Support Kharkiv's revival

Located right at the border with Russia, Kharkiv stands as Ukraine’s second-largest city and has been significantly impacted by the ongoing conflict. This historically relevant and industrial city now faces the pressing challenge of rebuilding its damaged urban fabric, with a particular focus on residential buildings and public spaces, to not only repair but to also to improve the living conditions of its residents. This competition is part of the larger Kharkiv concept Masterplan project: a local and international initiative of the Kharkiv City Council, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) within the framework of the UN4UkrainianCities initiative, the Norman Foster Foundation, Arup, and the Kharkiv Architects Group, among others.

Modular solutions

The competition seeks solutions that bridge the gap between innovative design and practical application. The task is to develop a modular system capable of retrofitting existing concrete panel housing blocks and enhancing public spaces, focusing on creating safe, energy-efficient, and vibrant neighbourhoods. Modular facade and roof components, bomb shelters, and integrating additional uses in ground floors should be considered as part of the intervention. The system should also provide solutions to re- erect severely damaged buildings with a renewed, yet locally rooted, architectural identity.

Winning projects constructed

Participants have the opportunity to see their ideas come to life, making a tangible difference in Kharkiv’s recovery and long-term resilience. After the announcement of the winners, selected proposals will be further developed into detail designs for construction. Winning teams will collaborate with locals in this stage under a funded scheme. Given the modular nature of concrete panel housing blocks, building designs were replicated across Kharkiv. Consequently, winning proposals for the selected competition site will be potentially applicable to other residential areas in the city. This is not just a call for creativity but a unique opportunity to positively impact the future of Kharkiv.

Competition is open to all

The competition is open to everyone, and all communication, including presentations, must be conducted in English.

For more detailed information, please download the full competition brief.

Brief

The full competition brief can be downloaded as often as required; no additional information will be provided after registration.

(!) Full Competition Brief

  • Site CAD Plans & Sections
  • Photographs
Download brief

Jury members shall under no circumstances be contacted by competition participants or their representatives. Participants who attempt to contact jury members will be disqualified.

All jury members are involved in the evaluation based on their availability at that time. The list of jury members is not final and may expand as the competition progresses. All communication regarding the competition should only be carried out with Buildner staff. For any questions, please contact us at [email protected].

Norman Foster

Norman Foster Foundation

Spain

Farshid Moussavi

Farshid Moussavi Architecture (FMA)

United Kingdom

Ihor Terekhov

Mayor of Kharkiv

Ukraine

Stuart Smith

Arup Berlin

Germany

Belinda Tato

Ecosistema Urbano and Harvard GSD

Spain

Ammar Azzouz

University of Oxford

United Kingdom

Yurii Spasov

Kharkivproject Institute

Ukraine

Olga Demianenko

Kharkiv City Council

Ukraine

Anna Soave

Head of Country Programme – UN-Habitat Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Prizes

Prize Fund

10,000 €

+ potential to be realised

1ST PLACE

6,000 €

2ND PLACE

3,000 €

3RD PLACE

1,000 €

6 Honorable mentions & certificates

Buildner will acknowledge the outstanding performance of all winners and honourable mentions with Certificates of Achievement.

Publicity campaign

Buildner's publicity campaign offers extensive exposure to the architectural community, ensuring that the results of the competition are seen by a vast audience:

Buildner's two million

The results are published on buildner.com, a leading website in the architecture industry, attracting over one million unique visitors annually. Additionally, the campaign extends to Buildner's social networks, which boast over 800,000 followers combined, and through newsletter campaigns reaching over 200,000 subscribers.

Interview and movie

Winners will have the opportunity to submit a movie and an interview, boosting their recognizability and helping to build their name in the industry.

Extensive media network

Buildner leverages an extensive network of media industry leaders to publish the competition results. This broadens the audience further, ensuring that participants' work is showcased across multiple platforms known for their influence and reach in the architecture and design sectors.

Publicity

ArchDaily feature

As part of the collaboration between Buildner and ArchDaily, the competition winners will be showcased on ArchDaily, a leading architecture news platform.

This feature will greatly boost the winners' visibility to millions of architecture professionals and enthusiasts worldwide, increasing their chances for new opportunities, attracting new clients, and establishing their reputation in the industry.

Read more about Buildner and ArchDaily partnership
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Key dates

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To register, simply click on "Register Now," fill out all necessary fields, select your preferred payment method, and submit your details. You will be redirected to PayPal or a card payment gateway to settle the competition fee. Upon confirmation of your payment, we will send you an email containing your Unique Identification Code (UIC). You must then log in to your Buildner account using your architecture.info credentials and validate your UIC to complete the process. Learn more here - https://architecturecompetitions.com/how-to-enter-a-competition
You can add/remove/edit team member information as often as you want in the upload panel, up until the submission deadline. Learn more here - https://architecturecompetitions.com/how-to-add-team-members-after-april-2023
No. Competition entries are evaluated anonymously. The participant registration type is only revealed upon the announcement of the results.
Please contact us – [email protected] and we will address the problem directly.
The short answer is yes, you may submit a previously published design concept as long as you are the author. Before re-submitting your project, please carefully read the following clarification points listed here - architecturecompetitions.com/resubmit-your-design
As AI-generated images may be based on pre-existing work or generated using proprietary algorithms, it is best to check the specific terms and conditions of the AI tool used to generate the image to determine its ownership status. It may also be necessary to seek legal advice to fully understand the ownership rights and any restrictions that may apply. In general, it is not recommended to consider AI-generated images as your sole work or intellectual property unless you have obtained explicit permission to do so.
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