Archinect - News

The Architecture Lobby: Boycott the design of immigration detention and deterrence infrastructure

2019-07-31T13:44:00-04:00

The Architecture Lobby and ADPSR call on all design professionals to refuse to participate in the design and construction of any immigration detention and deterrence infrastructure, including but not limited to walls, Border Patrol Stations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices, detention facilities, or juvenile holding centers.

The Architecture Lobby (TAL) and Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) are calling on designers to boycott any efforts to design and construct infrastructure related to the immigration detention and deterrence.

In a statement announcing their efforts, the two organizations write, "[TAL and ADPSR] continue to condemn the current administration’s assault on immigrant rights. These violent and racist policies are designed to cause fear and chaos; target those seeking asylum and refuge; and weaponize the built environment against immigrants."

Instead of helping design detention centers and border walls, the groups call on individual designers, groups of architectural workers, design students, and entire firms to organize against the unjust policies and practices they are being asked to support and perpetuate through their work. That includes speaking out against cruel immigration policies directly to local representatives, refusing to participate in the desig...

Austin in favor of boycotting companies involved in Trump's border wall

2018-02-05T12:35:00-05:00

In a 10-1 vote, the Austin City Council took the first step toward a boycott of any company that designs, builds or finances President Donald Trump’s $25 billion proposed border wall between Texas and Mexico. [...] Four companies already have been tapped to design and build wall prototypes, including Texas-based Sterling Construction Company, Inc.

The Texas state capital is just the latest of several local and state governments having either passed or proposed legislation that would ban companies involved in designing, building, or financing Donald Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico from being considered for other public contracts.

Jean Nouvel boycotts opening of his Philharmonie de Paris

2015-01-14T20:03:00-05:00

Hours before the official inauguration of the Philharmonie de Paris concert hall on Wednesday, its architect, Jean Nouvel, declared his intention to boycott the gala because he said the towering, 386 million euro (about $455 million) building is not ready to open. [...] Mr. Nouvel wrote a column that appeared on the website of the French daily Le Monde denouncing the “contempt” of the concert hall managers for “the architecture, the work of the architect and the architect.”

Construction escalated in the days preceding the opening but large parts of the Philharmonie are still not complete, including the restaurant and exhibition space. The inaugural concert will feature the Orchestre de Paris, with dignitaries and French president François Hollande among the attendees, and "will be dedicated to the victims of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack and related killings."

AIA New York fires back at RIBA over proposed boycott of Israeli Association of United Architects

2014-05-09T14:17:00-04:00

Earlier this spring, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) passed a motion that demanded the suspension of the Israeli Association of United Architects from the International Union of Architects "until it acts to resist projects on illegally-occupied land and observes international law and accords."

This morning, the AIA New York Chapter published a statement denouncing the RIBA resolution, declaring "AIANY does not condone RIBA’s decision to request action based solely on disagreements over local Israeli policies."

Here's AIANY's full statement:

"The AIA New York Chapter (AIANY) has denounced the proposal submitted by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to suspend the Israeli Association of United Architects (IAUA) from the International Union of Architects (UIA).

On May 1, 2014, AIANY wrote to Harry Rich, Chief Executive of RIBA. In the letter, AIANY asks the RIBA Board to overrule its advisory council’s recent proposal to UIA that would seek to exclude IAUA’s ...

RIBA proposes boycott of Israeli Association of United Architects' over Palestinian settlements

2014-03-20T13:37:00-04:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) has demanded the suspension of the Israeli Association of United Architects (IAUA) from the international body, saying it is complicit in the construction of illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and other violations of international law.

UPDATE: AIA New York fires back at RIBA over proposed boycott of Israeli Association of United Architects

The full RIBA motion, proposed by RIBA Immediate Past President, Angela Brady, and passed by the RIBA council on March 19 was:

Since the Israeli Association of United Architects (IAUA) has paid no regard to the UIA resolution 13* of 2005 and 2009, the RIBA calls on the UIA, as the international guardian of professional and ethical standards in our profession, to suspend the membership of the Israeli Association of United Architects, until it acts to resist these illegal projects, and observes international law, and the UIA Accords and Resolution 13.

*UIA's Resolution 13 (2005 and 2009) states that “The UIA Council condemns development projects and the construction of buildings on land that has been ethnically purified or illegally appropriated, and projects based on regulations that are ethnically or culturally discriminatory, and similarly it condemns all action contravening the f...