Ukrainian architecture studio Zikzak has designed a collapsible, modular school building that aims to restore infrastructure that was destroyed as a result of the Ukraine War.
Titled Revival, the school building was designed in response to the devastation caused by the Ukraine War and can house over 176 students within an aluminium, modular structure that can be adapted and changed to suit the needs of its users.
Each of the volumes at the school will consist of six-metre by three-metre and nine-metre by three-metre “blocks” that are organised and arranged to form larger rooms. Each room will be dedicated to various educational facilities such as classrooms, sports rooms, showers and canteens.
Renders show the structure comprised of stacked rectangular volumes clad in corrugated metal in the colours of the Ukrainian flag.
The walls of the building would be assembled from multiple modular panels that surround a demountable, structural aluminium frame. Aluminium would also be used to clad the outer walls, which would envelop non-combustible basalt wool insulation between its interior walls.
Internal and external walls will feature options for interior sliding doors, windows as well as exterior doors to allow the building to be adapted accordingly for different functions.
Alongside its adaptability, the modular design of the building facilitates the future scaling of the structure through the addition of multiple blocks and rooms.
By adding multiple volumes and expanding both horizontally and vertically, the building can increase its student population.
“The charm of the concept of modular structures is also that any modular structure – can be increased simply by adding the necessary blocks,” said the studio.
“Thus, if necessary, our primary school can be turned into a secondary school and even a secondary school of I-III degrees! All this is made possible by adding blocks with key functions,” it continued.
“Through adaptability, we can expand the school building both horizontally and vertically.”
Zikzak explained that this system can also be applied to temporary housing and medical facilities.
The studio told Dezeen that the project would take approximately nine months to build.
“War causes irreparable damage very quickly. Our task is to rebuild Ukraine even faster because people want to return to life today,” it said. “That’s why we’ve designed pre-fabricated modular units that will help children start learning within a few months of designing.
“Also, many of our regions are faced with a large number of internal migrants, so there is a catastrophic shortage of places in schools, and with the help of such modular blocks it is possible to expand schools for everyone.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, furniture company IKEA donated its products and design services to create a series of refugee support centres in Eastern Europe.
Many renowned international architects have joined in helping to build infrastructure; in April 2022, British architect Norman Foster met with Kharkiv’s mayor to discuss the rebuilding of the Ukrainian city following damage caused by the invasion.
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