Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, thousands of rural houses in Ukraine have been damaged or completely destroyed. The goal of the RE:Ukraine Villages project by balbek bureau is to preserve the organic image of Ukrainian villages.

Thanks to digital architecture practices, our team can single out each region’s design patterns and present our findings with the help of an accessible online tool.

The RE:Ukraine Villages project started out with an expedition to the villages of the de-occupied Kyiv region – this area was the first in a series of our research. Since then, we have been adding new data from different regions of Ukraine.

We aimed to show the versatility of Ukrainian rural architecture and the exceptional organicity of its development.

The appearance of a modern Ukrainian village was shaped by thousands of personal and collective decisions. Behind every decorative element is the taste of the person who built and planned their home. 

Our efforts will not be in vain if the RE:Ukraine Villages project succeeds at showcasing the versatility of our architecture or inspires at least one family to repair their village house. This will be our personal contribution to preserving the soul and identity of our villages.

The first thoughts about the RE:Ukraine Villages project hit us in March 2022, when hostilities were still active in the Kyiv region, and information about the destruction of the surrounding villages and towns was coming in from various sources.

RE:Ukraine Villages seeks to make the restoration process as respectful to the local context as possible and become a lucrative alternative that does not require additional research for the homeowner. To do this, we had to research the characteristics of Ukrainian rural architecture and develop an algorithm to transform this dara into an online constructor.

In June 2022, the team went on an expedition to the de-occupied villages of the Kyiv region. Friends from the Kyiv Volunteer project came to our aid. They organized humanitarian aid in the Kyiv region and suggested several locations where we should begin. Affected by the occupation, these locations needed help and, at the same time, could become the object of our research.

Once we had identified a set of rural house parameters to capture, the team split into small groups that then traveled individually and shared photos and finds. We took pictures and filmed with a drone - this helped to explore the grounds, configurations and sizes of the houses. Sometimes we chatted with the residents of the houses and listened to their stories.

Ultimately, during these travels, the RE:Ukraine Villages team visited 17 villages in the Kyiv region, moving on to Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions.

At the beginning of the project, we collected a small library of thematic literature, but most of the books were dedicated to traditional architecture, which was characteristic up until the end of the XIX and the first half of the XX centuries. Discovering People's Architectural Creativity of Ukraine by V. P. Samoilovych, a book that described the houses with which we had to work with here and now, was a huge thrill for us.

As we traveled through the villages, we immediately began to see recurring patterns, but at the same time, were impressed by the variety and uniqueness of the decor. Sometimes the difference between villages located nearby was extremely prominent. We singled out the most frequently encountered features, otherwise, the number of configurations of the future online constructor would grow exponentially. The team’s graphic designer drew characteristic elements directly from the photos of the expedition.

We sought to make the project relevant to modern needs and create an online constructor as flexible and adaptable as possible. Given that, it was important for us to distinguish, at least intuitively, which construction solutions were dictated by the limitations of time and era, and which are characteristic features of a Ukrainian village house. So, while developing the design of the windows for the Kyiv region, we expanded their sectioning, preserving the original proportion but providing more comfort for modern residents.

During the development of planning options, our basis became the elongated form that was characteristic of Ukrainian rural houses. The zoning was left optional – the space is divided according to functions without detailed partitions and allows the owners to determine the internal layout of the rooms at their own discretion.

A separate step in the Kyiv region’s online constructor gives you the opportunity to add a glazed veranda to the planning, which is an extremely characteristic and functional part of many Ukrainian rural houses. It was also somewhat modernized by changing the slope of the veranda roof, which is now flat with an internal slope.

While we were busy completing the work on the elements and their blueprints, the development of the RE:Ukraine Villages online constructor continued. Programming its functionality was one of the most technological tasks in the history of balbek bureau. The creation of the tool’s initial version took over six months.

Our digital architect Slava Stopul created variations of buildings and their components using the Grasshopper visual programming language in the Rhinoceros environment. This approach allows you to change the desired parameter (for example, the width of the house) at any stage of the design, as a result, the remaining elements are adjusted, generating a new version of the model. This way, we could create multiple variations without having to model each option manually from scratch. By organizing all the components by categories, we allow users to customize the houses.

Entire Framework was the first to work with parametric 3D model processing and configurator step constraint logic. The 3D modeler created parametric models of buildings, which were then loaded into the Shapediver part of the project engine and combined with the interface using the backend part. When interacting with the designer's interface, the user "creates" their own data, and the online designer saves and supplements it with visual components (axonometry of buildings). At the end of the process, this data is transferred back to the project created by Slava to generate a PDF manual.

After completing all the steps, users get recommendations on designing or rebuilding their home in a traditional manner: a pdf file with isometry, plans, drawings, facade scans and a technical description. The manual also contains finishing materials recommendations.

Each family has a unique vision of their home and relies on a certain budget. When developing the project, we considered the different needs of homeowners: the online constructor contains the typical decor for the region and provides a variety of options. This solution is flexible according to each family's available resources and capabilities.

Kyiv region became the pilot of the RE:Ukraine Villages project: having developed an algorithm, we'd decided to involve volunteers in the project.

We began working on the research of the Chernihiv region in mid-April 2023. Announcing an open call on social media, we gathered a team of 16 people. Among the tasks they performed were information search and collection, field expeditions and logistics, drawings, 3D modeling, analysis, and typology of decorations.

Once we had compiled a list of expedition locations, volunteers divided them among themselves, formed teams, and set off on their journeys. A gas station chain KLO supported our research expeditions in Chernihiv and the following three regions of Ukraine, providing fuel for the volunteers. In total, volunteers visited and documented 31 villages in the Chernihiv region.

Chernihiv region is incredibly rich in a variety of decor and ornamentation. One of its most prominent features is the widespread use of wood – according to our observations, the ratio with brick reaches 80/20. This prompted us to expand the available options in the constructor. Highly characteristic of the region is the carved wooden decor. Its figures and forms echo the patterns of local embroidery and the embellishments of ceramic pottery.

Local houses are also distinguished by bright colors. Yellow, cherry, orange, deep green – among the multitude of combinations, it was difficult to distinguish only four color palettes. The most common colors of local wooden houses are burgundy and green.

An updated dataset has been added to the existing online constructor – now it includes the Chernihiv region and its characteristic decor. Window patterns and their frames, verandas, attics, decorative elements – by following all the steps of the constructor, you can assemble a typical house of the villages in this area.

Sumy and Kharkiv regions became a new stage in the project's evolution. We decided to scale the research and start parallel work on five regions. Strengthening the team with volunteers allowed us to cover a wider geography of expeditions and take a more thorough approach to working with open sources. Now, the final selections are based on a larger number of analyzed materials, and we can study locations inaccessible to volunteers due to their proximity to the frontline. 

This stage's main innovation was optimizing the layouts' typology – now they are more relevant to the modern villagers' needs. We also proposed furniture placement on the layouts to make it easier for users to choose the suitable option. This typology will become the basis for future areas, with minimal adjustments to the local context. We have also optimized the work with the album of final drawings, which users download after completing all the steps of the online constructor.

The volunteer team approached the expeditions in the Kharkiv region thoroughly, as a part of the region was still in the active phase of the war, and the liberated lands had been under occupation for quite a long time. Planning routes had to be done after consultations with the military, as there were still many uncleared minefields in the de-occupied territories. Traveling there independently without the military and a special volunteer pass was extremely dangerous, so the part of the Kharkiv region turned out to be closed for our research. The list of villages was compiled after consultations with historian Maksym Rosenfeld, who is well-versed in the history of Slobozhanshchyna.

During some of the journeys, volunteers lived in a private house and slept in a bomb shelter in the basement to avoid waking up from air alarms and to stay as focused as possible. Unlike other researched regions, there was constant tension and predictable caution from the locals in Kharkiv Oblast. Also, volunteers hardly encountered elderly people here, who usually shared memories of their own homes. In total, volunteer groups managed to explore 15 villages in the region.

A characteristic feature of the Kharkiv region is its heterogeneity. The historical development of the western, eastern, northern, and southern parts influenced the formation of distinctive and characteristic architecture within the region.

Buildings in the Kharkiv region were mostly constructed with brick. This is due to the rich deposits of red clay and the development of the sugar industry. People here had the resources to build quality and sturdy houses. History also played its role – this multifaceted region was systematically destroyed throughout the 20th century. Wooden houses are found in the northern part of the region, where there are forests. Although there are significantly fewer of them, we preserved them in the constructor so as not to interrupt this tradition..

The characteristic color palette of the Kharkiv region is a combination of shades of green and blue. Red brick is often adorned with decorative inserts of colored painted bricks – most often white. In general, the decor of local buildings is characterized by simple geometric forms, including diamonds.

While exploring the Sumy region, volunteers discovered that most characteristic private houses for the region have been preserved in towns with estate development. From the planned list, volunteers explored 18 villages and towns in the Sumy region during expeditions. Typically, the team chose historical district centers and traveled the surrounding areas in search of authentic buildings.

The closer to the border with Russia, and therefore the frontline, the more tension was felt in the mood of the region's residents. However, locals usually allowed photographing their homes but requested not to photograph themselves. The region suffers from regular targeted shelling along the border, so the path often encountered abandoned houses and even entire villages.

The architecture of rural houses in the Sumy region is extremely colorful, with a predominance of shades of blue, green, and dark cherry. Local wooden houses, in particular, stand out with vibrant colors – some walls faded over time, while others are carefully repainted. People also love to decorate their homes: volunteers collected many photos of unique decorative elements, such as voluminous flowers, birds, and intricate carvings. A large number of red brick houses, also adorned with various decorations, usually geometric, are present.

In contrast to other northern border regions explored in the RE:Ukraine Villages project, there are fewer noticeable traces of soviet influence in the Sumy region.

In early 2024, our research extended to the Ukrainian South – a historically multicultural region. We predominantly studied the features of local architecture online and from open sources. Due to the proximity to the front line, expeditions were perilous, and the few trips we managed to organize yielded disappointing results: the destruction of buildings was significant, with some villages completely devastated. However, aside from our traditional searches on real estate websites and Google Street View, we were able to gather many oral histories and memories from the family archives of acquaintances. The volunteer initiative Old Khata Project has made a major contribution to our Batkivska Khata photo database.

The history of Mykolaiv is marked by traces of Greek settlements dating back to the 6th century BC. Their cultural influence, reinforced by the characteristics of the local climate, is evident in the architecture of rural houses to this day. Wooden houses are practically absent in the region, primarily due to the lack of material and the warm climate. However, wood was used for decorative embellishments on gables. Local houses are rich in decoration and smooth lines. Greek motifs can be recognized in fluted columns and widespread corner elements, echoing the Doric order. 

In this area, we encountered and added a new characteristic material for decoration and ornamentation to our online constructor – plasterwork. Plaster elements here are twice or thrice as abundant as bricks, which is reflected in the options available for selection in the online constructor. Bricks are usually left unpainted, but houses adorned with plasterwork are often in shades of blue or gray, with white decoration.

As with the Mykolaiv region, due to the proximity to hostilities and partial occupation of the Zaporizhzhia region, the possibilities of our field research were extremely limited. However, colleagues and friends came to our aid here as well: they sent us photos of their relatives' houses from the temporarily occupied villages.

Various forms of permanent housing coexisted throughout the region`s construction history. In our research, we categorized them into two main types: the traditional Ukrainian wattle-and-daub hut and a mennonite house. The latter stands out as a singular illustration of wholly adopted manorial architecture, which has hardly changed over time. The house typology was brought by Protestant Mennonite settlers from the territory of the modern Netherlands.

As of 2024, brick houses prevail in the villages of Zaporizhzhia – wood is only used in framing and window frames. Brick decoration dominates in cornices, corners, and window frames. Unpainted brick is more characteristic for the region; for painting, shades of blue, turquoise, greenish, and white colors are usually chosen.

One of the peculiarities of the region is the variety of gables, which form the recognizable image of a Zaporizhzhia rural house. In our research, we identified five types of wooden gable decorations (with various types of attic windows) and brick ones – in the decoration of cornices and various attic windows.

"Everything was destroyed in the villages we've picked. Not a single house was left standing. We did not take pictures because there was nothing to photograph. The villages located deep in the region are under constant shelling – it's dangerous to travel there now.' – this message from our volunteers accurately describes attempts to organize expeditions in the Kherson region. However, studying the historical context brought us many insights and findings. We believe that after the complete de-occupation, we will be able to explore this region to the fullest extent.

The most significant contribution to the distinctive architecture of these places was made by the residential manor buildings of the Mennonite settlers, compactly located in the valley of the Ingulets River, in the most suitable area for agriculture. The well-built brick houses are well preserved to this day.

The Mennonite influence common to the southern regions is brick gables. There are also wooden ones. Cornice and corner decorations are widely used. Molded decor is also widespread among the houses of the region.

Khersonshchyna is notable for its elements that are generally common in the Ukrainian South. However, unlike Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia, they are used more eclectically here, often combining decor from different materials – for example, a brick or wooden gable finishing can be found alongside molded decor.

Our research did not overlook the main symbol of the Ukrainian village – the bench by the gate. A collection of the most popular models can be found in the Kyiv region’s album attached to the manual generated in the tool.

RE:Ukraine Village is a balbek bureau's volunteer initiative. We created the project at our own expense and started by researching the Kyiv region. We need support: we will gradually add new regions affected by the full-scale war. 

Villages is a part of RE:Ukraine System – the series of social projects by balbek bureau that unites different areas – Housing, Community Hubs, Monuments and Memories. Dignity – in respect for fellow citizens and their homes, cities, history and collective memory – is our main principle.