CO-HATY
In March 2022, METALAB cooperated with the Urban Curators to launch the CO-HATY project to create housing for people who lost their homes as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. With the support of partners and volunteers, the team renovates buildings, creates thoughtful designs for spaces, and furnishes them with love and dignity.
POLE
A center for innovation and sustainable development where the heritage of traditional crafts harmoniously coexists with modern technologies and equipment. The team at METALAB shared a vision of bringing makers together into a comprehensive and supportive ecosystem. To achieve this, we created a makerspace, a platform for learning, experimenting, and sharing knowledge about production. The principles of circular economy and universal design are at the core of this platform.
NEW ECONOMY OF IVANO-FRANKIVSK (NEF)
METALAB is one of the executive partners of the New Economy of Ivano-Frankivsk project. The project aims to transform the city into a competitive, innovative economic center. The team at METALAB is responsible for leading the capacity building in sustainable construction and product design, as well as the development of a makerspace. After the full-scale invasion of Russia, the NEF project supported Save Business Now as a response to the challenges of the war.
Co-Haty bed
After the outbreak of full-scale war, the METALAB team investigated the experiences and needs of people in temporary accommodation. Based on our observations, we created a set of furniture for CO-HATY facilities. Among them is a multifunctional bed designed by Tanya Pashynska.
Research bomb shelters
Safe and comfortable shelter is one of the critical needs of wartime. The METALAB team conducted a study of the practice of arranging bomb shelters in the world, as well as the potential of their use in peacetime after the disappearance of a direct military threat.
CITY SCANNING SESSION 2021 — ROOTING
The City Scanning Session is an experimental festival during which participants reflect on urban space on specific topics and create ideas for qualitative changes in the fields of architecture, urbanism, art, and other forms of human-city interaction. The results of the events have become impulses for changes in the city space and continue to be the focus of the METALAB team’s work.
CITY SCANNING SESSION (2019) — MANUFUTURING
The City Scanning Session is an experimental festival during which participants reflect on urban space on specific topics and create ideas for qualitative changes in the fields of architecture, urbanism, art, and other forms of human-city interaction. The results of the events have become impulses for changes in the city space and continue to be the focus of the METALAB team’s work.
CITY SCANNING SESSION (2017) — VOL.1 ROLE MODELS
The City Scanning Session is an experimental festival during which participants reflect on urban space on specific topics and create ideas for qualitative changes in the fields of architecture, urbanism, art, and other forms of human-city interaction. The results of the events have become impulses for changes in the city space and continue to be the focus of the METALAB team’s work.
THE BEAUTY OF CARE
METALAB members Anna Pashynska, Anna Dobrova, Tania Pashynska, Yuliia Holiuk, and Yulia Rusylo participated in the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale with a project dedicated to various forms of care in architecture. They gathered stories from people — military, volunteers, artists, etc. — and collective projects in Ukraine and “retold” them using symbolic objects that have acquired new meanings in the war context.
SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS LABORATORY
The Sustainable Materials Laboratory is a harmonious part of the makerspace. The METALAB team collaborates with specialists from various industries to experiment, create and test new eco-friendly materials and make prototypes of products for construction, design, and more through workshops.
Residence WE ARE NEVER ALONE
A residency that took place in the context of City Scanning Session (2019) — MANUFUTURING. Ten participants from Ukraine and abroad spent a month interacting with the Promprylad area and the surrounding neighborhood through their own research, proposed activities, public programs, and events.
Symposium MANUFUTURING
The 2019 City Scanning Session festival featured a symposium with six panel discussions aligned with the festival’s key themes, as well as additional discussions and networking opportunities.
PRODUCT FOR THE CITY: A PIER ON THE LAKE WITH A SWAN
The pier on the Lake with a Swan was the result of the Product for the City project, which took place during the City Scanning Session Festival in 202). Our team researched the area and the space near the lake, interacted with it, and eventually engaged in a careful arrangement that complies with the principles of the circular economy and does not disturb the existing ecosystem.
Newspaper of the City Scanning Session (2019)
The MANUFUTURING newspaper is one of the outcomes of the second City Scanning Session. The festival, which took place in 2019, focused on exploring the potential of the area surrounding the former Promprylad plant. This publication serves as a guide to the festival, providing readers with insights into the topics that were discussed by city residents when contemplating the future of the area and its community.
Circular design in public spaces in Ivano-Frankivsk
A research study of the use of materials in public spaces in Ivano-Frankivsk aims to analyze the most popular materials and suggest spatial design strategies that align with the principles of the circular economy. The team analyzed thirteen locations of different types.
Planning and Design of Public Spaces in Ivano-Frankivsk: Analysis of Approaches Taking into Account the Principles of the Circular Economy
A study of current approaches to planning and designing public spaces in Ivano-Frankivsk to take into account their environmental impact. The team analyzed the impact of various public spaces in the city through the prism of circular economy principles and prepared recommendations on how to incorporate them into the planning process of new projects.
Mobility behavior research
METALAB, in collaboration with the Teple Misto platform, conducted research on the mobility behavior of residents of Ivano-Frankivsk. The primary analysis was carried out until February 24, 2022. Still, the results of the study outline trends, conceptualize mobility issues, and identify the main factors that influence the decisions of Ivano-Frankivsk residents to travel within the city.
Public product
Furniture for the Lake is the result of the “Designing a public product” workshop during the City Scanning Session in 2019. The participants designed, manufactured, and installed a set of outdoor furniture resistant to various weather conditions and (potential) vandalism.
Who should we thank for the hibiscus? Women who are greening cities
Yuliia Popova’s anthropological study of women’s practice of home gardening and its value both for women’s gender socialization and for the ideas of green urban ideology.