Since Russia commenced its comprehensive invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the architectural studio **Balbek Bureau** has been engaged in a range of social initiatives under the **RE:Ukraine** program. These initiatives concentrate on various facets of rebuilding, which include temporary housing solutions, the creation of a social support and rehabilitation center, and efforts aimed at conserving cultural heritage.

A significant initiative within this program is **RE:Ukraine Villages**, which seeks to document and protect Ukraine’s rural architecture through a digital constructor. Volunteers have been traveling throughout the nation and employing online resources like Google Maps to collect information on regional architectural styles. Given that there was previously minimal written documentation about Ukraine’s village homes, their destruction from shelling could lead to irreversible loss.

To tackle the deficit of scholarly research on this subject, **RE:Ukraine Villages** is collaborating with institutions of higher learning. In partnership with **Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture (KNUCA)**, the initiative enables students to produce 3D models of traditional countryside houses (**khatas**) and settlements, ensuring that this distinctive architectural legacy is preserved for generations to come.

*All images presented in this video, unless credited otherwise, are provided by the [Old Khata Project](https://www.instagram.com/old_khata_project/) – a documentary initiative focused on Ukrainian rural architecture.*