Until recently, we walked the streets that are now a war zone. Our heartfelt sympathy and thoughts are with the people of Ukraine. We are thinking about our friends, partners, and clients that are in danger at this moment. We support our colleagues who are worried about their country and their loved ones.

We stand in solidarity with all the people who are defying and protesting against this war, and we strongly condemn the violence. As architects and urbanists, we work in many countries to make a difference and we believe wholeheartedly in international dialogue and in peace. For this reason, we have immediately stopped our involvement in projects in Russia until further notice. 

As a practice, we are affected twofold. Our projects in Ukraine have sadly been put on hold by the atrocities. Right after the start of the invasion, we began contacting our Ukrainian friends and partners in support and we try to remain in touch. They are brave and they are experiencing incredible hardship. We have stopped our Russian projects, even though this means we have to stop collaborating with people we have known for years, and who are dedicated to bringing a more collaborative international outlook to Russia.

"At the heart of the Ukraine crisis lies a fundamental question about the nature of history and the nature of humanity: is change possible? Can humans change the way they behave, or does history repeat itself endlessly, with humans forever condemned to re-enact past tragedies without changing anything except the décor?"
- Yuval Noah Harari (The Economist, 9 February 2022)