Poland’s windows reused in Ukraine

A project supplying used windows from Poland to Ukraine was awarded a medal for the most outstanding overall contribution at the London Design Biennale 2023 in June.

Over 1,200 windows have been supplied for reuse to date, with about 450 waiting to go to Ukraine by the end of August.

Founder, Polish activist Zofia Jaworowska, and Petro Vladimirov, a Ukrainian architect in Warsaw, joined forces to support grassroots reconstruction efforts in Ukraine. Their BRDA NGO established the OKNO programme. Exhibition scenography was designed by Michał Sikorski’s office TŁO.

Organisations working on rebuilding and repairing homes and public buildings in the war-torn country confirmed windows are in high demand. So, the team went to work fast with Sikorski’s advice to investigate reclaiming materials at a low cost and in a sustainable way. The project initially got underway in July 2022.

The main challenge was size and fragility. Windows above 220cm are too difficult to handle, too heavy and make transport less efficient. They quickly discounted Pittsburgh-style glass, single-glass-layer windows, and those without outer frames as they are less practical to mount and use.

Windows that are not typical for continental Europe opening systems, such as British sash windows, are not accepted because they are not sufficiently universal. Instead, they focus on ‘standard’ Eastern European size windows. The window fitting 
is carried out onsite locally.

Unlike in a linear design-then-build process, the mismatch in size between the opening and the window is the norm.

'We anticipated that the mounting will be made using wooden frames allowing [the reduction of] the window opening size to the given window dimensions…but more often the adjustment is made with masonry. Gaps are filled with expanding spray foam and thermal insulation layers are most of the time not recreated,' the team state.

Around 80% of the windows reused in 2022 were donated by individuals who kept their old windows after renovation, while 20% came from window producers and distributors across Poland. As the project became known to larger investors in 2023, the team began to obtain greater quantities of windows.

This year, they have received over 200 windows from the deconstruction of a 90s office building in Warsaw. They are in the process of sending 180 windows dismantled during the thermo-modernisation of a hospital building in Opole, southern Poland. 'We continue to take in donations from individual homeowners and smaller window producers to maintain the social engagement component,' added the team.

The exhibition showcasing the project will likely travel to new locations in coming months.