Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, has been profoundly impacted by the ongoing conflict, and this competition forms part of the wider international effort to support the city’s recovery of housing and public space. Since 2022, the Norman Foster Foundation, together with United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Kharkiv City Council, Arup and international teams from Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Ukraine, has developed the Masterplan concept for the reconstruction of Kharkiv, building a long-term vision for a safe, resilient and community-centred city.

This work was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The Kharkiv Housing Challenge was launched in 2024 as a key milestone within this Masterplan and specifically as part of the Housing Pilot Project, intended to translate the Masterplan’s principles into actionable, replicable solutions.

The competition invited architects and designers to propose modular systems capable of retrofitting existing concrete housing blocks and revitalising public areas, addressing safety, energy performance and community wellbeing, including shelter integration and adaptable façade strategies, while establishing a contemporary yet locally grounded identity for reconstruction.

The call achieved strong global reach, with 18,173 brief downloads and 259 submissions from teams worldwide. Proposals were assessed against criteria aligned with the Masterplan objectives—modularity and innovation, adaptability and scalability, sustainability and environmental performance, community engagement and empowerment, and economic feasibility—by an interdisciplinary jury with strong local, regional and international representation, chaired by Norman Foster.

This year, in 2025, following three years of collaboration, the NFF has concluded its partnership on the Housing Pilot Project after announcing the competition winners, marking the completion of this phase of work.

1st Prize Healing Kharkiv: From Rubble  to Renewal

Authors: Cundall + Gensler (UK)
A reconstruction strategy that strengthens existing buildings with recycled local materials, improves insulation and accessibility, and adds adaptable living spaces such as winter gardens. The proposal integrates rainwater harvesting, modular solutions and community-focused public spaces, prioritising social healing and cultural recovery.

2nd Prize: Blooming Towards the Sun

Author: Zigeng Wang (China)
A design that merges architecture with agriculture through sunflower cultivation to support food security and local identity. It reuses fragments of damaged buildings, enhances housing with new façades and green balconies, and introduces community spaces while addressing water management and modular rebuilding.

3rd Prize: Modus Vita

Authors: Melek Serra Saral, Oleksandr Kinash, Didem Arman, Elif Ilgin (Turkey)
A modular system of underground shelters usable in both wartime and peacetime. The project combines preserved structures with new modular additions, improves residential energy efficiency and replaces damaged sections with standardised blocks adaptable for living or public use.