"A masterplan is an act of confidence in the future for generations still to come."
Masterplan of La Fábrica in Santiago, Chile, by Norman Foster + Partners
Last month renowned British architect Norman Foster agreed to help plan Ukraine's reconstruction of the city of Kharkiv, the country's second-biggest city, from the devastation caused by Russia's invasion. In doing so he wrote a manifesto that could be repurposed for any large scale project.
THE KHARKIV MANIFESTO
"I undertake to assemble the best minds with the best planning, architectural, design, and engineering skills in the world to bear on the rebirth of the city of Kharkiv. In the spirit of combining a planetary awareness with local action, I would seek to bring together the top Ukrainian talents with worldwide expertise and advice.
"The first step would be a city masterplan linked to the region, with the ambition to combine the most loved and revered heritage from the past with the most desirable and greenest elements of infrastructure and buildings – in other words to deliver the city of the future now and to plan for its life decades ahead.
"At the height of the pandemic, London updated a masterplan, the roots of which was a plan commissioned in the darkest days of World War II. A masterplan is an act of confidence in the future for generations still to come." - Sir Norman Foster
Announcement: Architect Norman Foster Will Help Redesign and Rebuild Ukraine City