Daria Ozhiganova in interview Channel 24 told how the teachers decided to move, whether it was possible to establish studies in Lviv, and how the staff sees the future of the school.
Relocation
According to Ozhiganova, just a week before the war, the teaching staff decided to send all students to the online format. As it turned out later, it was very timely.
Daria Ozhiganova at a meeting at the Kharkiv School of Architecture.
"This is probably one of the best decisions I have personally made in my life. We decided to send our students to the online format and allow them to go to their families in different parts of Ukraine. And it was the right decision because we were able to leave Kharkiv as a team and teachers on the first day of the war. Because otherwise, it probably wouldn't have been possible. We would think about how to evacuate the students, especially the first year, who are still young enough. We feel a great responsibility for them," Daria shared.
In the first weeks, teachers and the team maintained constant communication, and in about 2 weeks, students could return to studying online. In this way, the school worked for several months while the teams moved to Lviv.
Hospitality of Lviv
In Lviv, the Kharkiv School of Architecture was given premises by the Lviv Academy of Arts. This is how it became possible to continue studying offline.
"We also set up a workshop so that students could work with models. And probably sometime in the summer - in July - the first-year students went to Lviv to undergo construction practice. At first we did not know that it would be Lviv, but our rector is from Lviv. And all of us intuitively headed for the western part of Ukraine.
Lviv, in fact, became such a place where we had the opportunity to come. Here we understood that there was a high probability that we would be able to find shelter in the form in which we are now. And that we can get help. That's why we chose Lviv," Ozhiganova says.
Photo: Kharkiv School of Architecture/Facebook
The teacher added that the Lviv Academy of Arts, in particular, provided the premises of the former dining room. This space was enough for an architectural design studio.
"We are of the opinion that we should also contribute to the campus of the Lviv Academy of Arts. In particular, during the construction practice, the students and I made spatial interventions in order to slightly arrange and assimilate these courtyards in the Academy. And it was probably a gesture of gratitude to them, or rather one of. Because on studio projects, students will also work with the spaces of the Academy of Arts. I hope that it will also be useful for them," Ozhiganova says.
What's next
Daria Ozhiganova said that the school plans to return to Kharkiv. "And this was probably the first question I asked our rector when she suggested I go to Lviv. I asked what our plan of action is and whether we are returning to Kharkiv. And yes, we are going back to Kharkiv, that's for sure," Daria said.
It is still difficult to say when it will become possible. The school plans to spend at least one academic year in Lviv. "But we will see how events will develop. I hope that in no more than a year, we will return to Kharkiv. But even if it's more, we'll still be back. Our school building remained there, and in general. We remain the Kharkiv School of Architecture," she concluded.
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