“Ukraine has to replace the “punitive” regulation model in construction industry with a model stimulating quality and professional responsibility,” said Hanna Bondar, People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Chairperson of Subcommittee for Organization of Public Authority, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, during a professional discussion involving sectoral experts.

She emphasized that the scale of housing and infrastructure destruction inflicted by the war required not just reconstruction but change of approaches to urban development. According to her, close 13.7% of the housing stock has been destroyed, and the destruction process is going on.

A parliamentary working group consisting of representatives of professional community, sectoral associations and experts is already elaborating the Urban Development Code’s concept. One of key principles should be approach embedded in international resolutions for Ukraine’s recovery, which is “build back better.”

Ms. Bondar put an accent on a necessity to change the spiritual base of construction regulation from the “spirit of fear” to “spirit of aspiration” that motivates designers, architects, and engineers to deliver quality solutions.

“Nice architecture cannot be made in fear. We need to form such rules that would make professionals want to do their best and not just avoid punishment,” Ms. Bondar noted.

She singled out the following critical areas:

• development of self-regulated organizations;
• protection of the architects’ copyrights and engineers’ patents;
• fair pricing in design and construction;
• reform of public procurement of intellectual services;
• introduction of professional risk insurance.

Digital transformation of the industry is also in focus, in particular, obligatory implementation of BIM technologies. At the same time, final decisions concerning obligatory BIM are still under discussion, as readiness of the market and clients for such changes should be assessed.