How This Building Became War Propaganda

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Architecture plays a pivotal role during war, as both purveyors of cultural identity, as well as providing logistical and infrastructural support. Buildings are records of history, bearing the marks of their journey through time and culture. Attacking these is akin to erasing that history and undermining the labor and ancestry of people. In the current invasion of Ukraine, Russia is specifically targeting sites of cultural heritage and housing. This video explores the role that architecture plays in war, both as a target and sometimes, as a weapon. It also talks about the complexity of building back as a conduit through which the future is imagined, often left with deep scars from the past.

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Architecture with Stewart is a YouTube journey exploring architecture’s deep and enduring stories in all their bewildering glory. Weekly videos and occasional live events breakdown a wide range of topics related to the built environment in order to increase their general understanding and advocate their importance in shaping the world we inhabit.

__About Me__
Stewart Hicks is an architectural design educator that leads studios and lecture courses as an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts and is the co-founder of the practice Design With Company. His work has earned awards such as the Architecture Record Design Vanguard Award or the Young Architect’s Forum Award and has been featured in exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Design Miami, as well as at the V&A Museum and Tate Modern in London. His writings can be found in the co-authored book Misguided Tactics for Propriety Calibration, published with the Graham Foundation, as well as essays in MONU magazine, the AIA Journal Manifest, Log, bracket, and the guest-edited issue of MAS Context on the topic of character architecture.

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[glynnL]

The unique building as a background was a good way to help negate people saying Zelensky wasn’t in Kiev. Although technology is great at faking things, he moved around as he spoke to show he was “here”. It was a well planned address.

[FarrFromPerfect]

When i was 6, the school gym was burned down. We lived across the field from it. The sky glowed. It wasn't an interestingly designed building, but it was an important one. It was the largest indoor space that wasn't a pool. Important during the winter. Ballet to basketball was done in it. As it burned, the kids of my neighborhood watch deep into the middle of the night. All crying.
So I can't fathom how the kids in Ukraine feel now.

[brandonlawrence]

As an Ukrainian architect I want to say thank you for highlighting the topic on the russian war against ukrainian people and its culture. We also see that this war could be the catalyst of radical positive changes in approach towards our cultural legacy and also modern architecture for any purposes. Thank you for your support, it will never be forgotten. I hope together we could rebuild the new Ukraine by sharing our best expirience in building approach. Waiting for you in Ukraine when the war will over - there's a lot of places to see and job to do!

[newshound]

A slight factual correction--it was the Allies that bombed the museums in Germany, not the Nazis.

[oleksandrbyelyenko]

I, as a Ukrainian, hope that our city planners and architects will take an opportunity to rebuild our towns and cities to be more comfortable and spacious. Because pre-war period has being Manhattanising the cities. Dense construction of tall buildings. Of course the tallest buildings are in Kyiv.
And in my subjective opinion smaller buildings would be better

[janzyczkowski]

Wasn't Władysław Horodecki Polish?

[ntatenarin]

6:04 It's sad to think about how so much history was lost with the bombing of all those museums and architecture. I remember reading that in Italy, they actually protected the David statue and others, so hopefully some artifacts were saved with these museums.

Edit: I'm glad the Ukrainians are trying to also protect their statues and other historic places!

[danbowman]

I have been so curious about that building since I first caught a glimpse of it during the newscast you mentioned. Thank you so much for informing us about it. I sincerely hope it survives this nightmare.

[ignaciojauregui]

The domed building at 7:06 is the La Plata train station in Argentina being used for the film Seven Years in Tibet, meant to be set in Austria.

[WelshBathBoy]

@6:08 although the Nazis did target museums, the museums you list are in Berlin and were actually bombed by the Allies

[krzysztofzwolinski]

Important and additional note:
Stanisław Horodecki was a Polish architect (I wonder where else you can find those "ł"s ), known as architect of three countries, and video made by Zelensky was symbolical for our nations: In a way look his posing with common heritage in background.
Btw 8:24 Designer of this blue shield is polish architect Jan Zachwatowicz. He is one of the main creator of new and rebuilt Warsaw.

[antonlushankin]

Thank you very much for your take on the whole situation. Especially from the perspective of an architect. I'm an architect-to-be studying in Germany, born in Kyiv and currently staying there because of the war. It's just unimaginable how much we've lost forever and how much we'll have to rebuild, restore, rethink, replan and reconstruct. War is not just killing others physically and exploding the logistical connector like bridges, whatever people may say. War is destroyed people lives not only in terms of their bodies, but also in terms of the way they will never live again for the houses they've lost, cultural places that can be reconstructed, but we'll never the EXACT same as they were before the war. I was really happy, when I discover your channel with less than 10, 000 subscribers. Architecture as a profession, as a scientific field, as a part of our life should be highlighted more, I thought and you'd been doing this exact thing. Now watching this video I have this feeling again. Really clear and, maybe, somewhat obvious, "neutral" in a way you present it, yet so powerful und emotional. I'm really happy to find you on YouTube. We'll surely win. No question at all. And there will be a lot of work for as architects (and Ukrainian nation in general). But finally we'll have a chance to shine the way we have to for so long. The world's seen us anew already, but it'll get just better and better with the help of people like you, Stewart. Really proud of you. Keep on rocking! Together we'll do it!

[bengoacher]

My company manages assets that date back over 200 years. Some of those assets were damaged by WW2 bombings. Where the damage is purely aesthetic and not structural, we have decided to not repair the damage. So on some of our assets there is damage to this day that was caused by WW2 bombs, still visible and likely ignored by the majority who use our assets, but to those who know, it is a remarkable and fitting way to preserve history.

[The_Smith]

Great video Stewart, you might not think you are the best person to tell this story, but you are a person to tell it, you taught me something here I didn't know, and some stuff to think on. And Happy St. Dunstan's Day.

[Metalblowing]

Man, I was watching your videos well before the war. I live in Lviv. This is a magical city with some amazing architecture.

I was talking with my friend how I don't imagine seeing any of this getting destroyed by Russian orcs. This architecture is part of my life and part of me. Appreciate your video.

If you ever make it to Ukraine, drop me a message. Would be happy to show you around.

[Mahler]

The history of the rebuilding of Warsaw after WW2 is also smth to look into

[vituoso.]

Hi, please keep doing this and uploading more content related to architecture. I'm an architecture graduate based in the Philippines and I love watching your videos, they're all very interesting and FUN! So happy to have access to a channel like yours. Keep it up, you're positively impacting a lot of people all over the world.

[anhbinbaccuc]

Thank you for making this video months ago I made a comment about the historical buildings being destroyed in Ukraine, so many people jumped in "you don't care about human lives" ???? or "people worth more than buildings" on and on as if I don't have any heart in me .

[thekupus]

For the past 5 years, I have been working for a project called the International Summer School Youth and Heritage in a small Bosnian town called Stolac. In 1993, Croat para-military forces forced all non-Croats (60% of the population) to leave the town. Then they started the deliberate destruction of architectural sites of importance for those they forced to leave - the four mosques from the 15th century were blown up, their remains taken away on trucks to be hidden; vernacular houses and complexes, some of them 400 years old; Ottoman era watermills on the river Bregava. The destruction of architectural monuments as well as everyday vernacular buildings was used as a weapon. It was meant to ensure people would never come back. But then in 2001 some returnees started rebuilding the central mosque, as it once was. The Summer School I mentioned in the beginning was started in 2006, and it's main goal was to educate young people on the place architecture has in rebuilding a society that was supposed to disappear. Our students work on restoration of these vernacular buildings that were destroyed, using traditional materials and traditional techniques. Piece by piece, we are rebuilding the historic landscape, but through that process the community learns to understand how important these buildings were as focal points. We document this vernacular architecture, photograph it, draw it, map it, and through that we think about how it essentially makes the community what it is, it gives each one its unique DNA code. That is why destruction of architecture is a weapon used to permanently destroy communities.

If anyone wants to see a bit more about the Summer School, you can look up some photos on the Instragram profile:

[pittsboy]

Just my two cents as my Ukrainian friends have also pointed out to me, the name of the country also matters, it is Ukraine, there's no "the".