Symposium REFLECT – REACT – RESPONSE – WIA-Ukraine at WIA Festival 2025 in feldfünf, Metropolenhaus, 22nd of June 2025
WIA Ukraine, in collaboration with BDA Berlin as a project partner, presents a two-part event within the framework of the Women in Architecture Festival 2025.
The program connects Ukrainian female perspectives with the international architectural discourse.
Reflect – React – Response, this symposium explores how Ukraine’s architectural identity is being re-examined and redefined—historically, culturally, and professionally.
Opening: Building Culture
Panel Discussion WIA Ukraine × BDA Berlin
BDA Berlin: Elke Duda, Benita Braun-Feldweg
WIA Ukraine: Anastasiya Ponomaryova, Kateryna Yarova
Part 1: Reflection and Dialogue
The first half of the day brings together Ukrainian and German perspectives to explore architectural history and cultural exchange.
– The influence of Western architects on Ukrainian urban and industrial landscapes
– The historical role and visibility of women in architecture
– War as a factor of urban transformation
– Civic initiatives preserving cultural heritage, such as Save Kvity Ukrainy and Bradtman’s Dacha
A joint panel with BDA Berlin opens dialogue on shared and differing perspectives in building culture between Germany and Ukraine.
Olga Konovalova – Western Architects in Ukraine
Anna Desiatnychuk – Ukrainian Female Architect: History and Present
Anna Potanina – Save Kvity Ukrainy• Anna Iakovlieva – Bradtman’s Dacha
Part 2: Rethink and Taking Action
The second part turns toward the present and future. What does a female-led architectural response look like in times of crisis and reconstruction?
– New data on women-led practices
– Examples of contemporary, socially engaged architecture in Ukraine
– Films and conversations about practice as activism
Throughout the day, an interactive exhibition and video projection invite visitors to reflect on identity, heritage, and the reconstruction of values through architecture. The space is open for exchange, participation, and dialogue.
Svitlana Smolenska– War as a Factor of Transformation
Ira Kychata – Architecture from a Woman’s Hand (Stats & Analysis)
Anastasiya Ponomaryova – CO-HATY
ROUNDTABLE Reflect – React – Response | Thursday, June 26th 2025, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – BDA Gallery, Berlin
Under the title Future and Our Response, we look ahead. In the format of a roundtable, we connect, develop visions for Ukraine’s future and discuss key topics from a female perspectives.
This evening serves as an idea lab, a meeting place, and am impulse dialogue, collaboration, and future-oriented architecture.
About WIA Ukraine
WIA Ukraine is an interdisciplinary network of Ukrainian women architects, founded in 2025.
Its goal is to strengthen the voices of Ukrainian women in the international architectural field and to create spaces for exchange, interaction, and solidarity.
WIA Ukraine Team
Olena Kobets, Ira Kychata, Kseniia Chebina, Yevheniia Likhachova, Yana Bas, Ivanna Papushenko, Olha Konovalova, Veronika Zapukhla, Yana Brukhovetska, Olga Barsukova, Vasylysa Shchogoleva
Find out more: https://www.bda-berlin.de/events/wia-ukraine-2
