Floating hotels in the structure of riverside cities

Introduction. The river is the most important strategic city-forming resource, a historical factor of life support, economic development, trade, and tourism. The role of the backbone elements that form urban ensembles is always assigned to the areas along river banks. Hence, inefficiently used urban riverside territories are always conspicuous and disharmonious. Hotels on urban embankments is a stable trend that can increase the tourist attractiveness of cities, and therefore it requires a systematic and professional study. Materials and methods. The analysis and synthesis, based on foreign and domestic research and literary sources and design materials, prove that over the past decades, areas along river banks have been actively involved in the life of cities. In many cities complex, systemic programmes for the reconstruction of river bank areas are being developed. Results. The research results are presented in the form of an analysis of the world experience and relevant issues of the formation of public zones on embankments. The conditions for the construction of architectural facilities along river banks must be determined by the concept of transforming the embankment and the general principles of urban development. Trends in the arrangement of riverside areas and their general architectural principles are identified. The features and the international experience of the architectural design of floating hotels, the conditions for the interaction between water spaces and the structure of these hotels are also considered. Conclusions. The huge image potential of embankments is a significant factor for the tourist attractiveness of these areas. The insufficient legislative support of such facilities has been identified; the legislation, governing the operation of hotels, is to be revised to conform to the present-day reality.