IBA — Swiss Network with Ukraine

IBA Ukraine

The idea for IBA in Ukraine emerged at the Conference on Architecture and Building Culture Policies (ECAP 2022) in Prague. During the panel “Post-war Renewal of Ukrainian Cities?,” Ukrainian and other European architects and urban planners discussed experiences of reconstruction in Kyiv, Pristina, Sarajevo, Tblisi, Rotterdam, and Berlin. This discussion resulted in the “Prague Charter,” a list of ten policy recommendations for the post-war urban renewal of Ukraine. Among the list of recommendations was the suggestion to organise an International Building Exhibition, or Internationale Bauaustellung (IBA), in Ukraine. This recommendation was further elaborated in the “IBA Ukraine Concept Framework, May 2023”.

What is IBA?
The International Building Exhibition (IBA) is a special German format of innovative urban development and architecture. An IBA is guided by a theme, such as reconstruction, transformation, or housing. Events such as exhibitions, conferences, publications, and other media coverage are vital components of an IBA.

IBA as a practice has moved beyond Germany with IBA Vienna, IBA Basel and IBA Melbourne. Currently, several IBAs are in preparation:
• 2017-2027 IBA City Region Stuttgart, on living, housing, and working.
• 2017-2050 IBA Melbourne, on affordable housing models for the state of Victoria.
• IBA 2034 Berlin-Brandenburg, on the metropolitan region around Berlin.
• IBA Munich Metropolitan Region, on sustainable mobility.
• IBA Impulse Region Leipzig, on climate change, energy, waste, circularity and social change.

Why IBA in Ukraine?
Russia’s war against Ukraine has devastated large regions of the country and caused enormous damage to the (built) environment. Apart from countless human casualties, buildings, city districts, technical and social infrastructure, natural habitats, and agricultural lands have been damaged and destroyed. The war has disrupted Ukraine’s social, economic and cultural life, causing many refugees to migrate domestically and internationally in pursuit of shelter, safety, and support.

In the meantime, large amounts of aid have been mobilized, including emergency housing and reconstruction projects. (Re-)development in Ukraine faces great challenges in terms of time, scale, financing, management and legislation. Ukraine’s needs range from immediate emergency facilities to long-term sustainable rebuilding. We believe that reconstruction should never wait until a war is over but should immediately begin, creating a countermovement against destruction.

IBA Ukraine and Building Back Better
IBA Ukraine focuses on “Building Back Better”. This approach, coined by the global donor community, promotes the recovery of infrastructure, built environments, and communities to not only restore what was lost but also address underlying vulnerabilities and strengthen resilience. “Building Back Better” means engaging affected communities, incorporating best practices and innovative technologies, and ensuring that recovery efforts are aligned with long-term development goals. IBA Ukraine’s projects and goals address and engage in reconstruction, the reform of spatial planning systems, and the development of local capacities.

IBA objectives
The main objectives of IBA Ukraine include:
• model examples of post-conflict reconstruction, including repairing damaged buildings and infrastructure, and restoring community services.
• sustainable urban development and resilient urban planning to help mitigate the impacts of climate change and resource depletion.
• community-led regeneration, involving local stakeholders in urban development processes.
• education and capacity-building to enhance the skills of those involved.
• innovation in planning, design, and construction through the use of cutting-edge technologies, encouraging the use of digital tools, as well as data-driven and circular approaches.
• local economic development through job creation, entrepreneurship and investment.
• cultural heritage, preserving historic buildings, cultural sites, and traditional building techniques.
• international collaboration and exchange, forging partnerships with international organizations, and hosting international events.
• adoption of EU standards in urban planning and construction, contributing to the sector’s transparency and values.

Project types
Planned project types for IBA Ukraine include:
• local reconstruction plans and master plans
• reconstruction plans for critical infrastructure
• design and construction of housing for IDPs and other types of affordable housing
• repair of existing and damaged housing and other building stock
• design and (re)construction of medical, social & educational facilities
• capacity building and knowledge exchange: policy, legislation process and stakeholder management
• programming and management of architecture and urban design education

Implementation steps
IBA in Ukraine starts as a decentralized “swarm of projects”, during which cities or regions develop their own IBA projects. As more projects emerge, coordination and cohesion in the form of events and media coverage will consolidate. This grassroots-IBA, which begins in one or two places, will slowly grow as more participants join. In the end, a few exemplary projects might be realized or a larger number of projects across a larger territory. The following projects have thus far been initiated under the umbrella of IBA Ukraine:

The City of Lviv is deploying IBA in Ukraine as a tool for innovative and integrated development in the Zboishcha district, one of the key development areas in the city. This area includes the campus of the Charitable Foundation Unbroken, which was established shortly after the start of the full-scale invasion to provide medical assistance and rehabilitation for war-afflicted people. In collaboration with the municipality and both local and international partners, Unbroken has developed a medical and rehabilitation infrastructure centred around the Lviv city hospital. The City of Lviv may use alternative planning tools to integrate development and consolidate projects in Zboishcha. The City and Kanton of Zurich is working with the City of Lviv to develop and utilize the Swiss practice of test-planning in the district, as a way of better evaluating various development scenarios.

A second IBA project in Lviv centres around a vacant building near the old town of the city. This building will be refurbished by CO-HATY, an NGO that has refurbished several vacant buildings into housing for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the West of Ukraine (see: Circular (Re)Construction cluster). This vacant building in Lviv was the subject of a week-long seminar at ETH Zurich and ensuing exhibit, titled “Bridging Borders with Reuse”, held in October 2024.

The City of Vinnytsia is considering three potential IBA-projects: the revitalization of the city’s Mistechko district, a tram- and public-space upgrade of Yuriya Klenya street, and the green-blue network “Small Rivers” project. The Digital Modular Multi Family House (DMMFH) (see: Housing cluster), may also be part of IBA in Lviv and/or Vinnytsia.

Several pairs of Ukrainian and German twin cities are also considering joint IBA projects. IBA Berlin, organised by the City of Berlin, may include a side-project in Ukraine. IBA Munich Metropolitan Region, organised by the City of Munich, is also hoping to develop an initiative in Ukraine. Talks are also ongoing between the cities of Hamburg, Leipzig, and Kyiv; Bremen and Odesa; Kiel and Kherson; Potsdam and Ivano-Frankivsk; as well as several other partnerships.

Members and Contact

iba-ukraine.org

Kees Christiaanse, founder of KCAP Architects and Planners and retired professor of architecture and urban design at ETH Zurich and TU Berlin, k.christiaanse@arch.ethz.ch
Gyler Mydyti, urban designer, project leader at KCAP Zurich, g.mydyti@kcap.eu
Nataliia Mysak, architect and researcher, founder of Spatial Practices Lab, Lviv, nataliia.mysak@gmail.com
Benjamin Hossbach, co-founder and partner of Phase Eins Office, Berlin, hossbach@phase1.de
Detlev Kurth, Professor of Urban Design at Technical University of Kaiserslautern, detlef.kurth@ru.rptu.de