Kyiv architect creates online self-help kit for rebuilding Ukraine homes
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Loading... - David Belmonte
- 03 May 2023
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Kyiv-based architecture studio Balbek Bureau has produced an online toolkit to help homeowners in Ukraine rebuild their war-damaged properties
The RE:Ukraine Villages constructor is a set of ready-made instructions featuring plans, drawings, façade scans and technical descriptions for those restoring their houses in the wake of Russia’s invasion of the country last year.
The practice said it aimed to ‘make the restoration process as respectful to the local context as possible', and both 'simple and accessible' to people with 'different needs and financial capabilities’.
The tool emerged following a research expedition by the practice last summer to 17 de-occupied rural villages, mainly in the Kyiv region. This involved photography, drone filming and talking to local people. As a result, the studio said it wanted to help ‘preserve the well-formed organic image of Ukrainian villages and safeguard it from being erased by typical buildings’.
Analysis of the data, taken from an identified set of 'rural house parameters' ultimately led to the creation of a design code, applicable to a wide variety of single-storey housing types, allowing homeowners to ‘quickly make the necessary decisions’ and start rebuilding.
The final online tool contains recommendations for the materials needed to restore or totally rebuild but does not yet include costing for each element or potential suppliers.
The practice told the AJ said it was now considering teaming up with a 'war-damaged house owner to make a beta restoration', depending on whether it could find a sponsor 'for this kind of testing'.
The project has so far focused on one-storey properties of between 80m² and 90m², which make up the majority of private houses in the region. A spokesperson added: 'Apartment buildings are usually restored by local authorities, often with the help of international donors.
'Our goal was to support smaller households who are usually left with this task on their own.' Read More…
