Creating homes in wartime Ukraine
The war in Ukraine has led to the most severe housing crisis in the country’s modern history. Today, around 3.7 million people are internally displaced, according to UNHCR, and several million more are living as refugees outside Ukraine’s borders. In total, more than 10 million people have been forced to leave their homes since the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022.
Many have moved to the western parts of the country, often to cities that already faced housing shortages before the war. In a short time, temporary solutions became long-term realities – and the question of how people can actually live, not just survive, has become increasingly urgent.
It was in this context that architects began asking a very practical question: what can we actually do?
IM’s partner organization METALAB launched the CO-HATY initiative in March 2022. The aim was not to build new housing from scratch, but to quickly find ways to use what was already there. The first building they worked on was a student dormitory that had stood empty for several years. With the help of volunteers, local actors, and international support, it was transformed into a functioning home for people forced to flee.
Practical collaboration on the ground
The work quickly expanded from there, without losing its core idea: combining architectural expertise with hands-on, practical work on site. The projects involve identifying empty or underused buildings, collaborating with local authorities and property owners, securing funding, and carrying out renovations that can support everyday life. This includes everything from building bathrooms and kitchens to designing furniture and coordinating construction together with local companies.
At the same time, it is clear that providing a roof over someone’s head is not enough. CO-HATY places strong emphasis on how it feels to live there. Light colors, plants, shared spaces, and carefully considered materials are not marginal details, but part of the overall concept. The aim is to move away from the sense of temporariness – not to reinforce the feeling that life is on hold.
Residents are part of the process
Another key aspect is that residents themselves are involved. They take part in planning, renovation, and sometimes in managing the spaces. This creates not only practical solutions, but also relationships between neighbors and a sense that the place truly belongs to those who live there.
The need for initiatives like this is not decreasing. On the contrary, several analyses show declining incomes, while the private rental market remains both insecure and difficult to access for internally displaced people. Many of those whose homes have been destroyed will not be able to return for a long time, and temporary solutions risk becoming permanent without being designed for it.
More than 1,700 people have found a home
So far, CO-HATY has restored nine buildings in western Ukraine, in the Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytskyi regions, providing housing for around 1,700 people. At the same time, the team is working to develop more long-term models for affordable housing, in response to a reality that is becoming increasingly permanent.
Part of the work that is less visible is the development of furniture and interior solutions for small spaces. METALAB has created its own furniture collection for the housing units, based on reuse, local production, and inclusive design. One example is a bed designed to serve multiple purposes: it is higher than a standard bed to make it easier to use, especially for older people, it provides storage space underneath, and two single beds can easily be converted into a double bed. These kinds of solutions emerge from conversations with residents themselves – what works, what doesn’t, and what is missing in everyday life.
CO-HATY continues to grow, but at a pace shaped by access to buildings, resources, and partnerships. At the same time, there is a constant awareness that this is not a temporary need. For many people in Ukraine, it is no longer about waiting to return home, but about making everyday life work where they are – for the foreseeable future.
Text: Malin Kihlström
Photo: METALAB