Ukraine

Project Aim

To restore the school destroyed by russian forces and create a safe and high-quality learning environment for children, The new facility will strengthen the resilience and connections of local communities. The project aims to ensure that children in Ukraine have the opportunity to learn safely, with dignity, and in a modern environment, while schools become open, community-centered spaces built on the most advanced European education and infrastructure practices.

About the Project

A new, modern, sustainable, and future-resilient school will be built in the centre of Zhytomyr, on the site of Lyceum No. 25 destroyed by russia in 2022. It will  become a safe educational space with an integrated underground civil protection shelter, ensuring continuity of education even under continuous war conditions.

The school will be  built based on the adaptive technical design “Future School for Ukraine”, initiated by Lithuania and implemented by CPVA. It is an innovative, ready-to-use and easily adaptable model that enables fast and efficient reconstruction of educational infrastructure across the country.

The project received European and international acknowledgement and won several prestigious awards.

Adaptive reuse architectural design means an architectural work, a set of architectural solutions for a building design featuring maximum solutions for the site, the interior and the exterior of the building, which can be applied independently of the specific target site or location, and could be re-used, in adapted form, for multiple different locations, each time by individually integrating and adapting it to the local context.

You can find more information about the project implemented by CPVA here.

The project follows the principles of the New European Bauhaus, creating spaces that are not only functional but also inspiring, sustainable, and open to the community. The architectural approach is based on three key directions:

• Adaptability and flexibility – a modular design that can be easily adapted to different needs,
• Courtyards and community – shared courtyards and open spaces designed for gatherings, initiatives, where garden become the “heart” of the school.
• Sustainability and resilience – integration of renewable energy solutions, green roofs, and efficient construction methods .

Project Objective

A fully equipped modern school with an integrated civil protection shelter for approximately 650 people will be built in Zhytomyr within 36 months.

The school will provide:

• safe learning conditions, including operation during emergencies;
• a modern learning environment with the necessary equipmentand digital infrastructure;
• advanced working conditions for teachers, multifunctional spaces suitable for both education and non-formal community activities.

The adaptive technical design has already been registered in Ukraine as a reusable model and will be implemented  for the first time for building new  school in Zhytomyr.

Elements of the former school’s structure will be integrated into the new environment, incorporated into space-defining walls and complemented with greenery and climbing plants, preserving memory while creating a vibrant and renewed space.

„We keep the memory of the war, but we let grow  a new hope on it.“

Adaptive design developer and Director of Business Development at Scandurra Studio, George Poé Matteo: Lviv Urban Forum 2025