Designers Victoria Yakusha

Victoria is one of the most famous Ukrainian architects worldwide, whose artistic endeavours shape contemporary Ukrainian design as a brand. She creates heritage—the ideas and objects that gain power, meaning, and value over time and impact the culture of future generations.

As an architect, she established ‘live minimalism’, a direction in architecture and design that marries laconic to environmentally friendly in an embodiment of contact between living environments and materials that breathe and exude energy. It’s about existing in co-authorship with nature, leaving a cultural footprint rather than an environmental one.

Promoting live ethnics and artisanship as a source of inspiration, Victoria conceived design expeditions—the first project of its kind aiming to introduce artists worldwide to Ukrainian artisans’ work and spread the latter’s ideas globally.

Promoting live ethnics and artisanship as a source of inspiration, Victoria conceived design expeditions—the first project of its kind aiming to introduce artists worldwide to Ukrainian artisans’ work and spread the latter’s ideas globally.

Victoria is fond of Ukrainian primitivists, especially Maria Prymachenko. In fact, she designed the Prymachenko Museum herself. She also looks after the Ivan Honchar Museum and draws attention to Ukrainian artistic heritage. Furthermore, the architect helps cities find their cultural, ethical, and aesthetic identity as a part of the group tasked with developing and implementing the strategy dubbed Chernihiv, a Sustainable City.

Her work wins global awards every year, and her collectible design exhibitions draw thousands of people, whether in Europe, Asia, or America. Antwerp’s FAINA Gallery has already become Europe’s primary centre of live minimalism.

Cultural heritage architecture

The founder of YAKUSHA multidisciplinary studio and the mastermind behind FAINA, a collectible furniture, decor, and lighting brand.

The creator of the live minimalism direction in architecture and design.

A global ambassador of Ukrainian primitivist and artisan design.

An advocate of laconic, environmentally friendly living, architecture, and design.

Heritage creator

I create heritage: spaces, products, and content. I always ask myself, what do I want to leave behind? What do I want people, children, and my country to have when I’m gone? I know that everything I do and every object or product I create will definitely leave a mark on this world, even if only environmentally, and I’m fully responsible for what it will be like. I suggest you ask yourself: what will you preserve and multiply throughout your life? What will you leave behind when you’re gone? Take my word for it: once you ask yourself that, you will find meaning worth investing your resources into.

Challenge: teaching the world to invest in heritage

Money is not the mission. Utilitarianism is not the mission. What humanity will always need are ideas, environments, and spaces that gain power, meaning, and value over time.

Values

To Earth, the environmental friendliness.

To Ukraine, the live ethnic and artisanship.

To people, the cultural and artistic heritage.

To the trade, the live minimalism.

Mission

To create, promote, and preserve the Ukrainian cultural and artistic heritage.