Architects, urban planners and researchers from Germany, Great Britain, Greece, and Slovenia also joined the discussion.
The two-day conference included performances and debates, as well as workshops. The representatives of the international community who took part in the events are shocked by the consequences of the destruction, and at the same time they are very impressed by the unity and initiative of Ukrainians.
For the most part, the guests were interested in the topics of organization and coordination of volunteers: exactly how and from where Ukrainians get materials, thinking about the future of the country and reconstruction, asked about collaborations of various initiatives and the state.
The main theses from the speeches at the workshop:
◉ During martial law in the country, everyone must be involved. It is necessary to start planning reconstruction already, without waiting for victory.
◉ Priority should be given to repairing objects that are needed in the first place. This must be done as soon as possible: the cold season will soon begin, with bad weather, rain, cold and snow, which will spoil the buildings that are unprotected by roofs and windows due to hostilities.
◉ An important task is not only to preserve the building and renovate it, but also to bring something original, to update it, to make it more modern.
◉ When creating projects, take into account that the country currently has problems with resources: with fuel, with construction materials. For example, there are many more people willing to volunteer than it is possible to provide them with transport due to a lack of fuel.
◉ Money for reconstruction at this time is taken from crowdfunding.
Reconstruction discussions during the workshop were divided into categories: large cities, villages, urban slums, historic urban districts, government buildings, museums/historical buildings, commercial buildings, educational institutions, and monuments and monuments.
Society needs a rethinking of the form and presentation of cultural memory
It was the last category that caused the most lively discussion among the participants. The key theses were that monuments and monuments are not only cultural memory, but also a tool of propaganda and influence on changes in history. And the monuments of Russia are Russian markers of our territory. They came to the conclusion that society needs a rethinking of the form and presentation of cultural memory. In order to preserve memory, it is necessary to interact with the sights so that they can touch a person's feelings, and not just contemplate.
Based on the results of the workshop, a detailed article with conclusions, recommendations and approaches to reconstruction will be prepared later, which will be based on the reconstruction of cities.
The event was organized by endboss together with Viktoria Titova from the Ukrainian urban bureau Big City Lab, Yustina Mulyuolite and Tadas Jonauskis, representing Vilnius University, in cooperation with BDA Niedersachsen - the German Chamber of Architecture.
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