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UREHERIT unites European and Ukrainian architects in effort to preserve and restore cultural heritage

29.08.2023

An international European cultural project “UREHERIT. Architects for heritage in Ukraine: recreating identity and memory” is being launched. 

During the three-year project, European and Ukrainian heritage specialists, architects, planners, engineers, other professionals, officers of local authorities and communities of Ukrainian cities through research, workshops, public discussions, events, continuous professional development, and educational programs for architectural schools, will analyze topics of protection and restoration of Ukrainian cultural heritage. The project is initiated by the Architects Association of Lithuania, co-financed by the European Union program "Creative Europe".

It is the first time when such a wide international consortium of architectural organizations joins efforts in reaching common results aimed at preservation of Ukrainian heritage and culture.

The project will address heritage as a resource for sustainable cultural, social, environmental, and economic recovery, while solving challenges of preservation, re-definition and highlighting the national and local cultural identity and reflect the memory in the rebuilding. Project participants will share their knowledge and experience, and will experiment with the aim to build competence on the heritage protection, regeneration of culturally meaningful plans and projects and empowering of local communities as a tool for building the new, democratic, and sustainable Ukraine with a unique yet European cultural DNA. 

The project is being implemented by the Consortium of 11 organizations: Architects Association of Lithuania (coordinator of the project), Architects Sweden, Federal Chamber of Architects and Chartered Engineers, Austria (BKZT), Royal Danish Academy. The Institute of Technology and Architecture (IBT), Romanian Order of Architects, The National Council of Architects, Planners, Landscapers and Conservationists (CNAPPC, Italy), Federal Chamber of German Architects (BAK), Estonian Association of Architects, The National Union of Architects of Ukraine, Ro3kvit: Urban Coalition for Ukraine, Kharkiv School of Architecture with the Architects’ Council of Europe as associated partner.

“With this project we want to contribute to recovery of an artistic sector – architecture – inviting Ukrainian architects (and heritage protection specialists in particular) to collaborate with European architects on an equal footing: to share knowledge and experience and together search for a new, Ukraine-suited, methodology and ways to preserve and recover Ukrainian urban and architectural heritage in a sustainable, inclusive manner” – says  Rūta Leitanaitė, the initiator and coordinator of the project, a member of the Council of the Architects Association of Lithuania. “Ukraine, as any other place, requires tailor-made, and not copy-paste solutions. Together with other project partners, we agreed from the very beginning to adhere to the principle that all the methodologies, recommendations and proposals will be created together with Ukrainian architects, culture experts and communities, trying to adapt the best European practices to the unique Ukrainian context.”

The project will result in a set of recommendations on:

- Heritage value assessment methodology and damage assessment methodology;

 - a strategy for how to regenerate valuable heritage in a sustainable, economic and culturally meaningful way;

 - holistic renovation of soviet housing in Ukraine;

 - methodology of participatory process in heritage protection: Urban forums and workshops “Healing through restoration of heritage”;

 - Architectural design competitions: implementation and financial tips

 - Technologies and heritage;

 - improvement of educational programs at architectural schools;

 - the content, financing and organization of CPD (continuous professional development) program on sustainable recovery with heritage.

As Ukrainian and European specialists will work and create together, the project will provide two–way knowledge (Ukrainians learning from Europeans, Europeans learning from Ukrainians. On the other hand, the participating EU partners, through the co-creation process will get an innovative knowledge towards contemporary heritage preservation and recovery that could be used elsewhere, not only in Ukraine. 

The project will initiate a platform for long-term cooperation between architects, urbanists, landscape architects and antiquarians from Ukraine and other European countries to protect and develop the natural and heritage as a resource for the recovery of Ukraine.

The project will last 36 months (until April 2026). It is co-financed by the Creative Europe program with 1 million Euros (project code 101121502 — U-RE-HERIT).

The project marks its start day with a public conference. 

Save the date: the first public event – publicconference “UREHERIT: architects for heritage in Ukraine” dedicated especially to the project will happen on 13th of October 2023, in Lviv, Ukraine   (Bank Hotel, Ukraine, 79000 Lviv, Lystopadovoho Chynu St., 8). During the conference, all the activities will be presented by Consortium partners, also calls for applications of Ukrainian participants will be launched during the conference. The conference will also feature a high-level round table discussion with Ukrainian government, international architectural and heritage protection organizations representatives.

Participation in the conference is free and accessible to all, but registration is needed. Please register by clicking here.

The program of the conference will be available soon at FACEBOOK. 

More info on the project UREHERIT: www.ureherit.eu

Contacts: info@ureherit.eu; media@ureherit.eu 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author (s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.