Small architectural forms (MAFs), kiosks, are a popular form of street trade in major Ukrainian cities. For a long time, they existed without firm legal grounding, as the structures were installed under the pretense of being temporary. Over the years, MAFs became embedded in the urban fabric, evolving into an inseparable part of the city landscape. Public opinion about these structures has always been divided. On one hand, MAFs provide employment for tens of thousands of people and give residents access to certain goods within walking distance, often becoming informal social hubs, with familiar faces, small daily rituals, and a sense of continuity in the neighborhood. On the other hand, MAFs were often installed in locations not intended for trade, such as parks, public squares, and pedestrian paths.

Some of the common MAFs' on the streets of Kyiv

In 2024, authorities in Kyiv began working to legalize and standardize these structures, a reform that led to the demolition of roughly 90% of existing MAFs. MAFs situated in unauthorized locations, or operating without legal trading rights, began to be actively demolished, while new standards emerged for future construction: unified requirements for size, materials, and color. From then on, new MAFs could no longer exceed 30 m² in external footprint, and were limited to a narrow palette of grey tones and standardized facades of polycarbonate or aluminum panels.\
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I grew up in a city where MAFs were everywhere. Last summer, I returned home and discovered that most of them no longer existed, while the new ones looked dull and out of character compared to the surrounding urban environment. This gave me the idea to propose my own version of a small architectural form, specifically, a mobile structure that is easy to assemble yet built to last. As the form of trade, I chose a café. I drew inspiration from old photographs of embroidered towels. My MAFs are meant to embody lightness, aiming to become small oases within the fast-moving context of the city.