What is the philosophy and essence of the project?
Kharkiv residents Kateryna Kublytska and Anastasiia Gulak are connected by their work at the architectural and construction company Portal-21 (Anastasiia is its founder and Kateryna is its director), and by a number of projects with Izyum.
In particular, Anastasiia was often in the city as a passing visitor, as she has been involved in the restoration of buildings and critical infrastructure in the eastern regions of Ukraine as part of GIZ programmes since 2017. And Kateryna, since the beginning of the great war, has been inspecting local buildings after ‘arrivals’ and recording war crimes. Now, together with the team, they are also working on the Izyum_Recovery project.
This session is public and also accessible online link to the website of the conference you can find with this link – https://www.aparaaditehas.ee/teh-97-conference
Curator of IZYUM_recovery project Anastasiia Gulak will take part in discussion during session “CULTURE AND CARE : Rebuilding alternative cultural spaces & overselves.
Session moderated by :
Laura Aufrere
Together with Speakers:
Anastasiia Ponomareva – Urban Curators Agency (Ukraine)
Amy Gottung – DIY Space Project (Canada)
Louna Sbou – Oyoun (Germany)
Olivier Le Gal – La Station (France)
Casey Wel – Artist and researcher (USA)
As urban landscapes embody a series of injustices (displacement, gentrification, marginalization, …), alternative cultural places (ACP) have diversified their action, extending beyond the cultural sector, to contemporary forms of solidarity. These renewed practices and somewhat undisciplined paths are developed by ACPs communities to open their spaces and inhabit them with new sets of competences focusing on care, transmission, pedagogy, co-creation, and any form fostering and welcoming diversity of expression and selves. However, ACPs are faced with tensions, backlash movements, official censorship as well as hidden forms of self-censorship. Our panel will explore some of ACPs’ strategies and challenges associated with such transformations and issues, including work organization, alliances, censorship, instrumentalization – as well as the space for hope cultural spaces and communities can nurture in a contemporary urban environment.
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The conference is supported by City of Tartu, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, National Foundation of Civic Society, Tartu 2024
Organised by Trans Europe Halles @transeuropehalles
Special support for curator and Izyum _recovery project – IZOLYATSIA platform for cultural initiatives @izolyatsia
May 7, 2024, the first presentation of the project concept “Adaptation of a residential quarter in the central part of the city of Izyum, Kharkiv region, bounded by the streets: Heroes of Chernobyl, Pokrovska, and Donets-Zaharzhevsky, to climatic, social, and cultural changes” took place in Kharkiv.
This event was organized by the LLC “AСC “PORTAL-21” with the support of the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration. Thanks to them, a venue was provided for the event. During the presentation, the media group “StreamTeam” worked, invited by LLC “AСC “PORTAL-21”, which professionally covered the event.
Present at the presentation in Kharkiv were: representatives of the Izyum city community, deputy head of the military administration, chief architect of the city of Izyum, and deputy architect of the Kharkiv region. Also, the event was attended by a representative of the “Isolation” fund, which co-finances the project. Kharkiv residents concerned about the restoration of Ukrainian cities and stakeholders were also present at the presentation. Architects, teachers, journalists, and residents of Izyum joined the presentation online.
The project was presented by the authors: Anastasiia Gulak, Kateryna Kublytska, Maxim Semenenko, and Zoya Panova. They explained why this particular name was chosen, the contemporary challenges that need adaptation, and how the project in Izyum is integrated into the programs “European Green Deal” (EGD) and “New European Bauhaus” (NEB).
A historical analysis of the city was provided to better understand some architectural decisions, such as bicycle lanes within the quarter and the emergence of a community center on the site of a demolished building on Soborna Street, 20. It is envisaged that the new building will be modern while also recalling the old one with certain decorative elements.
Solutions of the master plan were presented, including the creation of an inclusive environment, the use of new engineering technologies in the field of “green” energy, and the improvement of the quarter’s ecology by relocating all parking spaces outside the residential quarter and placing them near roads, as well as in the basements of residential buildings.
Before starting the design process, the “PORTAL-21” team closely communicated with the residents of private houses that were destroyed. This allowed them to propose the restoration of this sector of the residential quarter, taking into account the needs and habits of those who previously lived in this area.
The project also includes improvements to the living conditions in the multi-story buildings erected during the Soviet era. This involves measures aimed at inclusion, safety, and psychological recovery of their residents.
A lot of attention was given to the social changes that need to occur for the successful implementation of the project. This includes new behavioral models, new measures to improve communication between people, and so on.
Most importantly, this event was aimed primarily at active dialogue with the community and the administration of the city of Izyum. Therefore, the project was presented as a sketch-concept, to be further discussed and improved through communication with interested parties.
Immediately after the event, the news was published on the website of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.
Watch the video recording of the event on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lP6u5bkew4&t=719s
7 of May, 2024, following the presentation of the project “Adaptation of a residential quarter in the central part of the city of Izyum, bounded by the streets of Heroes of Chernobyl, Pokrovska, and Donets-Zaharzhevsky, for climatic, social, and cultural changes,” its discussion took place.
The questions proposed revolved around social changes and engaging local communities in the recovery processes. LLC “ACC” “PORTAL-21” reported on the measures already taken to improve communication.
The second question concerned the involvement of investors in the project implementation. The primary task in this direction is to create conditions that promote the visibility of the project. Exactly for this purpose, presentations are made, all events are published on social media platforms, and the IZYUM_recovery website has been created. https://www.izyumrecovery.com.ua/
Additionally, we are pinning our hopes on an international economic conference scheduled to take place in Berlin in June of this year, where the project leader, Anastasiia Gulak, has been invited.
Cultural events and initiatives within the project aimed at increasing community awareness in the fields of new technologies, Ukrainian history, the history of the city of Izyum, and the rights of its residents were also discussed.
The discussion also addressed questions regarding the psychological recovery of individuals who have experienced military aggression and occupation. The project proposes measures aimed at improving the well-being of the residents.
The final question in the discussion event was about promoting the sustainable development of the project. The architects from LLC “ACC” “PORTAL-21” explained to those present that before creating the concept, they familiarized themselves with the general plan of the city of Izyum, changes to which were made by the State Enterprise “UDDNIPM.” U. М. Bilokonia” is a project by the French architect Martin Duplantier Architectes in collaboration with architects from Lviv to ensure the sustainable development of the project, the proposals and developments from these two works were utilized and further developed in the project “Adaptation of a residential district in the central part of the city of Izyum,” developed by LLC “ACC” PORTAL-21.”
It was very interesting to hear, of course, the opinions of representatives from the community of the district, as the project is being created primarily for them.
It’s entirely natural that people who have lost their homes or are living in damaged conditions primarily seek to see immediate measures aimed at improving their living conditions right now. They say that they liked the project, but it feels like a dream that currently seems unattainable to them. They were explained that while we understand their concerns, attracting investors, even for immediate measures, is impossible without a project that interests them with the provided vision of the future development of the district in the city center.
Deputy Head of the Military Administration of the city of Izyum, Mykhailo Oleksandrovych Ishchuk, provided a positive feedback regarding the project. He thanked the creative team and expressed hope for further fruitful cooperation. He also assured the designers of support for the sustainable development of the project.
Questions were also asked by architects, ecologists, and other experts who were present at the presentation.
Overall, the “Discussion” event was productive, both for the community of the city of Izyum and for the designers, as communication with residents and the city administration is a top priority for improving social connections.
We are very grateful to everyone who participated in the “Project Discussion” event, which took place in a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere for all parties involved. The participation of the team from the well-known Kharkiv café “Kristal” also contributed to this, as they organized a coffee break after the presentation and discussion. The sandwiches and snacks were excellent, and the service was also very professional and high-quality. Thank You
Watch the video recording of the event on our YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lP6u5bkew4&t=719s
Pre-registration for the webinar on the extremely relevant topic – “ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE CITY DEVELOPMENT”, lector – Professor Christian Küpfer
DATE : 10 of April, 2024
Registration link, click here.
Head of the Institute for Landscape and Environment (ILU) at the University of Nürtingen-Geislingen in 2011-2013, and Dean of the study programme in landscape planning and nature conservation from 2013 to 2018, Ecology and Urban Planning of the University of Nürtingen-Geislingen, author of numerous projects and publications on ecology and urban planning. Today – Head and founder of StadtLandFluss, where under the leadership of the professor, state orders are successfully implemented in Baden-Württemberg.
THE NUMBER OF WEBINAR SEATS IS LIMITED
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn about the best practices of sustainable development in the Stuttgart region from a practitioner and understand which methods can be adapted to the environment in Ukraine. Simple and effective solutions are what we really need now!
Languages of the event: Ukrainian-German, simultaneous translation
The event programme will be sent in a separate email to registered participants in April.
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The event is created within the framework of the IZYUM _recovery project implemented by “ACC”PORTAL-21” LLC and co-financed by the ZMINA: Rebuilding programme, created with the support of the European Union as part of a special call for proposals to support Ukrainian IDPs and the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors, with the support of the IZOLYATSIA International Charitable Foundation, Trans Europe Halles and Malý Berlín.
Finally, a meeting was held between the community and the architects at our location in Izyum.
We got to know each other, walked around the neighbourhood, identified important issues and their possible solutions. We decided on the next steps to be taken to develop the project and implement it in stages. There are many problems of varying complexity, but solutions can always be found through effective communication between the three parties. The cooperation between the administration, experts and the community is of great importance and influence on the development of the project. The residents of the quarter we were fortunate to meet, even after the terrible time of occupation, have a clear vector aimed at rebuilding and restoring in a broad sense.
Finally, a meeting was held between the community and architects at our location in Izyum. We got to know each other, walked around the neighbourhood, identified important issues and their possible solutions.
The primary objective is to organize the residents towards restoration, develop a reconstruction concept for the neighbourhood, and establish a public association that will facilitate the swift and structured implementation of our community’s ideas, ensuring their high-quality and prompt execution.
Follow the next steps of development and join our community initiative!
Adaptation project of a residential quarter under climatic, economic, cultural and social changes
