RE: UKRAINE. A modular town system for refugees by Kyiv practice balbek bureau

According to the UN, more than 10 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. These are 3.5 million refugees who have had to go abroad in search of safety, and 6.5 million internally displaced persons who have found refuge elsewhere inside Ukraine. Some of these people have been forced to relocate for the second time in eight years since Russia annexed Crimea and temporarily occupied regions in East Ukraine.

balbek bureau has developed the RE: UKRAINE modular town system for refugees.

"The main task we have set ourselves is to maintain a decent lifestyle for temporarily displaced Ukrainians"  told us from balbek bureau. "Fortunately, it is possible to take away one’s house, but never one’s dignity.

We analyzed the experience worldwide in the development, construction and maintenance of temporary settlements. Therefore, we have developed a flexible system that can be adapted to different types of terrain, landforms and settlement density.

Because time plays against us, the system is designed to be implemented in a short amount of time. Families who have spent several weeks sheltering in school gyms and metro stations need to find homes as soon as possible, even if those homes are temporary".

At the core of the RE: UKRAINE ‘constructor’ lies a module that has four modifications:

- residential (private rooms with different planning options);

- kitchen (communal space for cooking);

- sanitary (bathrooms, laundry, baby care room);

- public (common recreation area).

The modules, regardless of layout, have the same area (6.6 m x 3.3 m) and are grouped into self-sufficient residential sections. For the basic comfort of the residents, each section has at least one bathroom, kitchen, and a common space for relaxation and socialization.



Residential sections are grouped into full-fledged neighborhoods with playgrounds and green areas. If necessary, the quarter can be scaled to the size of a town, which can comfortably accommodate more than 8,000 people. You do not have to make any changes to the original structural units.

"For the module’s construction, we propose to use a wood-frame system. According to preliminary estimates, the cost of the project is about $ 350-550 / m2.

According to the RE: UKRAINE system, the target place of construction of the towns are regions of Ukraine where there is no active fire. However, provided there is space and funding, the settlement can be constructed abroad as well".

More about the RE: UKRAINE system here.