Design report
Nearly two years on from the invasion of their country, Ukrainian designers are rebuilding for the future – and finding optimism through their work
FEATURE ELLEN FINCH
When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the design industry, of course, came to ahalt. For the country’s creatives, dreaming up beautiful things was an impossibilit y while their cities and towns were under attack. Almost two years later, however, designers have pressed on, innovating in the face of continued threats – and daring to imagine what the future might hold for their industry once war is over. It’s a story of the optimism of design in the face of an immense challenge.
‘It’s quite complicated to practise design when you’re being bombed,’ say Dmitry Sivak, A lexey Gulesha and Maksym Iuriichuk of Sivak+Partners, who create interiors and architecture rich in texture and unexpected pops of colour, of the immediate impact of the invasion on their work. ‘Aesthetics immediately go on the bottom and safety and function become more important. Events like this are life-changing for ever y human involved and especially for artists. You rethink all the values you have formed during life, even the basic ones.’
EVENTS LIKE THIS ARE LIFE-CHANGING FOR EVERY HUMAN INVOLVED – YOU RETHINK ALL THE VALUES YOU HAVE FORMED DURING LIFE
For Artur Sharf and Artem Zverev, co-founders of Yodezeen – a fast-expanding studio whose designs combine warm, natural materials with the opulence of metallics and stone – the invasion necessitated the swift relocation of their team members to Warsaw. ‘It allowed us to maintain our commitment to design supervision and client meetings,’ explains Artur. ‘It wasn’t just about safeguarding our vision and the essence of Yodezeen; it was also about preserving the livelihoods of our team.’ Today, the studio operates from two primary hubs, Kyiv and Warsaw, where their creative teams reside.
Thanks in part to the pandemic and the resultant boom in remote working, some designers have been able to diversif y their portfolio to take in projects across other countries and continents – something interior designer Rina Lovko, whose work is grounded in sensual minimalism, was particularly grateful for. ‘We have experience in managing projects in the USA, Great Britain and Austria because we can work remotely, so we did not feel any significant changes – except in mental health,’ she says. ‘Sure, this is not a normal life – but we continue to work with projects in Ukraine and all over the world.’
Still, the impact on projects close to home was swift and significant. ‘Right after the onset of the invasion, nearly half of our projects, all based in Ukraine, came to an abrupt halt,’ says Artem Zverev. ‘Yet, in these challenging times, we reached out globally. It ’s been a transformative journey. In
