Rebuilding Kharkiv: UK engineer wins international design contest

It’s estimated that 70% of Kharkiv’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

An international jury selected a proposal devised by Andrew James Jackson, a partner at UK engineer Cundall, out of 259 entries from 53 countries.

Working with a team of designers from Cundall and architecture firm Gensler, Jackson proposed repairing salvageable Soviet-era housing blocks with modular, prefabricated exoskeletons, made locally with reinforced concrete using crushed debris aggregate

The proposal, titled “Healing Kharkiv: From Rubble to Renewal”, said this would add structural support and thermal insulation.

Among the proposal’s other recommendations were new outdoor communal spaces under modular timber canopies that harvest rainwater and provide venues for markets and social events.

The Norman Foster Foundation developed the Kharkiv Housing Challenge Architecture Competition with Kharkiv City Council, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Arup, and the Kharkivproject Institute.

Second place went to Zigeng Wang’s “Blooming Towards The Sun”, which based redevelopment on the level of damage sustained and featured irrigation systems for the cultivation and processing of sunflowers, a symbol of Ukrainian identity.

The third place in the competition was awarded to a team from Yıldız Technical University, Turkey, who propose a modular system of underground concrete shelters that can be used as protection during wartime and as public spaces, such as cinemas in peacetime.

Winning proposals will move into more detailed development, with the potential for teams to collaborate with local communities.

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