We live in a complicated moment for European credibility.
The war in Ukraine must be an opportunity for Europe to consolidate the values on which it was founded.
We will help Ukraine in its reconstruction.
Prof. Josep Mias was invited to participate in the first Spanish business cluster for reconstruction in Ukraine.
Prof. Jorge Lobos was invited by the Ukrainian-Swedish cluster of entrepreneurs in a consortium for reconstruction, consisting of banks, industry, construction companies, research firms, local communities and Ukrainian municipalities
On 21 September, Prof. Josep Mias took part in the establishment of the cluster in Guernica and was commissioned to lead this initiative. Companies from the construction sector and in particular prefabricated timber construction have joined the Spanish cluster.
The objective of the course will be to develop construction prototypes with this technology, capable of responding to the need for living, cultural, educational and health spaces.
We will develop a geographical recovery strategy for the territories and cities to be reconstructed, as well as for the enclaves where reconstruction is most urgent.
For example in Borodianka, a small town of 12,000 inhabitants near Kiev that was totally destroyed. Ukraine needs to rebuild millions of square metres, the Ukrainian-Swedish consortium is starting with a prototype of 1,000,000 m2 of modular, prefabricated wooden houses, some of which could be built in Borodianka itself.
The problem in war is not only about reconstruction, but also about the cities receiving refugees, which grow exponentially during the conflict and have neither the infrastructure nor the housing to accommodate internal migrants, who are technically called IDPs (INTERNAL DISPLACED PEOPLE). Currently 7 million Ukrainians are refugees in Europe, but another 5 million have fled the country to other destinations, including Russia. The IDPs themselves are also estimated at around 7 million.
We will begin the course with a study of the existing technologies of prefabricated timber construction and in parallel an analysis of the state of the country, in order to strategically decide where to intervene initially. We will have information from the Ukrainian embassy in Spain to determine any action as the situation evolves at any given time.
They hope that this initiative will not only help develop a general knowledge and competence of urban planning and architectural design, but also confirm that architecture should contribute to development and civil coexistence and peace.
Further information will be given during the lectures.