Earlier this year the unprovoked barbaric Russian invasion of neighboring independent Ukraine forced millions of people to flee their cities and the country in search of safety. I talked to one of Ukraine’s top architects, Oleg Drozdov, who was forced to relocate his practice and architecture school he co-founded in Kharkiv, to Lviv, 1,000 kilometers to the west, next to the Polish border. His staff and professors — many of them assume both roles — resumed their work just weeks after the war broke out.
Lviv Regional Sports School for Children and Youth in Stryi Park. Image Courtesy of Drozdov & Partners
One of the most urgent problems faced by Ukrainians today is the unsettled situation faced by displaced citizens, along with the challenge of returning to the cities they were forced to abandon earlier this year. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has shared that efforts to rebuild Ukraine will require ‘colossal investments’, and as leaders gather to work out ‘Marshall plan’ to rebuild the country, local architects have already begun developing emergency housing, healthcare, and educational facilities in cities further away from the Russian border.
As a temporary solution to the displacement of north-eastern and eastern Ukrainians, Drozdov&Partners, together with Replus Bureau and Ponomarenko Bureau, have begun refurbishing shelters for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Lviv and its region, using school campuses and other large-scale facilities as temporary housing.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has expressed concern over the damage caused to historic landmarks in Ukraine and called for the protection of its cultural heritage. At the same time, the organization has taken action within its capabilities to help safeguard the endangered sites. Ukraine is home to seven World Heritage sites, including the 11th-century Saint-Sophia Cathedral and the entire ensemble of the Historic Centre of Lviv. In addition, several sites in the recently damaged cities of Kharkiv and Chernihiv were on the tentative list for potential nomination to World Heritage status.
.jpg?1656927557)
.jpg?1656927557 "Lviv Regional Sports School for Children and Youth in Stryi Park. Image Courtesy of Drozdov & Partners")
.jpg?1656927412 "Lviv Regional Sports School for Children and Youth in Stryi Park. Image Courtesy of Drozdov & Partners")
_(1).jpg?1656927415 "Lviv Regional Sports School for Children and Youth in Stryi Park. Image Courtesy of Drozdov & Partners")
.jpg?1627000722)
.jpg?1627000683 "© RomanShyshak")
.jpg?1627000500 "© RomanShyshak")
.jpg?1627000791 "© RomanShyshak")
.jpg?1627000902 "© RomanShyshak")
