Restoring Lviv and its suburbs

Ukrainian article of the week published in the 46th edition of the "What about Ukraine" newsletter on September 19th, 2024. The article was written by Ivanna Krukovska for Ukrainer.net and was translated for n-ost by Olesia Storozhuk.

The city of Lviv has provided refuge for many Ukrainians who fled from shelling in search of relative safety in the west of Ukraine. Some people have found a temporary home there, while others have stayed longer. Although the air raid signals are now heard less often in Lviv than in the last two years, the city has experienced significant damage. It has suffered from massive attacks since the full-fledged invasion. However, its location far from the front line allows the city to function as a volunteer hub and provide opportunities for children to learn and play in a relatively stable environment.

As part of the ‘Restoration of Cities’ project, our team of journalists from Ukraїner went to Lviv to visit a new mother-and-child centre, and talk to one of its developers and the local residents.

We also asked a city council representative about the restoration of residential buildings after the enemy’s attacks, while the residents of the Horodok town near Lviv told us about their experience of preserving cultural heritage.

The ‘Unbroken Mothers’ project

After the beginning of the full-scale invasion, many people from other Ukrainian regions arrived in Lviv, including pregnant women and mothers with children. Shelters lacked space, and their conditions were unsuitable for mothers to give birth and raise children. That is how the idea of creating a temporary city with modern housing emerged. The ‘Unbroken Mothers’ initiative is part of the rehabilitation and reintegration ecosystem of a network of ‘Unbroken’ centres.

The ‘Unbroken Mothers’ centre comprises two houses in Lviv’s park area. Both buildings include 17 separate modules united in a two-storey space. Each house includes 13 bedrooms designed for 50 people. Moreover, the centre has all the necessary facilities for comfortable living: laundries, showers, lounges and kids’ areas. This housing is intended for pregnant women and women with children only.

The project’s architect Taras Sulyk told us about the centre’s construction. Initially, it was conceived as temporary housing provided by the city, but once the team surveyed the plot, they saw the potential to create something better.

“All the solutions for this place were intended to shift the focus from temporality to architecture that addresses people’s urgent needs, and becomes a permanent feature of the urban landscape,” Sulyk says.

During the construction process, the space transformed depending on the demand. The centre was built from separate wooden structures without precise drawings, so the premises were subject to change based on the new needs. As an architect, it was interesting for Sulyk to see this place and its use transforming.

“Designing the shared space, we developed it in a way to be multifunctional, to have places to be filled later,” says Sulyk. “And it was very helpful, as, visiting one of the houses a month after people settled there, I realised how each spot can actually be used differently.”

The centre was built in just three months in 2022. The situation required such swiftness. A woman who is about to give birth cannot wait a long time. However, as Sulyk claims, such work is exhausting for the team, which would not prioritise speed over quality. Hence, they had to do their best. Besides, such a tempo helped to focus all their energy on a useful purpose.

Architectural technologies and smart solutions helped to accelerate the process. The team cooperated with an enterprise specialising in woodwork. Therefore, parts of the centre were built from prefabricated elements. The project budget is UAH 27 mln (585,000 euros), excluding the cost of landscaping.

“In terms of fire safety, the construction is adequate: the evacuation routes were treated separately with gypsum board profiles, plus wood processing, the roofs and inner structures were also processed separately,” says Sulyk. “But all the outer walls are actually a wooden ‘sandwich’ . The foundation is similarly made from polyfoam, while the roof structures are wooden.”

The interiors are panelled with warm-coloured wood, and the exteriors use steel — which shows a contrast. The idea was to make people feel cosy and comfortable inside a building with a simple and clear shape.

A large hall in every house serves as a reception and a shared space. The architects tried to give people the feeling of having more freedom. This is a therapeutic method to help displaced people rehabilitate after hiding in bomb shelters.

Each house has a small room near the hall — a first-aid post or a place for administration, depending on the needs. The building is further divided into two wings. Inside, there are kitchens and common spaces for the residents to hold events or spend time together. There is a patio leading to the green area. Each room has four sleeping units, a small work or dining area, and a place to sit down. The apartments are small, but include everything one needs.

The project was nominated for the European Mies van der Rohe Award 2024 for Ukraine (it made the long list). The project has also won the ‘New European Bauhaus’ prize for the buildings’ surrounding landscape, as it became the impetus to revitalise the whole park. This landscape was not crafted as a work of art, but as a space to be put to practical use by the local community.

“This is a great case study for young architects and local communities: you don’t need to build something majestic to make a positive change in the community,” says Sulyk. “It is enough to start changing the environment through small steps, such as transforming the landscape. This is a trend in contemporary architecture.”

Numerous public and private companies worked on the project. Sulyk believes that the full-scale invasion prompted people to unite and work more effectively. Within the restoration projects, Ukrainian architects constantly communicate with international organisations and experts. This allows them to learn new things and reach a higher level of quality. However, such changes take longer than two years, as the development of good architecture requires time.

Sulyk shares their mistakes in designing the centre. For example, electricity firms schedule pre-arranged blackouts, which make it difficult to maintain a consistent temperature in the building. The architect admits that this was a factor they failed to consider. To avoid mistakes, it is important to plan everything very carefully. An even more crucial aspect is communication: the architects ask local residents what they lack and what needs to be improved. Thus, the architects have a clearer understanding of what to do.

A family can live for up to two years in the centre. At first a newborn will need special care from its relatives, but once a child is two-years old it will have to go to a kindergarten.

We talked to a family from Kherson who have been living here since July 2024; they told us about their experience of staying at the centre. The woman came to Lviv with her mother and three children and gave birth to the fourth child in the centre. Their house in Kherson was severely damaged, and the situation worsened.

An acquaintance shared the telephone number of a local volunteer who directed them to the centre. The women compare this community to a family. The centre became home to displaced people from the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Tavria regions.

“We share everything, you might not have an onion in your fridge, and someone helps you out, or someone has a carrot," one of the women says.

Although it is quite comfortable in the centre, the family feels homesick and they lack the cosiness of their own house. The children have gotten used to the new place, but one of the daughters sometimes dreams about explosions. They socialise: they go to the kindergarten and make friends with local children, although there can be disputes over sharing toys.

Some volunteers visit the centre and play with the children, while psychologists work here. The displaced women say that they are lucky that they have Bozhena, a psychologist.

“When Bozhena first entered the room, the children were scared,” says Sulyk. “One of the daughters climbed onto the second floor of the bed and hid under a blanket. And now everything’s well. She kisses and hugs the psychologist.”

The members of the family dream of their own house in Kherson or in another Ukrainian city. They had an opportunity to go abroad but decided to stay in their home country.

Restoring classic residences

In July 2023, Russia launched one of its largest attacks on Lviv. Back then, a Russian missile hit a residential building. Ten people died, and dozens were left homeless.

Most severely damaged was an architectural landmark of local value on 64 Stryiska Street, built in 1925. Designed in the early functionalist style, the building has a big inner yard called a ‘drum’ by the locals. Three neighbouring houses were also affected. Their second and third floors were destroyed. Windows and doors blew out in many buildings nearby. Fifty-two flats became unusable, and people were first relocated to other buildings. Later, they managed to find flats for rent, and the city compensated them for these costs. Moreover, the city has allocated a budget of UAH 40 mln (868,000 euros) to cover interior renovations

Right after the attack, the local authorities organised a special commission to undertake restoration efforts. Lviv district administrations focused on fixing minor damage to the surrounding houses: they replaced windows, doors and roofs. The city administration, in turn, dealt with buildings that suffered severe destruction. Many entrepreneurs and developers helped clear the debris and prepare for restoration work.

The restoration of these buildings is a complex and long process. As of July 2024, the emergency repair work stage is finished. Liubomyr Zubach, a city representative, speaks about the restoration:

“Some parts of the building looked fine, but were severely damaged: they had cracks and had to be dismantled. After that, we restored the ceilings, relaid the floors, and replaced the roofs, windows and doors.”

Zubach emphasises that the enemy’s goal in the war is to destroy Ukrainian cultural heritage and national identity. Therefore, it is vital to preserve and reconstruct historical landmarks.

“We must care about our cultural heritage, including buildings, and this is one of our responses to the enemy,” he says.

Zubach tells us about regulations that allow authorities to accelerate the reconstruction process if a building has suffered from a missile attack. That is why the city had performed emergency repair works quickly. The next stage is restoration, which includes reconstructing the façades.

Oleh Polishchuk, director of Lviv municipal enterprise Rembud, says that as the buildings are historical landmarks, the city wants to restore them to how they looked before the destruction. However, it is difficult to find materials that were used in the construction of these buildings, which date back 100 years. For example, for one building, they had to order some roof tiles from Germany, as they were not available in Ukraine. The window frames had to remain wooden, maintaining the old style, while the stairs were re-assembled using the example of another similar house which remained undamaged. Used materials were also mixed with new ones.

Lviv will restore these buildings at its own expense, while attracting a couple of grants from international organisations. The reconstruction of the staircase was funded by Warsaw and the bomb shelter in the building by UNESCO. The centre of Lviv is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites, while the damaged buildings are part of its buffer zone.

“Despite huge challenges and the wartime mode, Lviv is capable of developing,” says Polishchuk. “There is economic activity in urban development. And this is very important, as the war will be won, in particular, due to the economy. And we do our best to support a good ground for the economy to live and flourish.”

The city does not finance all the projects on its own. For instance, when creating the Unbroken centres, Lviv accepted help from other cities and international organisations. Zubach believes that they should attract foreign funding where possible. In case of the destruction after the attack, municipal bodies had no time to prepare grant applications and conduct a competition, as they had to start reconstructing the housing immediately.

Zubach emphasises the importance of uniting. When the missile attack happened, entrepreneurs offered help, while ordinary citizens brought food and water. He adds:

“I hope that this feeling of unity stays with us after the victory, when we start reconstructing and developing the country. I know it’s easier to unite against something than unite for a common cause.”

Saving Horodok’s cultural heritage

Horodok is a commuter town near Lviv. Its local authority has restored a local library, which is the centre of the town’s cultural life and a historical landmark. They have transformed the building into a modern space for hosting educational and cultural events. Due to its closeness to Lviv, young people stay in the town. Different enterprises function in Horodok, and it has good transport links to Lviv.

The Horodok local authority decided to apply for a grant to restore the library from a Ukrainian organisation Cedos. From 310 applications, only ten to 20 projects were selected for implementation, which included Horodok’s proposal.

Iryna Tochena is the head of the economic development, investments, and international technical aid department of Horodok city council. She explains why the library reconstruction project was a priority, despite all the challenges:

“Our message was like this: yes, it’s war, but there must be development opportunities so that our children can come together, realise their potential, and discuss important issues. Local authorities are crucial in the development of towns, regions and countries.”

One of the reasons this application won was due to a team that has already established its credentials in the town, Iryna believes. They already had a well-thought-out cooperation scheme of “municipality — people — donor,” meaning that the entire community was engaged in the project. All the stakeholders were interested in creating such a space. As the library used to host different events before, improvements were relevant to the locals. Another factor that enhanced winning the grant was the building’s status as a 19th-century landmark.

The library was built in 1894 by a Ukrainian lawyer Lonhyn Ozarkevych. His wife, Olesia Bazhanska, was a famous pianist in the Galician region, where Lviv is based. Les Martovych, writer and lawyer, as well as Ozarkevych’s assistant, lived and worked here for three years. Renowned Ukrainian singer Solomia Krushelnytska and writer Ivan Franko also visited and worked in this house. In the early 20th century, the lawyer’s daughter, Oksana Biretska, opened the branch of a music institute in this location.

The team managed to implement all their plans, and the library became the community’s cultural hub. The project’s total budget was UAH 1 mln (21,700 euros). Most of the funding was provided by Cedos; the city budget paid 20 percent of the costs.

Anton Zheleznov, a representative of the Kharkiv School of Architecture, worked on creating this space. There were specific difficulties at each stage, as architects, developers, and the users of the space sometimes had different views on the construction. Still, they succeeded in finding common ground. During the project’s implementation, the local authority established a cooperation with the architecture school students, who even did internships in Horodok.

Since April 2024, the library has functioned as a new space. It also works as an art school. Book presentations, art exhibitions and concerts are now held here. Children occasionally come just to see the premises. There are books all around, while library employees promote reading. This space contributes to creating cultural communities and uniting people.

A popular belief says it is not the right time to invest in the development of cultural and educational facilities, and we should use funds for the army and to help the front-line towns recover from damage. Iryna Tochena agrees that costs should be dedicated to the military and the towns suffering from the attacks more. However, she highlights that we should not forget about our future — the children.

“A young generation is growing in our community,” says Tochena. “Once there is victory, they will live in this country, build it, and they must learn and evolve. For sure, we must balance smartly and direct our finances and efforts both to the frontline and to community development. Our children must learn, develop their talents, and understand that Ukraine can offer them opportunities for the future.”

Such a centre is also important because many people have moved to the town from other regions. As of July 2024, around one thousand displaced people live in Horodok, and they are also engaged in community events in the library. Moreover, participating in such projects is a chance for them to come together and get acquainted with the traditions in the west of Ukraine.

Inside the library, there is a shared space for workshops and events, as well as a hall with many shelves of books. During the reconstruction stage, the building team aimed to preserve many historical elements, such as the stove, the floor, and the doors, while making the building user-friendly at the same time. The library’s director, Juliia Durbak, draws attention to the building’s accessibility: there are ramps and restrooms for people with disabilities and mothers with children.

Even before the renovation, the library’s staff organised family readings and children’s performances. Now, after the reconstruction and with new equipment, it is easier to hold such events. As Juliia mentions:

“We’ve bought computers and a projector that we hadn’t had before. The situation has improved in a way. The material and technical facilities have improved too: new tables, sofas, lecterns, and shelves. It all looks different now.”

The library stock has also been updated. The library sent Russian language books to recycling. The director recalls:

“In 2023, the city council allocated funds for buying new stocks of books, but for all libraries in the city and suburbs, not just for the Horodok library. We, the staff, are even looking on social media for people who are willing to give away their books.”

Iryna and Juliia recommend that other communities who wish to attract grants for their projects have a cohesive team of like-minded people with a common goal. They also claim that it is vital to develop project management in the community, and to know how to create departments and appoint responsible people. The third factor for success, they argue, is the desire to change and believe in your project and your community.

Photo by Sofiia Soliar.