According to the New York Times, Lviv, Ukraine’s westernmost major city with a population of approximately 800,000, could face a war-fed refugee increase of around 50,000 persons if the process of internal displacement continues at its current pace. Recently updated building codes means the wave of new five- and seven-story apartment block developments must include mandated bomb shelters and reinforced concrete safety rooms (also called “Mamads”) in each unit. The first new developments are expected within two months. 

Other designers have been able to expedite the housing process with a bit more alacrity, but Lviv's chief architect, Anton Kolomeytsev, says the protocol is always to plan buildings that can last for centuries. Kolomeytsev, the 35-year-old in charge of the rebuilding, said it also hinges on a concerted effort to preserve the city’s rich aesthetic character (including some of its Soviet-era examples) side-by-side with any new development in a plan that echoes key aspects of the Kkarkiv scheme put forth by Lord Norman Foster at the end of April.