If 2022 taught us anything, it is that nothing is certain (but really – nothing) and that in the face of uncertainty we can only hope for strength from being together. However, to have that strength to fight evil, to help others or simply to survive, we need a safe refuge. This is our contribution to the process of building and rebuilding safe homes. Homes, that bring back dignity into lives, provide warmth and, what is most important – safety.

In September 2022, the BRDA Foundation sent 638 windows to the District #1 Foundation in Kyiv. They were entirely given out ot Ukrainians fixing their homes and apartments. February 2023 will mark the beginning of WINDOW 2.0, which will continue well into May. The Swiss architecture office In Situ is also sending windows to Ukraine. They are reused windows, in good technical state, fully prepared for montage. They do not need to be produced from scratch (they are given away by donors for free), so no additional carbon footprint is created. In the era of increasing building material prices (windows are crazy expensive!), lack of available glass in Ukraine and growing ambitions of designers who turn to reuse we feel that this is a promising direction of social engagement in the construction sector and a way to really, actually help.

In November 2022, as part of the Architecutre Festival in Wrocław, Zofia Jaworowska from BRDA and Michał Sikorski from the architecture studio TŁO conducted a workshop with students, exploring differenet methods of using reuse windows. The windows we receive as part of the WINDOW project are usually too small, too large, too narrow, too long, frameless… in short, it is different than the one possessed earlier – this means adjustments have to be made. The workshop resulted in two montage solutions, which can be easily implemented on your own, even in a 10th floor apartment. The solutions can be found in this catalog. Bravo, students!

Wojciech Mazan from PROLOG studio suggested that we come up with more solutions and create a free catalog, available to everyone in Ukrainian, with easy, clear instructions on how to fix your home with a reuse window on your own. The instructions were created with a hypothesis in mind, that temporary solutions often become solutions for much longer, and therefore the proposed DIY options are solid and safe. Where possible, we proposed substitutes for missing materials and different variants of the same problem. So far, 8 architecture studios joined in. This is our contribution in the process of grass-roots reconstruction in Ukraine. We hope it helps those, who take up the brave task of fixing their homes and the homes of their closest ones. We are with you, in solidarity. Slava Ukraini.

CONTRIBUTORS: PROLOG, TŁO Michał Sikorski, Zygmunt Borawski, JKL, Miastopracownia, naive, Rewizja, TAK., Ziemia Studio