Chipperfield and ZHA among practices to suspend Russian work

LDA Design and Westminster Mound designer MVRDV have also pledged to halt work in the country, while John McAslan + Partners said it would ‘step back from any further work in Russia’, and JTP said it does ‘not have any plans to focus on winning new work in Russia for the foreseeable future’.

Other practices, including Foster + Partners, did not respond to questions about how their work in Russia would be affected by the ongoing war, which has claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands of Ukrainian citizens.

The statements come after business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng took to Twitter to argue ‘there is now a strong moral imperative on British companies to isolate Russia’ and that ‘Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine must be a wake-up call for British businesses with commercial interests in Russia’.

Companies also have to weigh up economic risks with working in Russia. The ruble has fallen 20 per cent against the pound and a raft of new sanctions meaning it is now illegal to work with some Russian companies.

David Chipperfield Architects, which won a competition to revive a landmark 1920s building in Moscow in 2020, said in a statement: ‘Given the invasion of Ukraine, and with the full understanding and support of our clients, David Chipperfield Architects has decided to suspend all work in Russia.

‘We condemn the actions of Putin and the Russian government and stand in solidarity with Ukraine and its people. As a practice we believe in dialogue, openness and engagement; values that are directly opposed to the ongoing war.

‘We call for an immediate end to this human tragedy and our thoughts are with the innocent victims of this unjustified action.’

A spokesperson for ZHA said the practice had ‘worked in Russia for four decades’ and in recent years had won several design projects in Moscow, including recladding on housing blocks, a 460ha masterplan, a new metro station and a ‘technopark’.

They said: ‘Zaha Hadid was originally inspired by works of the Russian Avant-Garde and many of our staff have taught architecture students at universities across the country.

‘[But] we are deeply shocked and saddened by the conflict in Ukraine and have placed our two ongoing projects in Russia on hold. We have completed our contracted works on all other projects in the country and continue to monitor guidance from the UK government.’

Mike Foster, managing director of LDA Design, which won a competition with ZHA to regenerate the façades of Soviet-era housing in Moscow alongside ZHA, said: ‘As an employee-owned business, all of the work LDA Design undertakes is scrutinised to ensure it meets our standards and values.

‘The tragic situation unfolding in Ukraine naturally means we have reflected on our work in Russia. Over the years, we have built strong partnerships with forward-looking clients and practices in Russia who want to create places where people can live active lifestyles in close contact with nature, but we are now halting our involvement in all projects in Russia for the foreseeable future.

‘New prospects will also be politely declined.’

Dutch practice MVRDV said it has ‘immediately stopped our involvement in projects in Russia until further notice’ despite it meaning that it will ‘stop collaborating with people we have known for years, and who are dedicated to bringing a more collaborative international outlook to Russia’.

The practice said it had taken the decision as it ‘stand[s] in solidarity with all the people who are defying and protesting this war,’ adding that its projects in Ukraine ‘have sadly been put on hold by at the atrocities’.

Aidan Potter, partner at John McAslan + Partners, said the practice had ‘worked in Russia over many years and [we] have strong bonds with our Russian clients, collaborators and the local culture’.

The practice won the first RIBA award for a UK architect working in Russia for its 2009 conversation of the Stanislavsky Factory in Moscow, and has also completed projects including the Museum of Russian Impressionism and the 6ha Olympia Park in the same city.

The practice began work last year on the Mosfilm Studio Complex after winning an international competition for the job. But Potter told the AJ: ‘Like so many around the world, we’re deeply alarmed by the invasion of Ukraine and have decided to step back from any further work in Russia.’

A spokesperson for JTP said its work masterplanning of a 740ha eco-district in Kazan in western Russia had come to an end but said the practice had been ‘working on a number of small feasibility studies, which are coming to an end’.

The spokesperson said the group had also been working on ‘a number of international competitions’ for work in the country, but said ‘recent events in Ukraine are deeply shocking and upsetting […] and the political situation is also incredibly worrying’.

‘With the current crisis, there is huge political and economic uncertainty,’ she added. ‘We do not have any plans to focus on winning new work in Russia for the foreseeable future.

‘Over the last few years our work in Russia constitutes only a very small percentage of our turnover. Should sanctions result in us being unable to receive payment of fees, this would not have any significant effect.’

Other companies understood to be working in Russia – but which did not respond to questions about the status of their schemes – include Foster + Partners, Tony Fretton Architects, SimpsonHaugh Partnership and Chapman Taylor.

Ian Simpson, co-founder of SimpsonHaugh, said: ‘We are not in a position to comment on the status of our Russian projects; we categorically condemn the invasion of the Ukraine; we think it’s an absolute tragedy for the both the Ukrainian and the Russian people.’

Earlier this week Bee Breeders, an organiser of international architectural competitions, said it would not accept entries from Russian practices, calling on architects worldwide ‘to immediately refuse collaboration with organisations and individuals that do not support the sovereignty of Ukraine’.

And Malcolm Reading, chairman of Malcolm Reading Consultants, another architectural competition organisers, also expressed solidarity with Ukraine and said that it would return any entries it received from Russian companies.

The organisers of the MIPIM property trade fair in Cannes have also confirmed there will be no Russian exhibitors – including the Moscow City region – at the show next month. Historically the country’s cities and regions have had a significant presence at the event, for example the huge marquee for the Krasnodar region, south-east of war-torn Ukraine.

Given the European airspace ban, insiders claims it is unlikely there will be any delegates from Russia either.

A spokesperson for MIPIM’s organiser RX (formerly Reed MIDEM) said: ‘RX strongly condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine. RX stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, particularly with our employees around the world who have family and friends in Ukraine.  We also stand in solidarity with our Russian employees working in challenging conditions. In a rapidly changing environment, RX is following government sanctions and policies in each territory where we operate.’

The company also said there would be ‘no Russian Pavilion at MIPIM’ – although its absence from the property festival predates the current conflict.