Lviv Polytechnic graduates win national contest with future nuclear plant concept

18.08.2026, 17:41 rubryka.com

The university said Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture took second place, while Prydniprovska State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture came third.

For the students, this was their first project related to nuclear energy. Leonid Vozniuk, associate professor at the Department of Architectural Design and Engineering, invited them to take part.

A nuclear power plant in three days

The deadlines became the team's biggest challenge. The students had only three days to develop the project, as they received the competition task shortly before the deadline. At the same time, they were working on their diploma projects.

Photo source: Lviv Polytechnic website

During that time, the team had to understand the operating principles of a nuclear power plant, determine the locations of the main facilities, and develop the master plan, architecture, drawings, visualizations, and presentation materials.

According to their lecturer, the students have strong skills in graphic software and solid technical training. However, nuclear energy was a new field for them.

Photo source: Lviv Polytechnic website

A future plant for Mykolaiv

The students chose Mykolaiv for their project. They based the concept on a combination of brutalism and ecological architecture.

"Before that, we looked for different examples to draw inspiration from. We considered how to combine this energy component with the environmental one, as the world moves toward sustainability. We reviewed many ideas and eventually settled on a combination of brutalism and ecology," Vitalii Bihun said.

The project combines massive concrete structures with green areas, bodies of water, and natural terrain. The authors proposed partially embedding some buildings into the ground and making their roofs usable and green. In this way, they aimed to reduce the visual scale of the industrial complex and integrate it into the environment.

The bodies of water serve more than a decorative function; the team also designed them as a protective element, including in the event of a fire.

The concept includes two reactors, each with a capacity of 1,000 MW. While working on the technological part, the students studied different types of reactors and compared the US-made AP1000 with the VVER-1000, which Ukrainian nuclear power plants use.

Photo source: Lviv Polytechnic website

"I began studying the nuclear reactor in more detail, specifically the reactor, the steam generator, and the turbine. Reactors have many specific features. I chose the AP1000 — it is a US reactor with two large steam generators. But because we are in Ukraine, we are thinking about the sake of Ukrainian nuclear energy and moving toward the future. We considered how this reactor could be developed under Ukrainian conditions," Natalia Honchar explained.

The team paid special attention to the cooling tower. They proposed turning it into a kind of greenhouse: a glass shell with vertical greenery surrounds the concrete structure. Heat from the plant's operation would maintain a stable temperature inside, allowing crops to grow year-round.

At the same time, the students deliberately avoided creating a fantasy structure that could appear only in several hundred years. They relied on existing technologies and assumed that by 2100, nuclear energy would become safer and more efficient, while its basic principles would not change significantly.

"Judging by all the nuclear power plants we analyzed, we concluded that for a nuclear power plant, 70 to 80 years is already tomorrow, and we approached this very logically. We did not try to create something completely unrealistic," Natalia said.

According to the students, their main task was not just to create an impressive-looking plant, but to demonstrate the technological logic of a future facility.

"At first, we did not expect to win. We were simply interested in learning the information and understanding how it all works. Later, when we began defending the project, we felt the excitement and already hoped to win," Natalia said.

Background

It should be noted that in April, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to create a facility in Ukraine to produce fuel assemblies for nuclear power plants. Authorities plan to build the new facility in the Pivdennoukrainsk community.

As Rubryka previously reported, Ukraine recently launched the national platform "Energy of the Future" to renew and modernize the country's nuclear industry. The platform's founders commit to making Ukraine a leader in peaceful atomic energy.

For more insight into Ukraine's nuclear energy strategy, plans for new production facilities, and safety considerations for the environment and public, read Rubryka's article: "Ukrainian nuclear fuel: what are the plans, and is the production safe?"