Architects X Ukraine. Ways to help, cases & research

ARCHITECTS X UKRAINE

WAYS TO HELP, CASES AND RESEARCH

HOW YOU CAN HELP*

* THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT EXHAUSTIVE INFORMATION, BUT RATHER EXAMPLES OF THE PROJECTS WORKING WITH REBUILDING, CITY PLANNING, WHERE YOUR HELP WILL BE USEFUL.

PROJECT NAME: RE:Ukraine System

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The number of projects created by Kyiv’s leading architectural BalbekBureau. Among those projects, there’s RE:UKRAINE VISION, aimed at creating a vision for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. The project aims to create an application generating virtual images of restored buildings/ districts/cities in various designs. A product that will combine the architectural expertise of Ukrainian and international experts, digital architecture tools, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality to help launch the planning process for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine today.

WHICH EXPERTS ARE NEEDED: Specialists working with AI algorithms, Developers, Architects and designers who are interested in joining the creation of MVP

HOW CAN YOU JOIN: Write to Anna Viktorova — a.viktorova@balbek.com

LINKS: Site, Instagram

More ways on how you can cooperate with RE:Ukraine here.

PROJECT NAME: Rozkvit

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: A coalition of over 80 professionals from Ukraine and beyond uniting their efforts to develop knowledge and methodologies for rebuilding Ukraine’s urban and rural environment and infrastructure. Rozkvit was founded in 2022 in response to the massive destruction caused by russian military aggression and addresses urgent needs raised by stakeholders now and connects this to future strategies. Fuelled by studies on other (postwar) countries, we are developing new, future-oriented urban design methods, co-creative organisation and sustainable development.

WHICH EXPERTS ARE NEEDED: Specialists in Infrastructure, Urban planning, New housing models, Sustainability, Citizens engagement, Education and capacity building

HOW CAN YOU JOIN: Just fill in this Google Form

LINKS: Site, Instagram

PROJECT NAME: ReStart Ukraine

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Our goal is to provide a comprehensive platform that would concentrate expertise around the critical steps for rebuilding Ukrainian cities.

ReStart Ukraine is open to citizens, activists, architects, designers, researchers, anthropologists, municipalities, NGOs, international organisations, government departments, private businesses and anyone who would like to contribute to the task of restoring the war-torn urban fabric.

WHICH EXPERTS ARE NEEDED: Experts in urban planning, architecture and heritage, participatory practices, infrastructure, survey, mapping, visualisation of complex data and material science

HOW CAN YOU JOIN: Just fill in this Google Form

LINKS: Site, Instagram

PROJECT NAME: Playinq

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Architectural and research initiative of children's urban spaces. We work with communities and advise on how to build safe, exciting and accessible playgrounds for children. Since the initiative has a powerful research unit, it deals with specific topics - for example, medical kits for schools. This same unit develops new children's outdoor play equipment and conducts experiments in the field of accessibility.

WHICH EXPERTS ARE NEEDED: Architects which will create the designs of children's playgrounds.

HOW CAN YOU JOIN: Write to Anna Aksyonova — aksyonovanna@gmail.com

LINKS: Facebook (Unfortunately, only in Ukrainian, but if you need more information, I can collect it and translate it into English)

PROJECTS YOU MIGHT FIND INTERESTING

(MAYBE EVEN INSPIRING�)

REBUILDING RAVES by Repair.Together

OVERVIEW: The initiative which restores the communities that suffered from russian aggression while listening to the best Ukrainian techno DJs

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Together with locals, authorities, and volunteers from Ukraine and all over the world, the team is trying to deal with the consequences of the war. The team constantly visits de-occupied communities to support them in this darkest hour. Together with 2500+ volunteers, they have already cleaned up 120+ houses in 15 villages and prepared them for reconstruction. Also, they have already repaired 30 houses and built 7 new houses from scratch, and those families are back in their homes. The next milestone is to build 16 more new houses. During the work, Repair.Together held 15 concerts and 3 raves with dozens of DJs and performers.

ADDITIONAL INFO: From 10.07.2023 - 10.10.2023 Repair.Together organises an International Building Camp — a permanent camp for constructing 15 houses in the villages of Ivanivska Community, Chernihiv Oblast. The construction will be carried out by volunteers from all over the world under the supervision and guidance of professional builders.

LINKS: Site, Instagram International Summer Camp Site

HOUSING by RE:Ukraine

OVERVIEW:

RE:Ukraine Housing is a temporary housing system for internally displaced persons designed to help them adapt, socialise and reintegrate

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Team have analyzed world practice in developing, constructing, and maintaining such settlements. As a result, they developed a system of values to ensure temporary but dignified living for Ukrainians and now are working on the pilot project implementation for 15 families in Bucha district.

Using the pilot example, team will get hands-on feedback: will monitor how residents interact with the space and process their feedback to optimise future RE: Ukraine Housing settlements. The pilot will also help test various materials and technologies and find the best option in terms of time, labor costs, and energy efficiency.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Although this project was developed as a response to russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, team believes it can benefit other countries, too, such as for the temporary resettlement of victims of natural disasters. Fellow architects from different countries could help RE:Ukraine Housing go global and adapt the project's planning solution in compliance with local building standards and regulations.

LINKS: You can learn more about it here.

VILLAGES by RE:Ukraine

OVERVIEW: Online self-help constructor for rebuilding Ukraine homes where after designing your house you get its full project manual

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The goal of the RE:Ukraine Villages project is to preserve the well-formed organic image of Ukrainian villages and safeguard it from being erased by typical buildings.

Bureau's team formulated a design code for the deoccupied areas. We compiled our findings and observations into an accessible online constructor that will help homeowners quickly make the necessary decisions and start rebuilding.

After completing all the steps, a user gets a readymade pdf manual with isometry, plans, drawings, facade scans, a technical description, and finishing materials recommendations.

One can choose the size of the house that meets your personal needs, as well as its planning, for which we have collected options common in Ukrainian rural architecture.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Though developed firstly as a rebuilding tool, this constructor can be flexible according to the needs of every country - whether it’s looking to provide people with tools for building their homes or saving the architectural heritage and typical decor of its regions.

LINKS: You can construct your house in style of Kyiv or Chernihiv areas here, and learn more about the project here.

URBAN CAMP by Urban Reforms

OVERVIEW: Center of internally displaced Ukrainians and the development of street cultures in Lviv opened in reused modernist building

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Urban Cam encourages integration into the community, training participation, holds masterclasses and concerts and focuses on comprehensive development. In particular, it includes temporary hostel-type housing for families with children who lost everything due to the war, event space and yard for holding events, and shelter. The first Urban Camp opened in March 2022 and accommodated 200 IDPs. More than 20 events for residents were carried out, and psychological support, everyday meals, care and comprehensive development of camp residents were provided. The second Urban Camp is designed for 100 people; it occupies three floors and has a yard, park and large event premises. Its idea is the integration of all youth street cultures and creative industries into a single ecosystem under one roof.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Much work in creating the Camp was done by volunteers and the community. Only for the arrangement of the inner yard of the camp were held 10 workshops over the course of 4 months, and about 200 people took part in them.

LINKS: Site, Instagram

MYKOLAIV VISION by One Works

OVERVIEW: First stage of the Mykolayiv Masterplan developed together with One Works which includes a huge research on the city

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: One Works, alongside the Mayor of Mykolaiv and UNECE, recently presented the results of the first important analysis phase for implementing the #UN4Mykolaiv project.

Over the past six months, the One Works team and its academic partners Politecnico di Milano and LIUC University, as well as digitisation partner GISDevio, have been working pro-bono with Mykolaiv city authorities and institutions on developing a strategic framework preliminary for the city. This will provide necessary background information on the physical, social, and economic context, as well as common objectives defined with a participatory approach between institutions and population, to all who are and will be involved in the future development of Mykolaiv.

ADDITIONAL INFO: This is also the way how you can help Ukraine — individual architecture offices could partner with Ukrainian cities to develop strategies and masterplans.

LINKS: You can find the Mykolayiv’s Vision, which is a starting ground for the city’s Masterplan here.

RESEARCH & CONTENT YOU MIGHT FIND USEFUL*

* ALSO JUST A FEW EXAMPLES, ALL PROJECTS MENTIONED HERE HAVE MUCH MORE INFO ON THEIR WEBSITES.

URBAN RECOVERY GUIDE by

Urbanyna

OVERVIEW: Urban Recovery Guide which includes practices, recommendations and solutions for building/ rebuilding.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Dozens of our cities and villages were destroyed in Ukraine due to the war unleashed by Russia. Kindergartens, schools, houses, yards, and streets are in ruins. We believe we will rebuild all the destroyed cities and improve them. However, this is a challenging and long-term mission that requires the efforts of numerous specialists and organisations. In order to speed up the course, an Urban Recovery Guide was compiled. It includes the best global practices for designing and creating comfortable cities, standard solutions for designing streets, arranging houses, planning yards, and much more.

ADDITIONAL INFO: This guide was made by experts from the Urbanyna office and more than 50 volunteers. Once the first version was created, it was made public and collected feedback from municipalities, experts and communities. The latest option takes all this feedback into account.

LINKS: You can learn more about the guide and download it here.

HOUSING POLICY AFTER WAR AND NATURAL DISASTER by IAA

OVERVIEW: Report on housing policy after war and natural disaster, which analyses the experience of Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, The UK, Georgia, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, T+rkiye, and Croatia.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: At the time of this report, russia has destroyed more than $54 billion worth of Ukrainian homes and displaced 5 million people. At the time of writing, Russia has destroyed over $54 billion worth of Ukrainian homes and displaced 5 million people within the country alone. Despite the ongoing war, the housing issue for people with nowhere to return to must be addressed now. In this document, we have collected eight housing stories in countries that have experienced severe destruction. The strategies and approaches described can only be transferred to Ukraine with further study, but the trends and failures identified in these cases may help plan for reconstruction.

LINKS: You can find the study here.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION HANDBOOK by Ro3kvit

OVERVIEW:

The Public Participation Handbook of Urban Planning for Ukraine explores the ways of how you can involve community into urban development

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Dozens The Ro3kvit and the URAG of the American Planning Association International Division have developed "The Public Participation Handbook of Urban Planning for Ukraine” (Handbook) in response to the need for community involvement in the rebuilding effort for the Ukrainian post-war recovery. The Handbook aims to furnish practical insights into public participation in urban planning for planners, administrators, and public officials engaged in urban planning and development in Ukraine. It serves as a comprehensive guide for formulating regulations and procedures concerning urban planning. Moreover, it can be utilised to create public participation frameworks tailored to specific projects. This publication can also be a valuable resource for trainers and educators who wish to incorporate urban planning education into their courses.

LINKS: You can learn more about the handbook and download it here.

IDPs, URGENT HOUSING RESEARCH by Ro3kvit

OVERVIEW:

Research project on IDP and refugee housing in Ukraine, Poland and Romania, to develop general methodologies for EU countries and donors

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Ro3kvit conducted a research project on IDP and refugee housing in Ukraine, Poland and Romania to develop general methodologies for EU countries and donors based on the request from The New European Bauhaus.

The research was held due to the existence of an acute housing crisis and a lack of instruments and strategic visions to solve it and manages existing knowledge to support sustainable decisions on local levels.

The objective was to develop a typology of possible solutions to address the urgent housing needs of internally displaced people in Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees in the EU. Moreover, to compare alternative solutions and provide guidance for relevant public authorities.

LINKS: You can read the research here.

PUBLIC HOUSING RESEARCH by

Cedos

OVERVIEW:

Public Housing Policy in Ukraine explores current state and prospects for reform while also analysing housing policies Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovakia and other countries

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The study is dedicated to the problem of guaranteeing the right to housing and to the issues of reforming the state housing policy in Ukraine, which also analyses several studies about housing policies in different countries. It highlights the main findings, future avenues of inquiry and potential recommendations for the reform.

The study was conducted in 2019 by the CEDOS think tank and analyses changes in Ukrainian legislation on housing initiated since the country got its independence, available data about the performance of the existing state housing programs, and relevant data from the State Statistical Service. Besides that, a sociological survey was conducted specifically for the purposes of the study.

LINKS: You can find the study here.

HOUSING AND WAR by Cedos

OVERVIEW:

Public Housing Policy in Ukraine is an overview of some of the main trends and changes in the housing sphere in Ukraine since February 2022.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: russian aggression has caused the biggest housing crisis in Ukraine’s history. In the past year, thousands of buildings have been destroyed by Russian attacks. According to various estimates, housing stock losses in 2022 reached from 135,000 to 817,000 destroyed or damaged buildings. These estimates remain approximate because the ability to examine buildings physically is limited in the conditions of military activity.

It is based on an analysis of national and local government bodies' decisions and on public messages and information by official institutions and nongovernmental organisations. This document has been prepared with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

LINKS: You can find the study here.

THANX FOR YOUR TIME*

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE INFO ABOVE, NEED SOMETHING SPECIFIC FOR YOUR RESEARCH OR NEED ANY HELP IN COLLABORATING WITH THE PROJECTS MENTIONED ABOVE (OR ANY OTHER UKRAINIAN INITIATIVES), PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME - I’LL BE HAPPY TO HELP IN ANY WAY I CAN mail: alinanagoncharenko@gmail.com whatsup, signal and other stuff: +380677007297