“DOORS TO UKRAINE. designing for urgency”

Curator: Anastasiya Ponomaryova
Organizer: Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (gta) Philip Ursprung Chair, gta exhibitions
Support: Chair of Sociology, Department of Architecture, ETH Zürich

The exhibition challenges a limited perspective on reuse and promotes a comprehensive approach to low-carbon, cost-effective, and urgently needed design. The selection of door, as a particular architectural element for this purpose is not coincidental; it holds the symbolic significance of a secure home and is urgently required for shelter provision in Ukraine for forcibly displaced people. How can we support ongoing refurbishment efforts in Ukraine through door reuse? And how can the quality of an upcycled door enhance a sense of home during times of uncertainty and forced displacement?

This challenging approach involves connecting with the target community in Ukraine, implementing innovative design solutions to address the challenges of the given materials in the new context, and practicing collective care. Architecture, viewed here as a critical success factor, is also a process.

CO-HATY is an ongoing initiative in Ukraine, led by the NGO "Metalab," that provides shared accommodation for over 700 forcibly displaced people. The team has been refurbishing abandoned buildings since April 2022 to house people from different cities affected by urbicide, occupation, and siege. While their vision for return varies, they all share the need for shelter for an uncertain period of time.

Due to shortages of local resources and financial support during the wartime, the international community provides items to the CO-HATY team. Among these partners, RE-WIN from Switzerland accumulates and delivers materials to Ukraine, while BRDA, TLO, and NIAiU in Warsaw identified the potential for adapting the given items through the power of design.

Photo on the poster by Stephan Lisowski ©METALAB

Topic of panel discussion, October 3rd, 2023, 6 p.m.

“Reimagining the Architect's Role: How Does Practice Respond to War and Natural Disasters”.
• Philip Ursprung - professor of Art and Architectural History at ETH Zurich
• Anna Dobrova - architect, cofounder of NGO“METALAB”
• Adam Przywara - an architectural historian and researcher, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Fribourg
• Momoyo Kaijima - professor of Architectural Behaviorology at ETH Zurich
• Daniel Stirnimann, engineer, member of RE-WIN

Exhibition team
• Curator - Anastasiya Ponomaryova, architect from Ukraine, co-founder of CO-HATY project (active member April 2022 - November 2022), research fellow of ETHz GTA Philip Ursprung Chair (ponomarova@arch.ethz.ch)
• Laura-India Garinois - researcher, architect, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (liag@mit.edu)
• Pavlo Zabotin - architect (zabotin86@gmail.com)
• Viktor Kopieikin - architect (kopvictor@gmail.com)
• Warvara Yagnysheva - graphic designer (warwara.jagn@gmail.com)

Support in project implementation
• MISTI Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology - supported intern for summer internship
• RE-WIN - accumulated materials for CO-HATY through their network (re-win.ch)
• NGO Metalab - implemented given items from Switzerland in CO-HATY project (www.metalab.space)
• NGO Urban Curators - coordinated and fundraised for the delivery truck of donated items from Switzerland to Ukraine (urbancurators.com.ua)
• Parity Talks - supported one-day workshop with ETH Zurich students and tutors from BRDA, TLO, and NIAiU in Warsaw (parity.arch.ethz.ch)