One of 400 Roofs

Reconstruction of the roof of an old lady’s house in deoccupied Tsupivka village, 7 km from the russian border, stands as a symbol of resilience and community care after occupation and shelling. Situated in a frontline rural landscape, the project responds to constant threat through material choices: durable profiled metal replaces fragile slate. Built by local workers, it blends tradition with necessity, turning architecture into protection and continuity.

The main challenge was to act immediately after liberation. Roofs had to be repaired fast to prevent houses from collapsing during upcoming winter. Our strategy was low-cost, direct and community-based: volunteers, local builders and residents joined efforts. This house of an old lady (as many others), damaged by a direct hit, stood for almost a year poorly covered, which led to the decay of interiors, and the wooden roof frame. The project operated mostly in frontline areas of Ukraine. Where destruction was nearly total, reconstruction became both physical and symbolic resistance. We replaced traditional fragile slate with profiled metal—safer, repairable, and better adapted to the conditions of war. Initially, residents resisted the unfamiliar material, seeing it as foreign to their village identity. Through dialogue, metal roofs became accepted as part of a new vernacular: practical, resilient, yet respectful to the traditional landscape.

We used corrugated metal sheets instead of asbestos slate, as they are lighter, safer and easier to install under precarious conditions. Timber trusses were reinforced or replaced where shelling damaged the structure. The focus was on rapid, economical, and maintainable repair. Our material strategy emerged directly from the realities of war. Traditional slate, proved too fragile under blast waves—cracking and crumbling even without direct hits. We therefore replaced it with profiled metal sheeting, chosen for its durability, adaptability and aesthetic harmony with the rural landscape. In the event of renewed shelling, punctures in the metal roofs can be sealed with simple bituminous tape—an inexpensive, efficient repair. This pragmatic approach allows damaged homes to remain habitable and safe without costly reconstruction. The method has already proven effective in frontline villages, where repaired roofs continue to protect families living just a few kilometers from the frontline.