What do you want Ukraine's postwar architecture to be like?

article fromA&B 06 | 2022 issue

Russia's invasion of Ukraine brought misery and destruction to our lands, which will have to be rebuilt sooner or later. Cities, towns and villages, housing and social, industrial, infrastructure facilities. Without this, a full-fledged life for Ukrainians is not possible.

To consolidate efforts, the Chamber of Architects of Ukraine, which is a branch of the National Association of Architects in Ukraine, has created a coordinating center for developing a strategy for renewing our cities and municipalities. On March 21 this year, the Manifesto of the Architects of Ukraine was published, emphasizing that new architecture is to be modern, European, based on the continuity of our traditions. It is especially important to create new meanings, devoid of typically Russian narratives and forms. Because where these forms reign, sooner or later, "ruski mir" appears, carrying grayness and impersonality. Ukrainian architecture is supposed to carry new meanings: respect for human beings, the importance of common spaces, energy independence, accessibility, security, the power of self-government. Symbols of the Soviet colonial past should disappear from our cities. The idea of freedom is to be the foundation of the new architecture of real Ukrainian independence.

We asked architects from various Ukrainian cities about the directions for creating postwar Ukrainian architecture.

Alexander Chyzhevsky

President of the National Association of Architects of Ukraine

The role of architects and urban planners is crucial in the processes of reconstruction and urban development of postwar Ukraine. There is no doubt that it should be implemented through sustainable spatial development of cities, on the basis of appropriate urban planning documentation (comprehensive concept of municipal development, historical-architectural reference plan, spatial development plan, strategic urban forecast, etc.), taking into account the updated Development Plan of Ukraine, along with the implementation of the European regulatory framework. The potential of the professional architectural community should be actively utilized: the organization of the National Union of Architects of Ukraine and its Chamber of Architecture.

International cooperation between NSAU and foreign architectural unions is of great importance. This cooperation will help realize a European direction in the development of our architecture.

Oleksandr Jarema

People's Architect of Ukraine, Professor of the Architecture Department of Lviv Academy of Fine Arts

In the post-war architecture of Ukraine, attention will have to be paid to theurban solutions of border crossings, which are a kind of bridges connecting Ukraine with neighboring countries. The experience of the first days of the war, when tens of thousands of people were concentrated at the crossings, should be a warning. Mistakes and negligence in the organization of access roads and service areas for people waiting in queues led to hypothermia, disease and even child casualties.

There is no doubt that when reconstructing the existing border crossings after the war, architects will have to rethink their approach to the functional content of the complexes of these important infrastructural facilities. In addition to properly designed access roads, the crossings should have sanitary facilities, heating points, retail and service facilities, recreational areas, parking lots, car service stations. For families with children, there should be a playground. An important element should also be an information system that will clearly and conspicuously provide necessary guidance to travelers.

Architectural solutions must be well thought out, this will allow to change the function of the development of border crossing complexes in the future, as was the case at the crossings between Poland and Germany.

Ukraine's border regions are a promising site for logistics centers, transportation hubs and free economic zones - important elements of Ukraine's post-war reconstruction.

Anna Kyrii

Vice-president of the Chamber of Architects of Ukraine, president of the Anna Kyrii Architects office

Ukraine is currently in the heat of the war. Fighting is underway to liberate the temporarily occupied territories. Russian troops continue to destroy Ukrainian cities. At the same time, many territories have already been liberated. Kiev is fairly quiet, people are already used to the alarms, and architects from outside the ranks of the Armed Forces or territorial defense are returning to work in their offices. It's time to think about restoring what has been destroyed. And not just about restoration, but also about planning anew. I see seven important areas of such work today:

1. Studying successful cases of post-war and transformational urban reconstruction. Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, Bilbao. I consider one of the most successful cases to be the transformation of the city of Bilbao. A powerful team worked not only on architecture and urban planning, they also created a new vision for the city based on its DNA. It is very important for us to study not only the architectural and urban planning decisions, but also the management and political decisions that resulted in a great aesthetic and economic outcome.
2. Studying thecontemporary demands of our military and civilians. Of particular importance are the current problems of pressing defense and survival needs. We need to study how future cities are perceived by people who already have experience in surviving and fighting in a defensible city. We need to combine these inquiries with up-to-date information from the military on all the weapons people need to be protected from, the time it can take for rockets or artillery shells to arrive, to clearly determine how long it will take to get from housing to shelter. This research is needed to find optimal solutions, rather than mindlessly designing a bomb shelter in every home. After all, we need to design cities first and foremost for peace, not for war.
3. An interactive damage map should be created to coordinate recovery efforts. It will help in compiling statistics and gathering source data for design. It is important that such a map be multilayered: so that anyone can register a damaged or destroyed object, experts can make technical studies, determine the cost of restoration, and it is possible to overlay it on a public map. Then we would know exactly the extent of the damage, the cost of restoration, and have a publicly available analytical base for all professionals involved in construction.
4. Thedevelopment of temporary housing projects for the temporarily displaced should begin with a full inventory of the available real estate stock, developing mechanisms for its use: rent, resettlement in new buildings purchased by the community, construction of public housing. The design and construction of temporary housing, if necessary, should be carried out through competitions with clearly defined criteria and clear objectives.
5. Of course, legislative mechanisms should be developed to enable rapid construction. But it is important not to lose sight of the architecture itself. Therefore, the voice of architects should be included in all legislative initiatives related to urban reconstruction.
6. It is very important to develop principles on the basis of which the reconstruction of cities will be carried out. It would be best to create a map describing the steps and preparations for such reconstruction. This is a powerful analytical work that should begin now.
7. We need to create effective and interdisciplinary teams that can work with people in creating visions for cities and their implementation. It is very important that people from the reconstructing cities are involved in this process. Such dialogue is needed now.

The architectural community of Ukraine is mobilized and involved in these projects. We need the support of our Polish and European colleagues, institutional, intellectual, material and financial support. We count on your help and cooperation. Let's make Ukraine even more beautiful together!

Serhiy Burawchenko

Vice President of NSAU

Experience in designing buildings for people affected by natural disasters justifies an approach that sits between industrial construction and the desire to individualize buildings, to make urban space diverse, humanized, addressed to specific areas, cities and towns.

The elements of such construction are single-segment houses, repetitive dimensions form multi-segment sections. Modularity guarantees rapid construction. Within a single prefabricated or monolithic skeletal module, the internal layout should be flexible, allowing the formation of dwellings with minimized space or combining spaces to achieve optimal solutions.

The configurability and plasticity of the outer wall of prefabricated blocks are relatively arbitrary for a single module. They can vary not only within individual houses (sections), but also within floors, allowing, for example, the placement of a window on the first floor, recesses and projections on different levels, and the creation of terraces. This provides opportunities to realize the creative vision of both young and experienced architects. The design of assumptions can involve leading architects and urban planners, who will help to organize sequences of accents, isolate fragments of problematic spaces, introduce unifying concepts for groups of buildings and streets (determine the types of finishing materials, color, texture).

Ihor Kuzmak

Chairman of the Lviv Branch of the Chamber of Architects of Ukraine

Under wartime and post-war conditions, the construction of temporary housing for migrants must be calculated in detail. Before available resources are directed to the construction of temporary housing from prefabricated structures, local authorities should conduct an inventory of existing housing and consider renting it at state expense. This will provide migrants with an adequate level of living conditions.

Another source of housing can be facilities built by developers for sale. The state can take care of them, use them for a few months of the migrants' stay, and then include them in the social housing program, for example, giving them to doctors, teachers or firefighters.

As for the work of architects in general, it sometimes seems to me that European designers do not think about the safety of the users of future buildings. Meanwhile, the events of recent weeks show that the safety of residents is one of the main functions of residential and public buildings in our cities. This includes not only the physical security provided by bomb shelters, but also, perhaps most importantly, energy security. All buildings must be renovated or built to new standards that ensure an adequate level of energy independence, which means having the best thermal insulation performance and using alternative energy sources. In order to create modern architecture, it is necessary to have new principles that correspond to new living conditions.

Another important issue is the efficient use of Ukrainian territories for agricultural production. This applies not only to agricultural land, but also to urban green spaces. Examples of the use of urban land for growing vegetables and fruits are provided to us by London from the time of World War II, also now in Paris we can find numerous examples of urban farms on the rooftops of shopping centers. New challenges will change the habits and priorities of Europeans.

Yuri Dzhigil

Architect, member of the Board of the Lviv Regional Organization of NSAU, associate professor at Lviv Polytechnic University

Ukraine's post-war reconstruction should proceed in the following strategic directions, corresponding to its main resources:

1. Land. The first task is to restore the borders. Next - the inventory of land and updating of cadastres, taking into account the ownership of land and property on it. Next - the new urban planning law of the post-war period. Changes in building regulations are last in this chain.
2. People. Free people need to restore the previous state. The main goal is to return to their lands. The needs of the people will have to be met by all legal means, but these laws must be revised and adapted to the needs and conditions of the postwar period.
3. Costs. Rehabilitation funds must be controlled. The most important thing is who will dispose of them. The task of these funds is to restore not only the square meters of lost buildings, but above all to create a modern, comfortable and safe architectural environment.
4. Timing. I would like the recovery process to be quick and efficient. This means that architects will have little time for creative exploration. That's why we need to think about it, think about creating economic incentives - free economic zones, tax breaks, legislative deregulation and so on.

Mykola Sheremet

Chairman of the Lviv Regional Organization of NSAU

The experience of the war time in Ukraine showed very clearly that architecture must respond to the needs of society, especially the need for security of urban and rural residents. In the new course of history, humanity has returned to the demands of the concept of the ideal city. Of course, the city of the 21st century will provide security for its residents not through walls and fortifications. Rather, it will be through thoughtful urban planning and the use of technological innovations, such as Israel's Iron Dome and patrol drone systems.

A safe city is a low-rise city without large areas of glazing. Homes where each apartment is equipped with a chamber made of concrete, and public buildings with missile shelters. Security also means energy independence, or the ability to operate without a central supply of electricity, water and heat. A network of wells with hand pumps can supply water to the city's residents during hostilities, and electric generators prepared in advance can provide them with electricity. The tragedy of Mariupol residents confirms the need for simple and reliable solutions that can save the lives of many people in critical situations.

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In times of war, the period between the creation of a concept and its implementation shortens significantly. On April 27 it was reported that the Ukrainian government has developed a program to build temporary housing and buy ready-made properties for citizens who lost their apartments and homes during the war. About 600,000 citizens are currently in need of a roof over their heads.

By the end of the year, it is planned to build 30,000 apartments worth a total of 36 billion hryvnias. The government will also buy ready-made apartments in new buildings across Ukraine and temporarily resettle Ukrainians whose homes are being rebuilt. The purchased apartments will be owned by the state. As soon as the homes of those affected are rebuilt, the housing will be returned to the state and transferred to the next residents.

More than 53,000 apartments are planned to be made available by the end of 2022, covering the needs of 186,000 migrants. The order in which they will be transferred will be determined jointly with local authorities.

Alexander BARANOVSKY