The office Office for Future is converting an old school located in Stavyshche, Ukraine, into residences for 42 families affected by the conflict. This project, developed in partnership with the Charity Foundation Housing for IDP and named «Dvir – The Shared Courtyard», uses the approximately 1,900 square meter building to create 42 apartments and 200 square meters of common internal areas.
The renovation integrates the original structure with wooden additions, implements energy retrofitting, and modifies the old asphalt courtyard, turning it into a permeable green space.
The school, which has served as a local landmark for many decades and hosted several generations of students, was not replaced; instead, the project aims to preserve it and reorganize it around a new residential concept. This new program includes four types of apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units, as well as fully adapted accommodations for people with disabilities.
Common areas, children's leisure spaces, and meeting rooms were arranged near the private units. Some of these community spaces were designed to host cultural events and activities open to local residents.
The architectural intervention involves specific modifications to the existing building. Strategic demolitions were carried out to optimize internal space and increase efficiency, while a self-supporting wooden walkway ensures access to the apartments. Additionally, a new wooden roof was installed over the structure, integrating approximately 800 square meters of photovoltaic panels, while the building envelope receives improvements as part of the energy retrofit.
The former schoolyard will also undergo a major reconfiguration. About 850 square meters of asphalt pavement will be removed through a soil de-impermeabilization process, transforming it into a permeable green area. Part of the original paving will be retained as pedestrian paths within the garden, establishing a network of routes between the building and the shared outdoor space. The project was conceived as a micro-community that connects the new residences to the surrounding city, maintaining the link between the old school and the local community through the planned use of the courtyard and common areas.
«Dvir – The Shared Courtyard» represents the third intervention in Ukraine promoted by the Charity Foundation Housing for IDP. Conceived by Office for Future, which has offices in Florence and Lausanne, this project combines adaptive reuse, new wooden construction, energy efficiency improvements, and landscape transformation in an existing building. The 42 apartments aim to provide housing for displaced families, ensuring the maintenance of the old school's role as a gathering place in Stavyshche. For Office for Future, collective memory and the physical presence of the building in Stavyshche are crucial elements in the project's conversion methodology.
Other recent initiatives also address the issue of housing as a response to displacement and financial viability. At the 20th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, the Ukrainian pavilion, named «Pool of Questions», was presented by CO-HATY, a volunteer initiative founded in 2022 by METALAB and displaced Ukrainian Urban Curators, dedicated to restoring abandoned buildings to transform them into housing for internally displaced persons. This project raises questions about when displaced people can resume their daily lives. In another scenario, the OBEL 2026 Award recognized the Balearic Social Housing Model for its changes in housing management between 2019 and 2023, while the 730 Stanyan development, designed by OMA and Y.A. Studio in San Francisco, offers 160 permanent homes accessible to low-income families, homeless people, and young people transitioning into adulthood.