Berlin Fellowship 2023 — Architecture

Vita

Yuliia Rusylo has been a graphic designer at Urban Laboratory Metalab since 2017 and a project manager for Metalab's "CO-HATY" project since 2022. Yulia conducts personal artistic activities and has had solo and collective exhibitions in Ukraine. For more than seven years, she has been creating illustrations and graphic designs for various commercial and social projects. During the war, Yulia joined the "CO-HATY" project and managed the renovation of housing for IDPs, mastering new skills in planning spaces, purchasing, and implementing projects with city communal institutions.

Residency

During this residency, our primary focus will be on comprehensive documentation of the ongoing METALAB project known as CO-HATY. Launched in March 2022, the CO-HATY initiative aims to provide housing for internally displaced individuals in response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which forced approximately 12 million Ukrainians to flee their homes. Of these, 6.5 million sought refuge in Western Ukraine.

The CO-HATY project integrates architectural and urban expertise, collaboration with local authorities and property owners, fundraising for repair and furnishing efforts, construction management, and designing furniture for retrofitted spaces. Over the course of one and a half years, CO-HATY has gained recognition within art, architectural, and humanitarian circles, serving as a subject of research, exhibitions, and publications worldwide. Our team now aims to distil this wealth of experience into a dedicated website and publication, while also strategizing for the project's future endeavours.