Rebuild Green Hackathon 2024: A Catalyst for Change in Ukraine’s Construction Industry!

On October 23, the much-anticipated Demo Day of Rebuild Green Hackathon 2024 took place — an international event that brought together architects, urban planners, green building experts, biobased material manufacturers, eco-technology developers, and municipal representatives. The main goal of the event was to launch pilot projects for sustainable construction, aimed at rebuilding Ukrainian communities. The hackathon kicked off on September 21 in Vinnytsia, Copenhagen, and The Hague, where leading experts in eco-friendly construction shared their experiences and presented ideas and strategies for rebuilding Ukrainian cities using biobased materials and ecotechnologies.

Organizers and Partners

The event was organized by SYNCHRO SPACE and FIABCI-Ukraine as part of the New European Bauhaus initiative, in collaboration with the Podolian Agency for Regional Development, four Ukrainian communities, and co-organizers Ukraine - the Netherlands Urban Network (UNUN) , DISIE , We Are Changemakers , and The European-Ukrainian Hub . The objective was to integrate green solutions into Ukraine’s recovery process, in line with the goals of the European Green Deal.

Hackathon Challenges

The main challenges were set by the municipalities, focusing on creating sustainable housing and public spaces for internally displaced persons (IDPs), rehabilitation centers, and industrial parks using biobased materials and sustainable solutions. These tasks carry significant social and economic importance for the war-affected communities.

Key challenges from the communities:

• Vinnytsia: Development of an eco-housing concept for the “Prometheus” rehabilitation center.

• Severynivka: Design and construction of an educational and cultural center for IDPs based at the ReStart camp.

• Apostolove: Redevelopment concept for a rehabilitation center for adults, children, and wounded soldiers at the city hospital.

• Teofipol: Concept and construction of a pilot eco-housing project for workers of the circular industrial park “Green Energy.”

International Collaboration

Rebuild Green Hackathon 2024 united specialists from Ukraine, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, France, Switzerland, Germany, Lebanon, and experts from 15 countries. Key experts included:

• Alissa Bankovska (Ukraine) – CEO of SYNCHRO SPACE, known for her urban space transformation projects.

• Serhiy Frolov (Ukraine) – President of FIABCI-Ukraine and former president of the Association of Banking Appraisers of Ukraine.

• Antonio Campagnoli (Italy) – President-elect of FIABCI, The International Real Estate Federation , Managing Director of IL PUNTO Real Estate Advisor / CORFAC International .

• Kateryna Pylypchuk 🇺🇦 (Ukraine) – Vice President of FIABCI-Ukraine, business development strategist and advisor at Modulina Straw Panels (Lithuania).

• Anne Katrine Heje Larsen (Denmark) – CEO of DISIE , sustainability and social innovation expert.

• Pavlo Gorokhovskyi (Netherlands) – Member of the Netherlands Government Advisors Council on spatial planning.

• Martin DUPLANTIER 🇺🇦🇪🇺 (France) – Architect, president of AMO and AMO FOUNDATION, working on green reconstruction projects in Ukraine.

• Ruta Leitanaite (Lithuania) – Chair of the European Architects Council working group.

• Laurynas Marcinkus (Lithuania) – Chief architect-engineer at Modulina Straw Panels .

• Mike Devéria (Netherlands) – ESBA leader in Rebuilding Ukraine Green.

• Nicolas Ziesel (France) – Founder of KOZ architectes.

• Taras Demkura (Ukraine) – Serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and public figure.

• Evgenia Myroshnychenko (Ukraine) – Artist focusing on the rehabilitation of veterans.

• Andreas Binkert (Switzerland) – President of 2000-Watt Smart Cities Association .

• Dr. Samer El Sayary (Lebanon) – Creative entrepreneur, startup mentor, and architect.

• Matthias Gorenflos (Germany) – Architects Union.

• Victoria Blazhene (Ukraine) – CEO of 2L Architects and Engineers, head of the Bucha School project.

• Maksym Zaika (Ukraine) – Green construction project manager, DELTA Ukraine .

• Oleksii Tsymbalenko (Ukraine) – PhD in Public Administration, entrepreneur, and social investor.

• Yuri Tkachenko (Ukraine) – CEO of VELUX Ukraine.

• Jacob Hartmann (Denmark) – Senior Advisor, Copenhagen.

• Veronika Rulli (Denmark) – Boost.

These experts inspired participants by sharing their insights on innovative solutions to reshape the construction industry in Ukraine.

Mentorship Support

Throughout the hackathon, teams received extensive mentorship, helping them develop and present their projects. Mentors included:

• Serhiy Fedorik (Key Group) and Oleksii Tsymbalenko (SmartMed), who gave feedback on project feasibility;

• Dag Schaffarczyk (Spreeplan) and Laurynas Marcinkus (Modulina Straw Panels), focusing on ecological sustainability;

• Dmytro Aranchii Aranchii Architects and Samer El Sayari (Lebanon University), assessing innovation;

• Liubov Tsapenkova (Key Group), analyzing project budgets;

• Olga Royenko voice of space and Victoria Blazhene (2L Architects), consulting on the social impact of the projects;

• Kateryna Pylypchuk (FIABCI-Ukraine), evaluating team potential.

Judges

We deeply appreciate all jury members for dedicating their time, expertise, and knowledge to evaluating the outstanding projects presented at Rebuild Green Hackathon 2024. This year’s jury consisted of experts from 15 countries, and we sincerely thank each of them: Martin Duplantier, Ruta Leitanaite, Pavlo Horokhovskyi, Anne Katrine Heje Larsen, Antonio Campagnoli, Žilvinas Bitinas , Raquel Guerra Aragonés , Przemysław Woś , Yuliya Dzyuba , Matthias Gorenflos, Maksym Zaika, Yuriy Tkachenko, Cypren Edmunds , Yuliya Skrypka, Serhiy Frolov, Dr. Albert Fakhoury , Valentina Bajić , Nataly Veremeeva , Dmytro Kovanych, Audronė Janulaitytė , Rudis Rubenis , Sergejs Nikiforovs, Giovanni Betti , Andreas Binkert, Rocco Lagioia , Joes van de Wouw , Yuliya Karbovska, Oleg Levchenko, Viktor Milenin, Oleksandr Shysh, and Andriy Hryhorenko.

Winning Teams

On Demo Day, held on October 23, 2024, six multinational teams presented their innovative solutions. The winning team of Rebuild Green Hackathon 2024 was Budmo, whose groundbreaking project “Common Ground” for Severynivka, Vinnytsia region, earned the top prize from the event sponsor, Modulina Straw Panels.

• Budmo (1231.65 points) – 1st Place: A project focused on sustainable urban development and community revitalization in Severynivka with a focus on ecological and social initiatives.

• ABCU (1221.95 points) – 2nd Place: A scalable project for three communities, emphasizing green housing and public spaces.

• TOLOKA (1155 points) – 3rd Place: A solution for eco-housing in Teofipol using local materials and traditional construction methods.

• TOLOKA Team (1153.35 points): An energy-efficient biodesign for eco-housing at a rehabilitation center in Vinnytsia.

• U-House (1096.8 points): Developed scalable eco-housing for Teofipol, focusing on local materials and traditions like the mutual aid system, Toloka.

• Team 5 — Natural Camp (1036.6 points) and Green Sustain (1034.7 points): Presented sustainable public space projects for Severynivka, emphasizing energy efficiency and long-term sustainability.

• Mangini Team (831.25 points): Developed a comprehensive project for a rehabilitation center in Apostolove.

All teams delivered high-quality solutions, many of which have the potential for implementation across various Ukrainian communities. The most promising teams from each municipal case will continue collaborating with municipalities to implement their pilot projects. Organizers will scale and promote the solutions developed during the hackathon to other Ukrainian communities, contributing to sustainable development and national reconstruction.

Media Partners

The Rebuild Green Hackathon media partners include European Straw Building Association , Modulina Straw Panels , FIABCI, The International Real Estate Federation , New European Bauhaus , voice of space , KEY GROUP, DISIE , Adebus International Business School , We Are Changemakers , 2000-Watt Smart Cities Association , Podolian Agency for Regional Development, АРХІТЕКТУРНА ПРАКТИКА , NSAU, Mind UA .

Rebuild Green is a long-term program running through 2030, systematically contributing to green reconstruction in collaboration with the international community. Stay tuned for updates on the implementation of the projects and the next steps! We are joined by those who are shaping the cities of tomorrow!