---
title: "A bunker in every apartment: Ukraine tests Israeli 'mamads' in residential construction"
description: "Ukrainian developers are testing safety rooms based on the Israeli MAMAD standard. Perfect Group is launching a pilot project, however the regulatory status of 'mamads' is absent from the DBN, and the price tag is 3–4% of the housing cost."
date: 2026-09-17T09:02:01.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/bunker-in-every-apartment-ukraine-tests-israeli-mamads
tags: [ukraine-housing, mamad, safety-rooms, construction, perfect-group, civil-defense, real-estate]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# A bunker in every apartment: Ukraine tests Israeli 'mamads' in residential construction

![Concept of an Israeli mamad — a protected bunker inside an apartment: a builder with a tablet, a shelter with people, and a destroyed building in the background](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/18/bunker-v-kazhdoj-kvartire-ukraina-testiruet-izrailevskie-mamady/bunker-v-kazhdoj-kvartire-ukraina-testiruet-izrailevskie-mamady-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Perfect Group has begun developing safety rooms modeled on Israeli mamads for a pilot clubhouse project
- The Ukrainian 'mamad' is 3–4 square meters of reinforced concrete without filtration or armor, unlike the Israeli MAMAD standard
- DBN V.2.2-5:2023 mandate the provision of shelters but do not contain the concept of a 'mamad' or 'shelter within an apartment'
- The impact of safety rooms on housing prices is estimated at 3–4%, while an underground shelter remains mandatory

The Ukrainian housing market is seeing the first isolated attempts to integrate safety rooms modeled on Israeli mamads. However, for the domestic market this still remains more of an exotic feature than a standard. RBC-Ukraine, together with leading developers and architects, has examined whether 'reinforced' apartments are a genuine market trend, how much this costs the buyer, and which solutions can actually provide protection during shelling.

### From the Israeli standard to the Ukrainian adaptation

Recently, Alexey Koval, CEO of the construction company Perfect Group, told Interfax-Ukraine that the company has begun developing safety rooms modeled on Israeli mamads for a pilot project in a clubhouse. The MAMAD (Merhav Mugan Dirati) standard is a reinforced shelter room located directly inside an apartment. In Israel, their construction is a mandatory legal requirement, and the room is designed to withstand seismic loads, equipped with armored shutters, blast-resistant doors, and forced filtration against chemical and biological threats. In the Ukrainian context, a 'mamad' more often refers simply to a room with a reinforced monolithic concrete frame, without a specialized sealing system. Notably, the first attempts to implement such projects in Ukraine began back in 2023–2024 in private residential construction — in private houses in western Ukraine and in the Kyiv region.

### What exactly Ukrainian developers are designing

As Alexey Koval explains in a comment to RBC-Ukraine, detailing the concept of the pilot safety rooms, the current discussion concerns an interior space of 3–4 square meters with reinforced reinforced-concrete structures and ventilation. No special air filtration or armored windows are provided for: the main purpose of the structure is protection from debris and glass. Moreover, according to him, the reinforced structures will limit the possibilities for re-planning and combining the room with other spaces. According to the company's preliminary calculations, the potential impact of such solutions on the price of housing within the project is estimated at approximately 3–4%.

### Regulatory vacuum: what the DBN say

The war has fundamentally changed the requirements for safety in residential buildings. Yelena Ryzhova, Commercial Director of the developer Intergal-Bud, notes in a comment to RBC-Ukraine that previously shelters were often a formality or were not provided at all. Today, however, a shelter is a mandatory part of a residential project under the DBN V.2.2-5:2023 standards 'Protective structures of civil defense,' which directly require the provision of refuges or dual-purpose structures in new buildings. 'Without a section on the shelter, the project simply will not pass expert review… In other words, this is no longer a 'market wish,' but a legal requirement,' Ryzhova points out. However, as explained at PSG 'Kovalska,' the state building standards have clearly defined requirements for shelters, refuges, and dual-purpose structures, but do not contain the concept of a 'mamad' or 'shelter within an apartment.' 'From an engineering standpoint, it is entirely possible to integrate a shelter within an apartment, but such a solution does not comply with the current DBN,' the company emphasizes. Therefore, even if shelter rooms are installed in a building, the state will still require the provision of an underground shelter, and constructing an apartment capsule may simply double the capital costs.

### Engineering sense and the limits of protection

Alexey Koval emphasizes that his company views safety rooms as a supplementary solution, not a replacement for the regulatory shelter of a residential complex. 'We are developing the safety room for situations in which a person has not had time to reach the main shelter. However, its presence should not be a reason to ignore an alert or delay moving to the shelter,' adds the CEO of Perfect Group. At the same time, from an engineering standpoint, confirms Dmitry Vasylyev, CEO and owner of the architectural firm Archimatika, 'mamads' make sense, as they reduce the time a person needs to reach a more protected space. In addition, such a room can reduce the risks from the indirect effects of an explosion: glass and window-frame debris, facade elements, finishes, and structural components that are destroyed by the blast wave. At the same time, as Vasylyev emphasizes, it is important not to create an illusion of absolute safety — such a room is not designed to guarantee protection in the event of a direct hit or prolonged shelling.

### Contradictory data

The provided sources record a number of inconsistencies and differences in interpretation. First, the term 'mamad' is used in the Ukrainian discourse in a significantly narrower sense than in the Israeli one: if in Israel MAMAD is a comprehensive system with seismic calculations, armor, and chemical protection, then in Ukraine the word more often refers simply to a reinforced concrete frame. Second, Perfect Group estimates the impact of safety rooms on housing prices at 3–4%, whereas other market participants have not published independent calculations, and PSG 'Kovalska' points out that, in the absence of a regulatory status, such solutions may double capital costs due to duplication with the mandatory underground shelter. Third, the first implementations of such projects date back to 2023–2024 in private construction, while Perfect Group's pilot project in the clubhouse is still at the development stage, and the exact commissioning dates are not specified in the sources.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [A bunker in every apartment. Is Ukraine ready for Israeli housing standards](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/bunker-kozhniy-kvartiri-chi-gotova-ukrayina-1789468929.html) - Основной источник. Содержит заявления CEO Perfect Group Алексея Коваля, коммерческого директора «Интергал-Буд» Елены Рыжовой, ПСГ «Ковальская» и архитектора Дмитрия Васильева. Текст обрывается на финальной цитате Васильева.
- [Russian developers put 3.5 million square meters of housing on the market in July](https://www.interfax-russia.ru/realty/news/zastroyshchiki-rf-vyveli-na-rynok-3-5-mln-kvadratov-zhilya-za-iyul) - Источник касается российского рынка жилья и не содержит информации, связанной с темой украинских «мамадов». Не использован в статье.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What is a 'mamad' and how does it differ from an ordinary shelter?
**A:** In Israel, MAMAD (Merhav Mugan Dirati) is a legally mandatory reinforced room inside an apartment, with seismic calculations, armored shutters, blast-resistant doors, and an air filtration system. In Ukraine, a 'mamad' more often refers to a 3–4 square meter room with a reinforced concrete frame and ventilation, without armor or chemical protection.

### Q: Are safety rooms mandatory in new Ukrainian buildings?
**A:** No. DBN V.2.2-5:2023 mandate the provision of shelters or dual-purpose structures in new buildings, but do not contain the concept of a 'mamad' or 'shelter within an apartment.' Safety rooms are viewed by developers as a supplementary, not a regulatory, solution.

### Q: How much do safety rooms cost the buyer?
**A:** According to Perfect Group's preliminary calculations, the impact of such solutions on housing prices is estimated at approximately 3–4%. At the same time, experts warn that, in the absence of a regulatory status, such structures may double capital costs, since an underground shelter remains mandatory.

### Q: Does a 'mamad' protect against a direct missile hit?
**A:** No. As architect Dmitry Vasylyev emphasizes, such a room is not designed to guarantee protection in the event of a direct hit or prolonged shelling. Its purpose is to shorten the time until reaching the main shelter and to reduce the risks from the indirect effects of an explosion: glass fragments, facade elements, and finishes.