Design renderings of the future Museum of the Great Famine in Kiev, Ukraine, have been released by Polish studio Nizio Design International, which is working with the Ukrainian design studio Project Systems on the development.

The Great Famine, or Holodomor as it's known in Ukraine, claimed millions of victims between 1932 and 1933. Its causes are the subject of controversy amongst historians: whether a genocide against the Ukrainian people or the result of a wider famine in the Soviet Union.

The proposed 14,000sq m (45,930sq ft) museum will blend into the tectonics and landscape of the Dnieper valley slope near Pechersk Lavra, a place of unique importance in Ukrainian history. The museum will be underground, with an angular split roof that suggests the passing of tectonic plates above and below each other. The roof sits upon heavy concrete walls that descend to the subterranean exhibition spaces.

Both the architectural design and the nature of the exhibits within suggest where those behind the project see the fault for Holodomor lying. Nizio Design International says the “architectural form of the building is an image of the idea of bringing to light the deliberately hidden truth about the Holodomor”, while angular walls that extend into the space throughout “reference the destructiveness of the Bolshevik revolution of 1917”.

One part of the exhibition looks at the reasons behind the famine, while a second is dedicated to the “rebirth” of Ukraine, its “struggle for independence and the overcoming of the trauma of Holodomor”. This will feature motifs of green sprouting plants and crops alongside more lighting and a brighter colour palette. Close to the exit will be located a “Zone of SIlence”, with soft lighting and plants, offering a place for quiet reflection.

No date of completion for the Museum of the Great Famine has yet been announced.