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In January 2025, the second international workshop of the Kharkiv School of Architecture, Building Back Better, brought together more than 150 architecture and urban design students, as well as teachers, researchers, and representatives of civil organizations from Ukraine, Norway, Poland, Ireland, Czech Republic, and other European countries.

This large professional community gathered in Lviv and Warsaw to work together in parallel on new ways of representing risk in architecture and urban environments, with a focus on researching the city of Odesa and Black Sea coast region.

For the Kharkiv School of Architecture, the workshop was key in establishing connections aimed at launching an independent Master’s program in architecture and urbanism for post-war recovery and reconstruction.

The Odesa: Topographies of Risk. Sustainable recovery through education and collaboration exhibition showcases the results of the workshop, displaying student ideas and initiatives. The goal of the exhibition is not to offer ready-made solutions to problems, but to provoke city dwellers to think and initiate discussions about urban transformations.

 

When? March 28-30, from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Where? Sens on Khreshchatyk, 34, second floor, Kyiv

Free admission


Sea, city, district, home – these are the four scales in which the teams researched different risks and damages, both physical and emotional – damage to society, to lives, neglect, and perceptions of safety.

Sea: The studio rethought the Black Sea not just as a coastline, but as a separate actor with its own history, problems, and ecosystem. Initially, the focus was on the Odesa Bay, but it gradually expanded to the entire marine basin. Participants emphasized the shared responsibility for its ecological condition, as issues that arise in rivers ultimately impact the sea and all coastal cities.

In addition to the ecological aspect, the studio also explored the cultural dimension – how people perceive the sea and how this connection may change. Understanding the sea as a space of interaction between countries and regions allows for rethinking approaches to its protection and integration into future projects.

City: The studio in Lviv examined Odesa through an emotional lens, focusing on the personal stories of residents and the subjective perception of the city. The primary tool used was storytelling, with the initial task being the creation of collages, which helped participants form a shared vision of Odesa’s emotional layer. 

At the same time, a different part of the studio in Warsaw worked on the physical structure of the city. Together, they looked at Odesa as a “city in between” – a space combining the material and emotional.

District: The studio explored Odesa’s neighborhoods, focusing on the relationships between the community and urban space. The main attention was given to the issue of closed territories and fences as social barriers that limit accessibility and interaction.


Participants worked with two neighborhoods – Arkadia and Peresyp – studying their contrasts and potential. An important part of the research was understanding how local initiatives can contribute to broader transformations, making the urban environment more open, inclusive, and resilient.

Home: The studio investigated how homes transform: their external component – the connection to the city, yard, and stairs – and their internal aspects that form the feeling of home inside an apartment or private house.


Special attention was given to the emotional aspects of space. Students collected personal stories from residents about their vision of home and its significance during wartime. These data are crucial not only for architectural research but also for future reconstruction, as the emotional dimension often remains overlooked in urban projects.

We are grateful to our Ukrainian and international partners, friends, workshop participants, and the teams in both Lviv and Warsaw, as each person involved in this project plays an important role in its realization. We believe that this event will not only strengthen the discussion but also create a crucial step toward architectural, urban, and landscape innovations in Ukraine’s urban environment. The workshops and exhibitions were realized with the support of the UN-Habitat office in Ukraine.