Kharkiv School of Architecture needs your support
ENVISIONING CITIES FOR CITIZENS: THE KHARKIV SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE PLANS FOR UKRAINE’S RECONSTRUCTION
- Funding Ukraine’s Future
The Kharkiv School of Architecture (KhSA) are looking for funds to train a new cohort of built environment professionals specifically to address Ukraine’s current challenges for shelter and housing and plan for its postwar reconstruction. In this, we act as mediators – gathering, collating and magnifying the voices and aspirations of Ukraine’s citizens, advocating on their behalf and proposing innovative solutions for adaptable habitats. We champion sustainable, inclusive, participatory and accessible spaces shaped by communities themselves and reflective of their diverse needs.
The students of KhSA were displaced from Kharkiv to Lviv midway through the current academic year as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine. We are urgently seeking €50,000 to allow these students to complete their studies for 2022/2023.
Given the widespread destruction of Ukraine’s human settlements and environment, KhSA sees an urgent requirement to adapt its curriculum to reflect this new context and meet the changing needs of the population. Architecture and urbanism specialists are crucial actors to help plan a path for Ukraine’s renaissance.
The Goal is to ensure that built environment professionals in Ukraine are already trained and ready to address the needs of people in displacement, people returning to their homes, and the specific challenges faced in the postwar reconstruction of community and civic spaces.
- What we have achieved from the start of the war
- Relocated the school from Kharkiv to a place of safety in Lviv, and refurbished the learning premises.
- Continued the professional training of 26 BA students, and enrolled 21 new students. With the Foundation Year, 109 students are currently enrolled at KhSA, supported by 36 staff.
- Updated the Bachelor’s programme and started to develop a new Master’s programme to address the challenges facing Ukraine’s cities and citizens.
- Held an end-of-year exhibition to present the students’ work and the activities of KhSA.
- Participated in a humanitarian project to design and construct 16 collective shelters for IDPs early in the war.
- Organised workshops and discussions to stimulate debate and critical thinking around Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction.
- What do we need?
Your support. We need financial support to keep the school open, to keep our students in education, and to strengthen our coalition of professionals, citizens and communities to catalyse Ukraine’s rebuilding. We also welcome academic, technical and material collaborations and partnerships to achieve our goals and enrich our knowledge.
- Who we are: KhSA
The Kharkiv School of Architecture (KhSA) is a private university that offers undergraduate (BA) and graduate (MA) qualifications in architecture and urban planning, the first private school to do so in Ukraine. Founded in 2017 alongside its affiliated NGO “Architectural Education”, it was established to provide globally-informed and locally-relevant knowledge on the built environment to students, aiming to help shape Ukraine’s cities for the future, at a time when Ukraine’s broader educational process was being restructured and its cities in need of rethinking. It uses an internationally-recognized format of studio teaching, seminars and visiting practitioners to provide students with transferrable European qualifications while engaging with a network of professional supporters and collaborators who bring a rich array of contributions to the discourse around Ukraine’s human habitats.
