As part of the development of a new concept of the Kharkiv master plan, the Norman Foster Foundation together with the Kharkiv City Council, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Arup and the institute “Kharkivproekt” hold an international architectural competition of modernization of residential quarters of the city.
“The announced competition is part of a large-scale project of the conceptual master plan of Kharkiv, which is being worked on by the Foundation of British architect Norman Foster within the framework of the UN project for Ukrainian cities. I urge Ukrainian and international architects to apply for it as actively as possible,” said Paola Deda, Director of the Department of Forests, Land Use and Housing of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, during the conference ‘Resilience, Reconstruction, Prosperity: Perspectives for Ukraine’s Economy’ in Berlin on Monday.
The press service of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration told Interfax-Ukraine that as a result of Russian aggression more than 9,000 buildings, half of which were housing, 130 schools and 110 kindergartens were destroyed, more than 160,000 people lost the roof over their heads.
The announced competition is a part of the large-scale project of the conceptual master plan of Kharkiv, which is being worked on by the Foundation of the British architect Norman Foster at the request of UNECE.
The focus of the competition is Kharkiv’s most densely populated and worst affected neighborhood, Saltovka, and more specifically Northern Saltovka.
“This competition is looking for solutions that bridge the gap between innovative design and practical application. The challenge is to develop a modular system that can modernize existing concrete panel residential buildings and improve public spaces by focusing on creating safe, energy efficient and dynamic neighborhoods,” the Foster Foundation said in a release.
Modular façade and roof components, bomb shelters, and the integration of additional features on first floors should be considered as part of the renovation. The system should also provide solutions for restoring severely damaged buildings with a renewed yet local architectural identity.
The Foster Foundation notes that given the typical development of Kharkiv’s residential areas, in the future the solutions found by the winning projects can be extrapolated to other residential areas of the city.
After the announcement of the winners, the selected proposals will be finalized to the working construction project.
The deadline for participation in the competition is September 12, 2024.
As reported, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) created the #UN4Kharkiv and #UN4Mykolaiv working groups and invited international architects to help these cities develop prospective master plans. Kharkiv is being assisted by the Foundation of British architect Norman Foster, in Mykolaiv the work is coordinated by the global design and architecture company One Works (Italy).
