Donate windows to the Polish Pavilion at London Design Biennale in the spirit of material reuse. We will send them to Ukrainians rebuilding their destroyed homes. The London action will take place between 10.04.2023-10.05.2023.

Poland at the London Design Biennale

This year’s London Design Biennale will touch upon the theme of ‘remapping collaborations’, putting international, interdisciplinary cooperation in architecture and design in the spotlight. New forms of working together are also the heart of this year’s Polish pavilion at the Biennale, organized by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. The authors of the exhibition explore Polish-Ukrainian partnerships amidst war. The ‚Poetics of Necessity’ exhibition is an attempt to describe relationships, objects and processes which emerge during those times of crisis. At the center of the pavilion you will find reused windows – an installation inspired by our project, during which the BRDA Foundation’s team gathers hundreds of windows all around Poland, and sends them to Ukrainians rebuilding their homes destroyed in bombings and air raids (read more about the project so far here: (https://pomagam.pl/projektokno2). 

And we will be doing this all over again in London!

Windows for Ukraine – call to action

The Polish pavilion will feature an installation of 30 windows, which can be donated to the organizers by citizens of London and UK based enterprises between the 10th of April and 10th of May. The windows you will find in Somerset House during the London Design Biennale will join those which are sent to Kyiv and Kharkiv from Warsaw, becoming part of humanitarian aid efforts. 

You just renovated your house? You have a spare window in your basement? You own a building company and have access to reused windows? Awesome! 

You can support Polish-Ukrainian-British efforts to bring ease to those severely touched by war. Reused windows are a beautiful gift to those in need, given in the spirit of sustainability and circular economy. Join us! 

I want to donate windows – how do I do it?

It’s suuuuper easy. Here’s how the process works step by step:

1. Write to us a DM via Instagram or contact Jess, our action coordinator, via email at windowsforukraine@fundacjabrda.org. Tell us what kind of windows you can donate, what their measurements are and when you can bring them our way. We make all the arrangements together.
2. We meet you for pick up at our London storage and help you unload the windows safely.
3. Upon arrival, we request you sign a simple donation agreement, which will help us further in transporting the windows as humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Done!

Now, a brief description of what we’re looking for:

• PVC windows – plastic windows ONLY with unbroken glass (this ensures safe transport, quality and durability);
• Windows with frames – production of a matching, tailored frame is expensive, time-consuming and difficult to access in Ukraine;
• Standard shapes – square and rectangular windows are very welcome!
• We also take in balcony doors!

If there is any other way you feel you can contribute – feel free to write to us at any time at windowsforukraine@fundacjabrda.org. The Windows for Ukraine action is all about working together – from Ukraine, Poland, through Switzerland, all the way to the UK <3

What’s next?

Once we’ve gathered the 30 windows for display in the Polish pavilion, you can come check them out at the London Design Biennale between the 1st and 25th of June. What happens next?

• After the exhibition, windows will be carefully packed in recycled stretch, placed on reused wooden pallets and loaded on a truck headed to Warsaw.
• Upon arrival in Warsaw, the BRDA Foundation (which has been sending windows to Ukraine since July 2022) will add the London donation to other windows traveling to Ukraine.
• Windows will head either to the District #1 Foundation in Kyiv or the City Council of Kharkiv. They will be further distributed by volunteers to people whose windows were destroyed during shelling and bombing, but who chose to stay in Ukraine and fight back.
• You will find further information about the British windows’ journey on Instagram and here, on our website.

Any further questions? Contact us via windowsforukraine@fundacjabrda.org!

See you in London!
Polish Pavilion Team

The action is organized by the BRDA Foundation on behalf of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the organizer of the Polish Pavilion at London Design Biennale.