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Over one month since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the impacts of the war on Europe’s construction sector are beginning to emerge. Since the military offensive began, a steady increase in European sanctions against Russia has curtailed material supplies across the continent... View full entry
Lanfranco Cirillo, the designer of a mysterious 18,000 sq. m mansion on the Black Sea that many believe was built for the Russian President Vladimir Putin, is being investigated by the Italian authorities for allegedly failing to pay a €50m tax bill. Officials raided the 63-year-old Italian architect’s own sizeable villa in February, where they discovered and confiscated a treasure trove of works by artists including Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, [and] Wassily Kandinsky. — The Art Newspaper
The architect’s private helicopter was also confiscated by Italian authorities, who have been on a tear as of late, seizing yachts and other luxury items from Russian nationals associated with President Vladimir Putin. Cirillo is well known as the man behind the biggest gem in Putin’s... View full entry
With more than 3.7 million Ukrainian refugees fleeing the country and another 6.5 million internally displaced, architects in Ukraine have been hard-pressed to put their skills to work by creating the necessary shelters and accommodations required for those uprooted by the... View full entry
Shigeru Ban had been working with students from the Wrocław University of Science and Technology on the influx of Ukrainian refugees sheltering in a converted former supermarket in Chelm, Poland, where they were able to construct and install 319 privacy partitions over a four-day span. He now... View full entry
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine presses on into its fourth week, volunteers and cultural workers, a number of whom are also at arms, are rushing to erect makeshift barriers and other forms of protection against what could be a demoralizing strike against heritage sites across the embattled... View full entry
Libraries are playing vital roles in supporting Ukraine's war effort from giving families shelters during Russian bombing raids to making camouflage nets for the military and countering disinformation. — NPR
As reported by NPR, libraries across Ukraine are brimming with activity, full of librarians, readers, refugees, and volunteers. In addition to serving as bomb shelters, they’re hosting the production of camouflage nets for the military, along with home care courses. Libraries are also bringing... View full entry
The once-thriving construction industry in Ukraine has ground to a near halt as the nation shifts into battling an invasion by Russia. Before the incursion, which began Feb. 24, construction sites across the country were booming in many different sectors, according to Morgan Williams, president of the 200-member U.S.-Ukraine Business Council in Washington, D.C. — Construction Dive
Russia’s invasion has stymied Ukraine’s construction industry, which was surging under the country’s “Big Construction” program. The initiative was spearheaded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and aimed to rebuild and renovate infrastructure across the country. Construction... View full entry
Last week's bombing of the Babyn Yar memorial site in Kyiv left five dead and drew the ire of the international Jewish community, who joined the official cultural body of the United Nations in condemning what under several legal bodies constitutes a war crime. The memorial sits atop the... View full entry
One of the world’s largest engineering consultancies has joined the growing list of architecture firms ceasing activities in Russia in protest of the country's military invasion of Ukraine after AECOM announced it will be halting its operation in Russia effective immediately. Speaking in a press... View full entry
The open letter by architecture magazine Project Russia, which included over 6,500 signatures of Russian architects and urban planners opposing military strikes in Ukraine, has been removed and replaced. The original text from their open letter, which can be found in Archinect's... View full entry
Unesco said it is “gravely concerned” about damage caused by Russia’s invasion forces in the cities of Kharkiv and Chernihiv and called for the protection of Ukrainian cultural heritage, including the country’s seven World Heritage sites. — The Art Newspaper
Ukraine currently has seven landmarks on the UN cultural body’s list of World Heritage Sites (not including the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial site that was bombed on March 1st, which they also condemned). Odessa and Kharkiv are also members of the organization’s Creative Cities Network... View full entry
Airbnb said this week it will offer free, short-term housing for up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion. The program will be backed by Airbnb.org, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and funded by donors and hosts. — The Real Deal
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky announced the move on Twitter, calling for people to offer their homes in nearby countries, including Poland, Germany, Hungary, and Romania. This comes as an estimated 660,000 refugees have so far fled Ukraine, with the U.N. refugee agency predicting that this figure could... View full entry
UPDATE, March 4th, 2022: New media crackdown in Russia forces censorship of open letter signed by country's architects and urban planners A new missive in the architectural community’s fight against the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been launched as this time, a group from inside the... View full entry
As the walls of the international community begin to cave in on Vladimir Putin and his acolytes in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, more prominent architecture and design firms have joined the effort to isolate Moscow from the rest of the world economically. The past 24 hours saw... View full entry
Russian forces have bombed Babyn Yar, a ravine in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv where thousands of Jews were executed by Nazis during the Second World War. At least five people were killed and another five were injured in the incident.
Located at the site is an artist-conceived memorial to the Holocaust massacre currently under construction. The status of the memorial is currently unclear.
— Artnet News
The attack was part of the Russian military’s attempt to disable a nearby central TV tower, killing five in the process. Jewish groups across the world decried the act, stating that it was “an attack on Jews around the world” and citing that such targeting of cultural property is illegal... View full entry