9 strategies for community revitalization: Lessons learned from Ukraine housing design
November 11, 2025
A modular retrofit solution for Kharkiv, Ukraine, teaches us about revitalizing communities
A version of this blog first appeared as “Retrofit for regrowth: Learning from design for damaged housing” in Design Quarterly, Issue 25.
What is the role of design in community revitalization? And can design help cities recover and grow again? We believe the answer is yes.
Our team explored this idea during a recent design competition focused on rebuilding housing in Kharkiv, Ukraine—a city deeply affected by war. We asked: How can design support regrowth at every scale—from homes to buildings, neighborhoods, and entire cities?
We looked at ways to retrofit damaged housing and public spaces to make them safe, livable, and connected. We also considered how design can restore community pride, support mental health, and create opportunities for people to return and rebuild their lives.
The Norman Foster Foundation Kharkiv Housing Challenge asked architects and designers to rethink how damaged concrete housing blocks could be rebuilt. The goal? Create safe, efficient, and vibrant neighborhoods.
Teams were challenged to design a modular system that could retrofit existing buildings. The task was to create a modular façade and bomb shelter while enhancing public areas and ground-floor activity. The system had to help restore the damaged building with a renewed, locally rooted identity.
The Healing Network at Block 86 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, is part of a design competition. While the focus is on recovery in Ukraine, the principles apply to many urban landscapes where community revitalization is important. (All images by Stantec for the Healing Network competition entry in the Norman Foster Foundation Kharkiv Housing Challenge.)
The competition was part of a larger community revitalization effort to rebuild Kharkiv’s communities and public spaces.
“The Healing Network” was our competition entry. We designed the Regrowth Modular construction system to transform the Block 86 housing development. Our approach was holistic and multidisciplinary. It looked at building healing networks at various scales. Our design for community revitalization was one of six projects in the competition recognized with an honorable mention.
As our approach to urban revitalization in the heart of Kharkiv took shape, we realized our design approach was suited to wider application. And even those that are more specific to Block 86 in Kharkiv could be adapted to urban neighborhoods in other places—and not damaged by war. Regrowth is more than rebuilding. It’s about reconnecting people to their home, their neighborhoods, nature, and each other—socially, emotionally, and economically.
Let’s talk about the ways we designed for community regrowth. There are nine lessons that are broken into three scales—unit, building, and network.
Part 1: Regrowth at the unit scale
1. Update housing to today’s preferences and lifestyles
People want homes to support the way they live today. We can upgrade multifamily housing by bringing the units up to today’s standards. That means adding natural light, installing updated appliances, and improving energy efficiency. We can also retrofit units to be more flexible—so they work for different lifestyles and needs.
These changes help make homes more livable, sustainable, and connected to the way people live now.
At Block 86, our design for community revitalization reimagines Soviet-era housing. It turns them into flexible, desirable city dwellings. We created a variety of unit types to support different family structures. Each unit has an open floor plan with updated kitchens, laundry, and storage. Sliding interior panels allow rooms to shift—becoming offices, entertainment spaces, or quiet retreats as residents’ needs change.
We added outdoor terrace space to living units. We also included floor-to-ceiling windows or moveable glass walls to bring in light and encourage stronger connections to nature and community.
Part 2: Regrowth at the building scale
2. Refresh the building identity (and tell a story)
Architecture can tell an inspiring story. And with a multi-family building, the façade faces the public. It’s the personality of the building.
For the community revitalization at Block 86, we gave the building a new identity with a bold new façade. In the Japanese art of kintsugi, craftspeople repair ceramics to show of the damage rather than hiding it. It includes gold, silver, or platinum joinery. Inspired by nature’s resiliency and kintsugi, we designed calming blue rooms, or “gems,” to fill the damaged areas at Block 86. These gems can be used as shelter or to host events. These blue rooms turn scars of war into symbols of renewal.
Our module adds new elements to the dwelling units and the building façade—becoming another layer in the story of Block 86.
The Regrowth Module system extends from the ground to the roof. The newly insulated skin expands the living units and gives residents attractive outdoor terrace spaces. The new façade, adorned with a vertical garden, sits atop a foundation that doubles as a bomb shelter—an element required by the competition. And a new community vertical pathway encourages community interaction and easy access. Exterior panels celebrate Ukrainian culture with subtle graphic patterns derived from vyshyvanka embroidery.
The Block 86 redesign includes biophilic elements and direct access to nature. Locally sourced wood is an important part of the design concept.
3. Revitalize assets with new uses
Community revitalization means finding creative ways to use both old and new spaces.
It’s a chance to reimagine how buildings work—making them places that support social, natural, and economic connections. We’re helping people reconnect with each other and with the places where they live.
In the Healing Network, we give spaces multiple identities. This helps increase resiliency. The required long-stay bomb shelter becomes the concrete foundation for the new façade. The new exterior community path provides pedestrian access from the ground to the roof. A roof deck hosts verdant gardens, recreational spaces, and leisure activities. And the building’s central hall doubles as a short-term safe room.
4. Make it repeatable, scalable, and flexible
The competition asked us to design a solution that could be scaled and repeated. To be effective in conflict zones or other areas in need, a regrowth strategy for community revitalization should be easy to adapt. It should be simple for builders to use in different building types, scales, and situations.
For Block 86, we designed a flexible modular system; it can be used across Ukraine’s standard housing blocks. The system works in different site conditions—whether in Kharkiv or other cities. It’s a scalable solution for urban development.
Each modular unit is designed for flexibility. Units can be customized to meet the needs of different households, making them more livable and adaptable.
5. Design for rapid deployment
In areas where buildings have been destroyed or damaged by war or disaster, the community doesn’t have time for a long rebuild. It needs fast-track solutions. This can help provide a degree of normalcy. Kiev-based studio Zikzak’s Revival, for example, uses prefabricated, portable “blocks” to create schools.
We designed the Regrowth Module for rapid deployment. This flat-pack system is composed of timber, steel, and concrete pieces. All can be fabricated in the region and easily shipped to sites in Ukraine.
Contractors can quickly assemble framing for the outdoor balconies, stairs, and shared areas on site. The design aligns seamlessly with the existing load-bearing walls and concrete plank floors at Block 86. But we’ve made it scalable to different building types and sites.
6. Apply a sustainable approach
Research shows that natural materials can have health benefits. They can reduce stress and speed healing; they also inspire positive emotions. Biophilia is the theory that humans benefit from being around or seeing nature.
Community revitalization shouldn’t put more pressure on local ecosystems—or on natural systems elsewhere.
Research shows that natural materials can have health benefits. They can reduce stress and speed healing; they also inspire positive emotions.
That’s why we focused on sustainable construction in our modular design. We looked for ways to reduce environmental impact while creating safe, livable spaces for people to return to.
The Regrowth Module can be built from locally sourced materials and renewable timber. This reduces the carbon impact from transportation and fabrication.
And nature is a key part of our design.
We added a vertical garden to the building’s façade. It will help improve air quality, reduce heat, and bring more greenery to the city. And it makes the building more beautiful.
On the roof, we included green space with solar panels, rainwater collection, and passive solar heating. We also upgraded the building with high-performance insulation and energy-efficient windows.
Part 3: Regrowth at the network scale
7. Embrace the outdoors
When we zoom out and see the building and its landscape as part of the larger living system of the city and its ecology, we can tap into a larger network of regrowth. The Healing Network design for open space and landscape at Block 86 promotes healing and connection in the community. The design positions the neighborhood to flourish as a part of a dynamic Kharkiv.
For the community revitalization at Block 86, the design team gave the building a new identity with a bold new façade.
The open space design draws inspiration from Kharkiv’s cherished parks. It blurs the lines between landscape and architecture. Residents can relax, recreate, and reconnect in a restorative, park-like setting featuring native plants, hardscape, and water.
We envision the Healing Network building as a living system in harmony with nature. The plants, trees, and timber are part of a closed-loop ecosystem where growth and renewal are continuous.
The landscape features a community garden for urban farming. The multifunction pavilion fosters community and purpose at the ground level. Residents can use it for gatherings, storage, or retail.
8. Strengthen economic and social resilience
In recent years, the 15-minute city has taken hold as a goal for urban planners. Research shows that walkable or bikeable neighborhoods can boost equity, support local business, and reduce emissions from cars. Researchers also tout economic and health benefits of the 15-minute city.
Our plan uses the 15-minute city model to support community revitalization.
This approach helps strengthen the connection between residents and the city around them. It also creates more opportunities for people to thrive—socially and economically—by making daily needs accessible within a short walk or bike ride.
Our design strengthens the neighborhood's connection to the surrounding city. Walkways and cycling paths connect the residents to the city’s transportation networks, the famed Lisopark, the city center, and a “future science neighborhood.”
We envision the Healing Network’s open space as a place for community healing and connection. It positions the neighborhood to thrive as an integral part of a vibrant, reinvigorated Kharkiv.
Flexible modules can be connected or separated to create privacy or enhance connection in Block 86. The design focus is on community revitalization.
The Final Part: Our biggest takeaway?
9. Be ambitious in retrofits
We often think of retrofitting buildings to use less energy. And, yes, that’s important. The world needs to retrofit more buildings to reduce the emissions associated with climate change. A JLL report says the US will need to triple its retrofit rate to meet net-zero targets. But when we retrofit for decarbonization, we can do more. We can also update our buildings to strengthen a connection to nature and the community—and expand economic opportunity.
Simply repairing the damage at Block 86, making its systems more efficient, and moving on would make the building livable—but not much more. Instead, we made community revitalization the goal. We used this opportunity to enhance community, boost wellness, and support resilience at multiple scales.
The Healing Network is a blueprint for a sustainable, connected, and thriving community. It offers a comprehensive solution for modern housing updates. As cities continue to grow and evolve, innovative approaches like the Healing Network will play a crucial role in shaping the future of urban living.
Healing Network team: Porus Antia, Bahige Chaaban, Eugene Chumakov, Anshuman Dogra, John Dugan, Aida Sanchez-Gomez, Tracy Eich, Natalia Holmes, Aeron Hodges, Ali Kazmi, Eunjee Kim, Raul Pinol, and Suzanne Serna
