The European Design Upgrade 3.0 project was implemented as part of the Creative Europe program with funding from the European Union and in a consortium of three countries: Ukraine (consortium leader), Finland, and Estonia.
Project objective. The project aims to rethink approaches to the planning, production, distribution, and use of modular housing for people who have lost their homes due to war, adapting them to modern realities.
Main stages of project implementation
1. Opening forum (March 19, Espoo, Finland)
The forum brought together designers, architects, businesses, and local communities to discuss innovative approaches to modular housing design. Special attention was paid to the education of students and professionals in the field of sustainable design. The event was held in a hybrid format and was attended by 20 speakers.
Video recordings of the forum:
2. Skills Upgrade Session
A three-day training program on design thinking that helped participants understand the process of creating a modular house from sketch to construction and dismantling. The results became the basis for a hackathon and further professional activities.
3. Modular Housing Hackathon (April 12-14)
Over the course of three days, 17 mentors helped teams develop ideas for their own projects. Twelve teams participated and presented their solutions for flexible modular housing.
Hackathon winners:
- 1st place: MODHome Creators – “Turnkey mobile fortress” (an innovative solution for safe and comfortable modular housing).
- 2nd place: Creators of Modular Housing for Ukraine – sustainable and flexible technologies for modular housing.
- 3rd place: VaccumWood.Tech – combining sustainable construction and agriculture technologies.
- The Adapting Vernacular team received an award of recognition.
4. Mentoring support (June-August)
The hackathon winners received support from leading experts:
- Kateryna Yarova (IK-architects)
- Olga Batova (Saint-Gobain Building Products Ukraine)
- Yegor Klymenko (TYSHA, Build Trust)
- Andriy Anisimov and Viktoria Kareva (Between the walls)
- Pavlo Peker (Peker & Partners)
5. Guest lectures
- “Architecture during the war” – Kateryna Yarova
- “Interior design for small living spaces” – Andriy Anisimov and Viktoria Kareva
- “The realities of modular housing. Contexts, challenges, and solutions” – Pavlo Peker
- “Building a personal brand” – Viroslava Novosilna
6. Podcast “Rebuilding Ukraine with modular construction”
From July to September, 10 episodes were released analyzing the issues of Ukraine’s reconstruction.
7. Final forum in Tallinn (Estonia)
The forum brought together experts from Ukraine, Finland, and Estonia to summarize and identify opportunities for Ukraine’s recovery. The event was attended by 30 guests and broadcast online.
8. White Paper – analytical summary of the project
Conclusions
The European Design Upgrade 3.0 project has shown that modular housing can be not only a temporary solution to the housing problem, but also a basis for creating sustainable, innovative, and adaptive urban environments. The training, research, and practical experience of the participants helped to shape realistic approaches to the reconstruction of Ukraine and the development of modular housing as a promising industry.
