This week on Dezeen, we covered the reaction to the war in Ukraine, which has led to studios withdrawing from projects in Russia and the country being condemned by architects and designers.
In response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which began on 24 February, more than 6,500 Russian architects, designers and urban planners signed an open letter to “demand the immediate end of violent war”.
Several architecture studios made the decision to stop working in the country, with Dutch studio MVRDV halting work on all five of its projects in Russia, including its Red7 tower in Moscow (pictured).
UK architecture studios David Chipperfield Architects and Zaha Hadid Architects also announced they were suspending work on Russian projects.
A wide range of architects, designers and cultural institutions, including fashion designer Giorgio Armani, also showed their solidarity with Ukraine.
In the virtual world, Danish architecture studio BIG revealed its design for its first building in the metaverse.
The studio created a virtual office named Viceverse, where employees of media company Vice Media Group can work on digital projects.
In design news, German feminist art group Wer Braucht Feminismus? (WBF?), which translates to Who Needs Feminism?, revealed its concept for a vulva-shaped spaceship.
Designed to “restore gender equality to the cosmos”, the ship aims to challenge the convention of phallic spacecraft design.
This week saw disruption in New York caused by ice falling from several supertall skyscrapers, including 11 West 57th Street on Billionaires’ Row (pictured).
A motorist was injured when rapidly warming weather caused a chunk of ice to fall from the SHoP Architects-designed building.
In London, the shortlist was named for this year’s Don’t Move, Improve! competition, which aims to find the city’s best home renovation.
In total 15 homes were recognised, including a pastel-hued extension with Romanesque arches (pictured) and a converted artist’s studio.
Popular projects this week included an apartment in a former pub in Hoxton, a high-rise church in Taiwan (pictured) and a mid-century home in Phoenix.
Our lookbooks this week focused on contemporary interiors by Ukrainian designers, homes with decorative parquet flooring and coastal hotel rooms with calming sea views.
This week on Dezeen
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