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A winner of a competition for an adaptive technical school design for the „Future School for Ukraine“ has been selected. This competition was initiated by Lithuania and organised together with architectural and educational experts from Ukraine. It will be used as a standard for the construction of new schools throughout Ukraine.

A winner of a competition for an adaptive technical school design for the "Future School for Ukraine" has been selected. This competition was initiated by Lithuania and organised together with architectural and educational experts from Ukraine. It will be used as a standard for the construction of new schools throughout Ukraine.

The project is funded with €500,000 from the Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Fund, which is administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.

The international jury awarded first prize to the Italian architectural team "Scandurra Studio Architeturra srl", which collaborated with the Ukrainian architect M.A. Vustianskyi.

"The "Future School for Ukraine" project is an inspiring contribution by Lithuania and international partners to Ukraine's victory and the future of Ukrainian children. This project has brought Lithuanian diplomats, the Central Project Management Agency, and other partners together for a common purpose and has helped us to build international coalitions. The efforts of ten teams of architects helped to draw the attention of the international community to the fact that bomb explosions and alarm sirens are yet more frequent than the school bell in Ukraine today,"  - said Vice-Minister Simonas Šatūnas.

The Vice-Minister also noted that the experience gained while implementing the project would further strengthen Italy's and other European countries' links with Lithuania and cooperation for the reconstruction of Ukraine, which has been continuously destroyed by barbarians. Šatūnas also added that the outcomes of this project will be an essential element of the preparations for the Ukraine Reconstruction Conference in Rome.

The damage caused by Russia to Ukraine's education sector is immense. According to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, more than 1,600 schools have been affected by the attacks. As many as 197 have been completely destroyed. Rational solutions and the support of the international community are needed to rebuild them.

"Russia's war against Ukraine is an existential struggle for the future of Ukraine. The enemy wants to seize our lands, destroy our language and culture, and prevent a new generation of free Ukrainians from growing up. That is why the restoration and development of education are more important today than ever before. Every restored school, every shelter and every return to a living educational process is a step towards preserving our identity. The development of an adaptive school project is an opportunity to rebuild more schools, saving money and time on the technical preparation of the project. I am grateful to our partners from Lithuania for their continued support of our education and for launching the "Future School for Ukraine" initiative," said Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine. 

The project "Future School for Ukraine" is implemented by the Central Project Management Agency (CPMA) in partnership with the Agency for Reconstruction and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine and the Lithuanian Union of Architects.

The selected adaptive standard technical school design is expected to be finalised in February 2025. After finalisation, it will be available free of charge to Ukrainian institutions and international partners involved in reconstructing Ukraine's educational infrastructure.

All the projects in the competition were evaluated on the basis of five criteria: the quality of the architectural idea, its adaptability, functionality, sustainability and the cost of design services. The first prize-winning project, prepared by a joint Italian-Ukrainian architectural team, focuses on the efficient use of materials and rational construction solutions to make the most efficient use of funds.

The „Future School for Ukraine“ competition attracted 15 eligible projects. They were evaluated by an international jury of experts, including architects Viktor Zotov (Ukraine), Carl Backstrand (Sweden), Helena Sandman (Finland), Viktorija Blažienė and Rolandas Palekas (Lithuania), Ana Novosad, former Minister of Education of Ukraine and founder of the NGO savED, and Artūras Žarnovskis, head of the programme "Co-Create Future of Ukraine".

All the ideas that were included in the competition can be found on the Future School for Ukraine website.