Ihor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv, and Architect Norman Foster presented today details about the new Kharkiv reconstruction master plan approach. It will be based on five pilot projects, chosen in coordination with local residents, and will be developed based on 14 guiding principles discussed with the Kharkiv Group of Architects. A comprehensive summary document of this work is being prepared by the Kharkiv Group of Architects and the Norman Foster Foundation and will be shared with the wider public in the coming weeks. 

The pilot project approach will help inform future urban regulations and prepare local professionals and industries for the city's reconstruction. Each of the pilot projects will be developed in collaboration with specialized international and local stakeholders. 

The heritage project will create a new architectural landmark in the city center, promoting a respectful approach to rebuilding historical constructions and humanizing surrounding public spaces.  

The rivers project will transform a 6 km-long strip between the Kharkiv and Nemyshlya rivers into an ecological, pedestrian and biking connector that will evolve into a city-wide mobility network.  

The industry project will repurpose the polluting coal plant into a clean energy and food center to foster industrial modernization. 

The housing project will retrofit existing panel-housing blocks to generate safe, modern, and energy-efficient housing across the city. 

Finally, the science neighborhood project will introduce high technology industries, research and start-ups to revitalize the city’s industrial base. This will be the basis of the pilot study - an urban design embracing the layout of boulevards, streets, squares, parks and landscaping with guidelines for heights and setbacks of buildings with allocated zoning. It will become a local and international talent magnet that will position Kharkiv in the frontline of innovation, technology and urbanism.  

This urban design project, commissioned by the city of Kharkiv, will be undertaken by the Norman Foster Foundation in Madrid and the Arup office in Berlin, working in collaboration with local architects and city authorities. 

This work, developed since April 2022 through a bottom-up approach, has built on: 

• Over 100 meetings and working sessions between local and international stakeholders 

• A public participation questionnaire for Kharkiv citizens which gathered over 16,000 replies 

• Weekly working sessions with the Kharkiv Group of Architects, composed of over 10 architects, urban planners and historians  

• Four face-to-face meetings between the international and the Kharkiv team 

• Three project update presentations to United Nations agencies, the Ukrainian Ministry of Communities and Territories Development, and other NGOs, under the UN4Kharkiv task force 

• Four capacity building workshops under the UN4Kharkiv task force on affordable housing, electric transportation, circularity, and bomb shelters 

• Public presentations on the masterplan work in San Marino during the UNECE conference and at the MIT City Science Summit in Boston, USA