Constructing Architectural Networks: Ukraine

Join us for a discussion with architects working on material logistics and mutual aid networks, hosted in collaboration with the exhibition Constructing Hope: Ukraine which is currently on view at the Center for Architecture through September 3.

The first exhibition of this work in the United States, Constructing Hope: Ukraine focuses on decentralized reconstruction efforts, presenting the work of grassroots initiatives happening inside and outside of Ukraine. The speakers, Nataliia Mysak and Petro Vladimirov, will discuss their work featured in the exhibition. Mysak wrote, produced, and directed “The Human Chain,” a documentary framing architecture as a method of collective practice in the wake of full-scale invasion. In conversation with Mysak, Vladimirov will discuss the efforts of the BRDA Foundation team, who have been collecting and restoring damaged windows to both rebuild homes and strengthen a circular economy within Ukraine that’s disconnected from reliance on costly imported windows. Come join this special opportunity to hear first-hand accounts of how supporting locally can create a collective good.

Speakers:
Nataliia Mysak, Architect, Independent Researcher
Petro Vladimirov, BRDA Foundation

Moderators:
Sasha Topolnytska, Curator, Constructing Hope: Ukraine
Ashley Bigham, Curator, Constructing Hope: Ukraine

About the Speakers:
Nataliia Mysak is an independent researcher and architect with a PhD in the History and Theory of Architecture from Lviv Polytechnic University. She conducted research and teaching fellowships at TU Vienna, Malmö University, and ETH Zürich. Previously, she was engaged in several bottom-up urban initiatives in Lviv focusing on participatory planning; worked as a researcher at the Center for Urban History, Lviv; and practiced architecture at Drozdov&Partners in Kharkiv. She collaborates with the Swiss Network with Ukraine and is developing the Spatial Practices Lab, Lviv, focusing on alternative approaches to architectural production and emerging urban commons in the context of crisis.

In his professional practice, Petro Vladimirov focuses on the reuse of building materials. He is a board member of the BRDA Foundation. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. He gained architecture design experience at the Henning Larsen architectural office in Denmark. He is the curator of the “Poetics of Necessity” exhibition, awarded a gold medal in the Polish pavilion at the London Design Biennale 2023.

This event is offered in person and virtually; if you register for a virtual ticket, you will receive an email with a Zoom link to access the program.