Head of the project — Serhii Makhno
Lead architects — Maryna Agafonova, Bohdan Agafonov
Type
In progress
Location
Poltava region, Ukraine
Area
2025
Team
Instead of a preface
What is a Ukrainian village?
Warm starry nights, the chatter of grandmothers at sunset, the smell of freshly cut grass, and in winter, so much snow that you can’t leave the house.
The Ukrainian village is the cradle of our national identity and cultural memory. This is where folk crafts such as embroidery, weaving, and pottery developed. Here, embroidered towels were hidden from invaders in carved wooden chests from generation to generation — and in them were the destinies of millions of us. Neither historical trials, nor colonial pressure, nor Soviet bans on cultural self-expression could destroy Ukrainians, because the village protected them.
Historically, the Ukrainian village was a center of spirituality and moral values, where faith, work, and symbolic life were woven into everyday life. Rural communities preserved the vernacular, folklore, religious customs, and rituals.
The modern village as a form of self-determination
For many Ukrainians, the village is still a place of strength — it is where their parents and grandparents grew up, where family histories, traditions, and a living connection to the land are preserved.
Ukraine is currently undergoing a transformation of decentralization, in which local communities are given the freedom to shape their own identity, infrastructure, and way of coexisting.
Hromada translates this social idea into a spatial form.
The settlement is designed as an autonomous system where housing, public functions, and landscape form a coherent structure capable of supporting permanent residence, temporary formats, work, and shared daily practices.
A new spatial model of the Ukrainian village
In this project, we allowed ourselves to indulge in architectural fantasy. Hromada reimagines the archetype of the Ukrainian village as a modern spatial system built on the interaction between land and community. This is a new type of settlement — open, without fences, but deeply private; one in which architecture grows out of the ground and dissolves into it, creating a quiet, sustainable environment for living.
The project is based on the traditional Ukrainian logic of “my yard” and “our common life,” translated into the form of the future. Hromada offers an autonomous village of the 21st century, where space is defined not by a fence, but by the relief, topography, and natural rhythm of the community.
Architecture that begins with the ground
The Poltava landscape — flat, calm, and balanced — forms both the emotional and structural foundation of the project. Here, architecture does not dominate nature; it enters into it.
Buildings are delicately embedded into the terrain, extending its lines and forming a seamless continuity between landscape and built environment. This approach draws on the ancient Ukrainian archetype of the zemlianka — a shelter where the earth provided silence, protection, and a sense of stability.
In a contemporary context, this solution functions as an architectural strategy:
– the ground forms natural boundaries for private courtyards;
– the soil dampens noise, wind, and heat, creating a soft microclimate;
– the relief becomes the primary form-generating element, defining the geometry of the volumes.
The heart of Hromada
At the centre of Hromada is the main building — a shared space toward which the daily routes of residents naturally converge. It is the quiet core of the settlement, a place of presence and encounter where a sense of community gradually takes shape.
Here, the main public functions are concentrated — spaces for gatherings, rest, and everyday communication. The central building is conceived as an open and accessible structure, a contemporary interpretation of a village square or town hall — a place that sustains internal connections and sets the rhythm of communal life.
A space without fences
Each residential building has its own courtyard, shaped by the terrain itself — similar to a traditional village, where the ground naturally defined the boundaries between households. The slopes delicately outline the courtyard space, creating privacy without fences while maintaining the openness of the environment.
This understanding of the ground as a boundary and support formed the basis of the project's material language. Concrete, soil, and living vegetation interact with each other, and the architectural lines gently repeat the natural terrain, forming a coherent spatial structure of the village.
Silence and presence
Hromada offers a range of living options — from spacious houses to compact formats.
Each house has its own intimate space, designed for silence and solitude. The bedroom windows overlook a green slope densely planted with vegetation. A living “green curtain” that changes with the seasons creates a feeling of natural protection, and the landscape outside the window constantly changes with the rhythm of nature, never remaining the same.
Next to the private area is a shared living space. Here you will find a living room, a work area, and an open space with access to the terrace. The relief, open sky, and surrounding vegetation create a calm atmosphere of closeness and living presence.
Only the sky above
Roofs become an integral part of village life. Their smooth forms serve as a space for art, hosting a field of Quadropod sculptures (winner of the Red Dot Design Award), which organically grows out of the architecture and reinforces the sense of shared space.
This upper level serves as both an art park, a public terrace, and a communal square. The Quadropod field becomes a metaphor for the community itself: many small elements that together form a unified system — and in this lies its strength.
"I have always been inspired by Ukrainian villages — places where I felt a balance between my own space and shared space. My own yard, the quiet of my home, the opportunity to be alone — and at the same time, openness to neighbors, to conversation, to shared life. In the Hromada project, I wanted to bring back that feeling: that architecture should not separate people, but also not take away their privacy," says Serhii Makhno.
