Research and Social Projects

The “Culture in Recovery” (CuRe) project is implemented within the Partnership for a Strong Ukraine (PFRU) programme in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and other governmental and professional partners. Its aim is to strengthen the capacity of Ukrainian communities to recover in ways that take into account their cultural heritage, local identity, historical memory, and social context, combining the “hard” recovery of infrastructure with the cultural and social dimensions of development. This approach is grounded in the principle that recovery should not be limited to the physical reconstruction of damaged or destroyed assets, but should also preserve and strengthen the cultural and social foundations that shape the distinctiveness, identity, and cohesion of each community.

An important component of the programme is the “School for Communities — Culture in Recovery”, which brought together representatives of 12 frontline communities. Throughout the programme, community teams worked on issues of cultural heritage, local identity, spatial development, community engagement, strategic planning, and the preparation of recovery projects. The training combined learning with practical work on real community projects and supported teams in preparing their proposals for submission through DREAM, Ukraine’s public investment management system. During the first stage, the participating communities developed 11 projects, four of which were selected for further support and implementation.

The Kharkiv School of Architecture joined the programme as a partner providing academic and professional expertise. Faculty members of KhSA acted as mentors to the community teams, helping them rethink their projects through architectural, spatial, and cultural perspectives and align proposed solutions with local contexts and the needs of residents. This mentoring work builds on KhSA’s educational model, which emphasises engagement with real territories, concrete clients, and complex societal challenges. Within the programme, KhSA experts worked alongside specialists from Lanka.pro and the NGO Agency for Recovery and Development, providing practical guidance and support to the teams as they developed their projects.

The completion of the first educational stage marked not the end but a continuation of the collaboration: KhSA continues to provide mentorship to the teams whose projects were selected for further implementation. The School’s involvement therefore extends across the entire process — from developing knowledge and methodologies for culturally sensitive recovery to working directly with communities and supporting specific recovery projects. For KhSA, this experience is also an important component of its research and educational activities. Working directly with communities provides an opportunity to test and further develop approaches to recovery, integrate them into educational processes, and generate new knowledge about the role of architecture, culture, and spatial planning in Ukraine’s recovery.

The collaboration is continuing into the next stage of the programme. In 2026, the CuRe programme launched a dedicated research and methodological initiative, “Strategies for Culturally Sensitive Recovery”, with the participation of KhSA. The initiative focuses on developing educational approaches for training recovery professionals, including a competency framework, curricula, and teaching methodologies that can be integrated into the Ukrainian higher education system. For KhSA, this provides an opportunity to connect its practical experience of working with communities with theoretical research and the further development of contemporary approaches to architectural education.

Architectural Heritage Preservation in Times of War: The Ukrainian Model contributed to the preservation and rehabilitation of Ukraine’s architectural heritage by creating documentation of architectural monuments, strengthening professional education, and training a new generation of Ukrainian conservation architects. The project was designed as a two-year initiative (four academic semesters) to deliver comprehensive courses for senior undergraduate architecture students and two cohorts of faculty members from architectural schools across Ukraine. The curriculum covered 3D documentation, architectural documentation, heritage analysis, conservation assessment, international conservation standards, and Ukrainian legal regulations.

The project was funded by the Public Diplomacy Section of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. It was implemented through a collaboration between the Heritage Management Organization, the Kharkiv School of Architecture, and Skeiron LLC, a leading Ukrainian company specializing in the 3D documentation of architectural heritage. This partnership responded both to the urgent need to document and preserve Ukraine’s architectural heritage threatened by war and to the need for high-quality education in architectural conservation, preparing a new generation of professionals capable of working with heritage in the context of post-war recovery.

The project originally aimed to produce 3D scans and architectural documentation of up to 30 heritage buildings in western Ukraine and to train 40–50 architecture students and 20 faculty members in the theory and practice of 3D documentation, architectural documentation, heritage analysis, conservation standards, and condition assessment.

The project commenced on 1 September 2024 and was planned for two years. However, following the suspension of U.S. international assistance programmes, the project’s funding was discontinued, and it was therefore implemented only during its first year.

During the first year, the project delivered the following activities:

• Development and delivery of a 3D Documentation course for third-year students at the Kharkiv School of Architecture. The course combined theoretical and practical training in digital heritage documentation, introducing students to a wide range of 3D surveying and mapping techniques, as well as methods for processing, analysing, and interpreting spatial data.
• Development and delivery of a public webinar series featuring leading international experts in architectural conservation. Between September 2024 and May 2025, seven online webinars were organised, strengthening professional dialogue and expanding the international network of Ukrainian heritage specialists.
• Development of an annual public programme consisting of online lectures and practical sessions with leading international experts in architectural conservation. The programme included discussions with architects from Lebanon and Iraq on post-explosion recovery of buildings, as well as lectures by American and European architects on adaptive reuse. It fostered new professional connections between specialists in Ukraine and their international colleagues, integrating Ukrainian professionals into broader international networks of expertise and collaboration. The programme was launched on 27 September 2024.

The project was supported by the Public Diplomacy Section of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. The views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Government.

Kharkiv School of Architecture participated in the three-year international project UREHERIT. Architects for Heritage in Ukraine. Recreating Identity and Memory.

The project lasted 36 months (2023–2026) and was co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.

The project addressed the evaluation, preservation, and restoration of Ukraine’s urban and architectural heritage during and after the war. Heritage was understood as a resource for sustainable cultural, social, environmental, and economic recovery, while contributing to the redefinition and strengthening of national and local cultural identity and preserving memory throughout the reconstruction process.

Within the project, interdisciplinary teams of Ukrainian and European heritage specialists, architects, planners, engineers, other professionals, representatives of local authorities, and communities from Ukrainian cities shared knowledge and experience while developing methodologies, educational courses, and participatory projects. These activities aimed to strengthen competences in heritage protection, the regeneration of culturally significant places and sites, and the empowerment of local communities as an essential component of building a new, democratic, and sustainable Ukraine with strong local and national identities.

The project was initiated by the Lithuanian Association of Architects and brought together a consortium of 11 partners from different countries and institutions: the Architects Association of Lithuania, Architects Sweden, Bundeskammer der Ziviltechniker:innen – BKZT (Federal Chamber of Architects and Chartered Engineers, Austria), the Royal Danish Academy, the Institute of Technology and Architecture (IBT), the Architects Chamber of Romania, the National Council of Architects, Planners, Landscapers and Conservationists (CNAPPC, Italy), the Bundesarchitektenkammer e.V. (Federal Chamber of German Architects), the Estonian Association of Architects, the National Union of Architects of Ukraine, Ro3kvit – Urban Coalition for Ukraine, and the Kharkiv School of Architecture, with the Architects’ Council of Europe participating as an associate partner.

With this project we wanted to contribute to the recovery of architecture as a field of cultural expression by inviting Ukrainian architects, and heritage professionals in particular, to collaborate with European architects on an equal footing: to exchange knowledge and experience and jointly develop methodologies suited to the Ukrainian context for the sustainable and inclusive preservation and recovery of Ukraine’s urban and architectural heritage.

Ruta Leitanaite, project initiator and coordinator, Member of the Council of the Lithuanian Association of Architects.

The overall objective of the project was to strengthen the cultural sector of architecture as a dynamic field connecting tangible and intangible heritage with contemporary architecture and urban design. Its long-term objectives were to build capacity to: (1) recover war-damaged immovable heritage in Ukraine as part of the broader reconstruction process; (2) restore social structures and identities through heritage recovery; (3) engage local communities throughout all stages of recovery; and (4) stimulate local economic networks and processes.

The project programmes included activities aimed at two principal objectives: (a) preparing the post-war recovery of Ukraine’s cultural sectors through needs assessments, capacity building, and investment planning; and (b) training Ukrainian cultural heritage professionals in the protection of heritage from current and future risks.

The project resulted in a set of recommendations and methodologies on:

— heritage value assessment and damage evaluation;

— transforming heritage into a sustainable, economically viable, and culturally meaningful resource for local communities and Ukrainian cities;

— holistic renovation of Soviet mass housing in Ukraine;

— participatory approaches to heritage protection;

— architectural competitions: organisational and financial aspects;

— the relationship between technology and heritage;

— enhancement of educational programmes in schools of architecture;

— the content, financing, and organisation of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes on sustainable heritage recovery.

The project established a platform for long-term collaboration among architects, urban planners, landscape architects, and heritage specialists from Ukraine and across Europe to protect and develop nature and cultural heritage as a resource for Ukraine’s recovery.

Within the UREHERIT project, the Kharkiv School of Architecture contributed to several key activities:

— development of two undergraduate courses, “Critical Reconstruction and Heritage” and “Atlas of Modernism”, aimed at developing knowledge, competences, and practical skills for working with architectural heritage at risk, whether threatened by public rejection, as in the case of Soviet heritage, or by destruction resulting from the war;

— piloting within the educational programme the methodologies and recommendations developed by the Lithuanian partners on the holistic renovation of Soviet housing in Ukraine;

— participation as experts and lecturers in selected modules of the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme on sustainable heritage recovery for architects.