change its attitude toward urban planning.
◽️ An example of successful urban development — Vinnytsia has demonstrated effective cooperation between architects, the municipality, and the mayor.
◽️ The dream of a cultural project in Podil — the elevator could become a hotel and cultural center, similar to Silo in Cape Town.
September Fest 2025 proved that Ukraine’s new urbanism is emerging at the intersection of architecture, culture, economics, and lively dialogue.
Tel.: 044 461 91 28
www.ubc-ua.info/september-fest
Organizer: DMNTR
General Sponsor: A | DEVELOPMENT
About us:
DMNTR Media Group is a team with 25 years of experience in creating professional events for the architecture, construction, and investment audience. Our key projects include: Ukrainian Construction Congress, Ukraine Investment Congress,
All-Ukrainian Interior of the Year competition, Ukraine Urban Awards, and Creator of the Year architecture and development award.
We also publish the leading architecture and design magazine DMNTR and actively develop social media, where we publish daily insights, news, reports, and photo reports from all our events.
Link to the photo report – www.ubc-ua.info/september-fest
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Interfax-Ukraine – information partner
