Olesia Chagovets
E-mail : moc.liamg%40ayselogahc
Телефон: +380677492388
https://www.facebook.com/olesya.chagovets
45 years old, architect-restorer and researcher specializing in architectural heritage conservation. PhD student at O. M. Beketov Kharkiv National University of Urban Economy. Member of ICOMOS Ukraine and the NGO Art Oborona. Promotes and implements cultural and artistic projects aimed at the study and popularization of Ukraine’s historical and cultural heritage. Her research focuses on issues of authenticity, re-creation, and the social perception of heritage, as well as the development of urban culture and memory within local communities.
Education
Kharkiv National University of Civil Engineering and Architecture.Faculty: Architecture of buildings and structures.
Specialisation: Reconstruction and restoration of architectural objects.
Work experience
NGO ‘Art Oborona’ - project manager;
Charitable Organization ‘Sister of Mercy’ - project manager;
ARCHIDIZ LLC - architect, restorer, designer;
Workshop of Architect Lopatko V.M. - architect, restorer;
Informal education
- Genius Marketing – Internet Marketing (2015);- FIX Courses – Marketing Breakthrough (2016);- Kharkiv City School of Social Project Design and Grant Writing “OpenGrantsSchool III” (2019);- Informal Educational Program “Studii Zhyvoi Istorii” (Living History Studies) (2018–2019);- All-Ukrainian School of Social Project Design and Grant Writing “Spadshchyna” (Heritage) (2019);- Training Program for Entrepreneurs in Creative Industries “Creative Enterprise Ukraine,” House of Europe (2019);- Volunteer Educational Residency Camp “Tartakiv & Tartak” (2019);- Training “Project Management Tools and Practice” (2020, Certificate No. PMB.T.04063, Ukrainian Project Management Association);- Training “Planning and Participation in H2020 and Horizon Europe Projects” (2020);- Geoinformation Systems in Spatial Planning (based on QGIS platform) (2022).- Digital Lab: restorers of culture historical reserves 2023.- Online round table “Conditions for the Nomination of the Kharkiv Derzhprom Building to the UNESCO World Heritage List,” held on June 11, 2025, Kharkiv.- UNESCO–ICCROM Field Exercise on Post-event On-site Damage and Risk Assessment Methodology for Movable Cultural Property in Ukraine (12–13 August 2024, Kyiv, Ukraine). Organized by UNESCO and ICCROM with the support of the People of Japan;- HEMO Monitoring of Ukrainian Heritage Project – practical training and field documentation of damaged cultural heritage during the Russo-Ukrainian war; contribution to the publication How to Document the Destruction of Cultural Heritage (HEMO, 2025).
Public activities
- Website "Constructivist architecture of Kharkiv: a virtual city - a museum" (June-October 2020). Donor: Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
- "Cultural heritage: the virtual dimension" (July - November 2020). Donor: German Cultural Centre Goethe-Institut at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany (supported by the European Union under the House of Europe programme). - "Industrial Kharkiv" - (November 2018 - September 2019) Donor: NGO "Insha Osvita" in partnership with MitOst e.V. with the financial support of the German Federal Foreign Office and the Robert Bosch Foundation. - "Get to know Ukraine" (June-August 2019). Excursions to historical and cultural sites in Kharkiv and Dnipro regions for children invited from the "grey zone" of Luhansk and Shchastia, as well as for children of ATO participants and IDPs. With the financial support of the Dnipro Regional State Administration and the Department of Youth and Sports of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration.
- "Bicycle route through the cultural heritage sites of the Parafiyivka community "From park to park" 2021. Visualisation in virtual space of the cultural and natural heritage sites of the Parafiyivka community in Chernihiv Oblast. Donor: Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
- Research programme on modern approaches to heritage management. i-Portunus Mobility with the support of the Goethe-Institut (2022). - Educational Hackathon «Cultural Heritage & Sustainability»» implemented in October-December 2022 with the support of the Goethe-Institut.
- «The spirits of the KhODA» - The advocacy project for the restoration of the Kharkiv Province Administration за фінансової підтримки IBB gGmbH (October - December 2022).
- "Visual identification of the heritage: virtual representation of public spaces in Ukrainian historical cities" – a pilot project on enhancing the impact of heritage on the development of historic urban areas in Ukraine (2023, Goethe-Institut).
- "The Embroidered City: The Industrial Towel of KhTZ" – a cultural project that combined traditional Ukrainian embroidery with the modern industrial motifs of the KhTZ district in Kharkiv (2024, supported by the Goethe-Institut and House of Europe).
- Practical workshop “Museum Renovation: Architecture of Accessibility and Safety” – organized by UNESCO, the National Union of Architects of Ukraine (NSAU), and the Khanenko Museum (2023–2024).
- “Modest Architecture, Great Significance: The Mental Heritage of Kharkiv” – research fellowship (2024–2025, Documenting Ukraine Grants, IWM).
- Residency «Modernism Revisited – Reflecting on the Architectural Legacy of the 20th Century» (October-November 2025, Trenčianske Teplice, Slovakia)
Research activity
Publications:Chahovets, O. (2025). Authenticity 30 years later in the context of the 1994 Nara Conference. Modern Construction and Architecture, 13, 39–47. https://doi.org/10.31650/2786-6696-2025-13-39-47
Chahovets, O. (2025). Re-creation of architectural heritage as a source of authenticity. Modern Construction and Architecture, 14, 17–34. https://doi.org/10.31650/2786-6696-2025-14-17-24
Чаговець, О. В. (2025). Від «об’єктів» до «процесів»: трансформація мислення про архітектурну спадщину в добу сталого розвитку. Архітектурний вісник КНУБА, 34, 63–70. https://doi.org/10.32347/2519-8661.2025.34.63-70
Чаговець, О. В. (2025). Відтворення архітектурних об’єктів: від правових рамок до симулятивних практик. Теорія та практика дизайну, 37, 241–250. https://doi.org/10.32782/2415-8151.2025.37.23
Чаговець, О. В. (2024). Еволюція принципів збереження архітектурної спадщини на основі міжнародних доктринальних документів. Науковий вісник будівництва, 111, 45–54. https://doi.org/10.33042/2311-7257.2024.111.1.6
Bozhenko, A., & Chagovets, O. (2024). Decolonization of the space: The uncomfortable heritage of Ukrainian socialist cities. Baltic Worlds, 17(4), 40–48.
Cherkasova, K., & Chagovets, O. (2024). A study of the Kharkiv architectural avant-garde: Challenges of authenticity preservation. Docomomo Journal, (70), 86–95. https://doi.org/10.52200/docomomo.70.11
Chagovets, O., & Zhukova, O. (2025). Reconstruction of destroyed architectural monuments in Ukraine: Between historical authenticity and modern needs of the urban environment. Protection of Cultural Heritage, (22), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.35784/odk.6122
Cherkasova, K., & Czahovets, O. (2025). Das «DERSCHPROM»-Gebäude und die Pufferzone: Bewahrung der Authentizität im Rahmen des UNESCO Nominierungsprozesses. In S. Bilenkova & H. Floegl (Eds.), Der Wiederaufbau Österreichs nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg – ein Modell für die Ukraine? (pp. 58–66). University of Krems Press. https://doi.org/10.48341/68V3-1X03
Olesya Chagovets, Anastasiia Bozenko. From workers’ settlements to mass housing estates: evolution of post-socialist city (Kharkiv case), FACING POST-SOCIALIST URBAN HERITAGE, DOCONF2023, 5-6-7th October 2023, Budapest, Hungary, pp.116-129
Боженко, А., & Чаговець, О. (2023). Виявлення цінності архітектури сталінського періоду в умовах процесів декомунізації. Культурна спадщина Слобожанщини, (52), 98–107.
Чаговець, О. В. (2024). Переосмислення Венеційської хартії: 60 років історії та накопиченого досвіду. У Пам’яткознавчі студії дослідників XXI ст. (Вип. IX, с. 54–62). Харків: Курсор.
Чаговець, О. В. (2024). Між автентичністю та відтворенням: дилеми реставрації зруйнованої архітектурної спадщини Харкова. Культурна спадщина Слобожанщини, (55), 52–69. https://www.kursorlibrary.com/kss/article/3130/
Presentations:Kharkiv as a Citadel on The Frontier: Reimagining the City during the Full-scale Invasion, Herder Institute, Marburg, Germany (2023).Decolonization of the Space: The Uncomfortable Heritage of Ukrainian Socialist Cities, Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden (2023).
Rebuilding what was lost. Current challenges in restoring and reconstructing architectural heritage, Warsaw, Poland (2023).XXVII International Scientific Conference “Slobozhanshchyna Readings” – Identifying the value of Stalinist architecture under the processes of decommunization, Kharkiv, Ukraine (2023).
International Forum for Young Researchers – Stalinist architecture as an element of sustainable urban development, O. M. Beketov National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv, Ukraine (2023).Re-creation of destroyed architectural monuments as a debatable topic of post-war revival, II International Scientific and Practical Conference “Innovations in Architecture, Design and Art,” Kyiv, Ukraine (May 25–26, 2023).
II International Scientific and Practical Conference “Innovations in Architecture, Design and Art” – Re-creation of destroyed architectural monuments as a debatable topic of post-war revival, O. M. Beketov National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv, Ukraine (2024).
Venice at 60: Doctrinal Documents in the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Florence, Italy (March 7–9, 2024).
VIII International Scientific and Practical Conference “Prospects for Territorial Development,” O. M. Beketov National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv, Ukraine (November 14–15, 2024).
Authenticity from a European Perspective: 30 Years of the Nara Document on Authenticity, Thessaloniki, Greece (November 28–29, 2024).
IV International Scientific and Practical Conference “Modern Problems and Promising Directions of Innovative Urban Development” – Authenticity and adaptation: social challenges of restoration in the context of current destructions, Odesa, Ukraine (November 7–8, 2024).
Chahovets, O. (2025, September 18). The International Avant-garde Park in Kharkiv: How to Preserve Heritage and Create a New Cultural Magnet? Panel discussion at September Fest: A Development, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Media
Право на місто | «Місто на лінії» | Частина 1 — Шляхи громадських змін
‘On the role of green areas in a big city’
МІСТО І ВІЙНА: трансформації міських образів та метафор | ВЕБІНАР 3
Насправді. Зберегти не можна зруйнувати
Almost all of our heritage is uncomfortable
Projects
‘Visual Identification of Heritage: Virtual Presentation of Public Spaces in Historic Ukrainian Cities’
Approaches to cultural heritage management based on sustainability (strengthening and improving indicators of cultural, social, economic and environmental impacts of heritage) are demonstrated on the example of 4 historical sites representing different historical and cultural regions, with different significance, types and preservation of cultural heritage.
Embroidered city : industrial towel KhTZ
This is a cultural project that aims to combine the traditional Ukrainian art of embroidery with modern industrial motifs of the KhTZ district in Kharkiv. The project is designed to restore and promote the cultural heritage of the district by transforming industrial elements into art objects that highlight the history and modernity of the city.
‘Constructivist architecture of Kharkiv: a virtual city - a museum’
This is a web portal about the heritage of avant-garde architecture in Kharkiv in the 1920s and 1930s.
‘Cultural heritage: the virtual dimension’
‘Industrial Kharkiv’
‘Bicycle route through the cultural heritage sites of the Parafiyivska AH ‘From Park to Park’
The project ‘From Park to Park’ is being implemented by the Parafiyiv territorial community as part of the CultureTourismRegions grant programme from the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation with the support of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine and the NGO ART OBORONA.
Research programme on modern approaches to heritage management.
i-Portunus Mobility за підтримки Goethe-Institut.
‘Spirits of the HODA'
An advocacy project to restore the building of the Kharkiv State Regional Administration with the financial support of IBB gGmbH (October - December 2022).
Educational Hackathon «Cultural Heritage & Sustainability»
In 2022, Art Oborona, together with the Centre for the Development of Museum and Monument Studies, in collaboration with Khmelnytskyi National University and the Department of Information, Culture, Nationalities and Religions of the Khmelnytskyi Regional State Administration, developed and held a 5-day Educational Hackathon ‘Cultural Heritage & Sustainability’ on cultural heritage management with the support of the Goethe-Institut Stabilisation Fund for Culture and Education.The hackathon format combined interactive lectures, master classes and workshops from experienced practitioners in heritage and sustainable development, programmable electronics, media art, clothing technologists, environmental designers, chemists, landscape designers, and restoration architects.The Hackathon was attended by cultural workers involved in working with cultural heritage.
"Visual identification of the heritage: virtual representation of public spaces in Ukrainian historical cities"
A pilot project on designing strategies to strengthen the impact of heritage on the development of historic urban areas in Ukraine (2023, Goethe-Institut).
“Modest Architecture, Great Significance: The Mental Heritage of Kharkiv”
The project focuses on documenting and preserving memories of lesser-known yet significant architectural objects in Kharkiv that play an important role in shaping the city’s local identity. It combines a scientific approach with artistic interpretation to explore how these “small” buildings—often overshadowed by grand monuments—leave a profound mark on the city’s collective consciousness.
Focusing on the concept of mental heritage, the project views these objects as carriers of collective memory, emotions, and meanings that form the cultural identity of the community, even as the physical structures disappear or are destroyed. The central goal of the project is to create a Digital Catalogue of Kharkiv’s Mental Heritage, which will collect and integrate living human memories related to this “small heritage.” In times of war, when many of these objects have been destroyed or are under threat, the project helps preserve cultural identity through the safeguarding of mental heritage.
Practical workshop “Museum Renovation: Architecture of Accessibility and Safety.”
October 20–22, 2023, Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts, Kyiv; participated as a member of the team developing recommendations for the modernization of museum storage facilities and the enhancement of inclusivity within museum spaces.