RIAI Expresses Solidarity with Citizens and Architects in Ukraine

Today, the RIAI President Charlotte Sheridan PRIAI has released a statement in support of Ukraine, its citizens and architects. The statement is a response to the ongoing military incursion by Russia into the country and our deep concern for the safety of all citizens.

“As a community we are shocked and deeply concerned at the ongoing military aggression that is severely affecting the well-being and dignity of all citizens of Ukraine. We express our support and solidarity with the National Union of Architects of Ukraine and we will support Ukrainian architects and students in any way that we can. We join other architectural institutions and organisations throughout the world in denouncing this action.”

The RIAI, as a member of the International Union of Architects (UIA), joins the international architecture community in this call. The UIA has expressed unwavering solidarity with all those affected and calls for unity and peace among nations. “On behalf of the international community of architects, we condemn any act of violence or war affecting the well-being and dignity of humans, join the global appeal against war and call for the immediate restoration of peace”, said UIA President, José Luis Cortés. The UIA was founded in 1948 - after the Second World War - to unite architects around the world and actively participate in the reconstruction of devastated cities and villages.

The Architects' Council of Europe, of which the RIAI is an active member, has also expressed its support for all Ukrainian architects in the face of the political situation in which Ukraine and its citizens find themselves.

Ruth Schagemann, ACE President, has said: “The Architects' Council of Europe finds it unacceptable that one country grants itself the sovereign right to shape the borders of another sovereign country. For years we have been developing international cooperation with partners from Eastern Europe and we want to strengthen it. We share a common history and past experiences, as well as the same challenges of the present and the future. We believe that support for each other among architects in Europe is fundamental, both for the development of our organisations in times of peace and in the event that one of us is affected by a crisis.”