RESILIENT REMAINS: A Strategy For Post-War Collective Housing in Kharkiv, Ukraine

The following thesis presents a study developed from my participation in the Norman Foster Foundation Kharkiv Housing Competition, which forms as the basis for the design exploration and theoretical research articulated in this paper. The competition provided an opportunity to investigate the rehabilitation of Soviet-era panel buildings into adaptable, collective living spaces using the methodology of ‘research by design’. This approach, combining design experimentation with theoretical research, facilitates the development of strategies to address the critical challenges such as conflict-driven displacement, socio-demographic shifts, and the urgent need for housing. Guided by this framework, thesis investigates a series of manipulations to Soviet panel buildings, exploring how the rigid remains of an inflexible past can be reconfigured to meet contemporary needs through targeted interventions that foster resilience. These manipulations centers the reconfiguration of space regarding the issues like limited distribuition, spatial repetition, and the absence of shared areas, which selected through a historical and critical lens, tracing Kharkiv’s evolution from its Soviet roots through the post soviet transition and the impacts of the ongoing conflict. This transformation centers a dual emphasis on resilience: both structural and communal. Resilience, in this context, embodies the building’s capability to accommodate shifting demographic patterns and evolving housing demands, as well as the creation of spaces that foster social connection. Flexible layouts enable units to merge or divide as needed, accomodating diverse living typologies and addressing the immediate needs of displaced populations while anticipating long term social changes. By reimagining Soviet panel buildings as adaptable frameworks for collective living, this thesis challenges the perception of these structures as symbols of urban failure. Instead, it repurposes them as opportunities for architectural and social renewal that can meet contemporary housing needs without being demolished. This research defends a shift in the perception for the Soviet era residential stock from demolition to its adaptive reuse, emphasizing their potential to transform in response to changing needs. It argues for its reuse not only as a physical transformation, but also as a potential catalyst for regenerating social bonds and fostering collective identity in a war-torn city.