ACE expresses grave concerns following the arrests at the Istanbul Chamber of Architects

On Tuesday 31 May, police arrested 15 people in the building of the Istanbul Chamber of Architects, including the President of the Chamber of Architects of Turkey (CAT) and Board Members and employees of the CAT Istanbul Branch. The Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) expresses grave concerns at this event.

Local media reported that, on Tuesday 31 May, CAT executives were detained for having resisted  the eviction of the office of the CAT Istanbul Branch, located in Yıldız Palace. The eviction resulted in the detainment of 15 people, including CAT President Eyup Muhcu and Mücella Yapici, Secretary of the CAT Environmental and Social Impact Committee, both prominent figures in the Gezi movement, as well as several Members of the Executive Board and employees of the CAT Istanbul Branch.

While reluctant to comment on domestic affairs, ACE is deeply concerned at what appears to be an overreaction to what began as a peaceful opposition to government’s urban policies. Architects’ chambers play an important role in the defence of heritage and quality in the public interest and as such we feel that professional solidarity is an essential expression of this role.

“This unprecedented act of intimidation against the architectural profession in Turkey is surely disproportionate and certainly unacceptable in a country that aspires to join the European Union”, said Luciano Lazzari, ACE President.

Policy statements in support of the ACE Manifesto available

Since 2008, the construction sector has been severely impacted by the economic crisis. Strong and targeted actions at EU level are necessary to create a coherent legislative framework, which will accelerate and consolidate the recovery of the sector, while ensuring safety and quality in the built environment.  With over half a million practising architects in Europe, the architectural sector plays a key role in the construction sector. Moreover, good architecture is essential to the well-being of European citizens and is vital in guaranteeing their safety, as well as a sustainable future for our society.

In early 2014, the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) launched a Manifesto for the European Parliament elections, calling on candidates to commit to promoting responsible architecture, advancing highest professional standards and optimising professional mobility. ACE has now published a suite of eight policy positions supporting these policy objectives:

1.     The role
 of Architecture in Energy Efficient Construction

2.     Urban Regeneration: Renovating 
the Existing 
Building Stock

3.     Quality-based Procurement

4.     The importance of Life-long Learning and the Role of the Profession in Delivering Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

5.     Dissemination of Architectural Culture

6.     Optimising Professional Mobility

7.     Regulation of Architects

8.     Support for 
the Negotiation of Binding Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs)

Read the ACE Policy statements

ACE Member Organisations express support to Germany for maintaining the HOAI

While the German Federal State has informed the EU Commission that it will not repeal the fee-scale system for architects and engineers (‘HOAI’), the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) expresses its support to Germany for seeking to maintain the HOAI. During the last ACE General Assembly (22-23 April), ACE Member Organisations discussed architects’ fee-scales from a European perspective and broadly supported the German HOAI, considered as a tool that serves the interest of clients and contracting and public authorities, as well as being a driver of quality in the built environment.

Read the Press Release 

Call for Photos: ACE needs images of your best architectural projects!

ACE would like to invite European Architects to provide photographs of projects that have received a national architectural award, or images of the best architectural projects in their respective countries. These photos will be used by ACE to illustrate its communications and publications (ACE Info, leaflets, reports, etc.) and possibly to create an on-line exhibition of the best European architectural practices.

For each set of images you send, we kindly invite you to complete the copyright release form, in order to allow ACE to use these images freely. Images must be sent in JPEG format, in the best quality possible. As such files might be heavy, we recommend using WeTransfer (https://www.wetransfer.com) for sending your files – this website allows you to send up to 2 GB for free.

Images and copyright release forms can be sent to the ACE Communication Officer gerardo.ambrosecchia(at)ace-cae.eu. 

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP) and the International Council of The Portuguese Speaking Architects (CIALP)

On the occasion of the ACE General Assembly, ACE signed two important Memoranda of Understanding with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP) and the International Council of The Portuguese Speaking Architects (CIALP)

SACAP, established on 1 March 1971, is responsible for controlling of standards of education at tertiary institutions for the purposes of professional registration by means of visiting boards, the administration of a Code of Conduct in the public interest, and protection of the public interest by identifying the type of architectural work each category of registered person is capable and competent to perform. SACAP's mission is to transform, promote and regulate the architectural profession through collaborative engagement in the pursuit of excellence.

CIALP is an international membership organisation for professional bodies representing architects from Portuguese Speaking countries, territories and regions. Officially formed in 1990 it has been working for more than 20 years to strengthen institutional relations and architectural knowledge between its members. Currently CIALP has 9 members. 

ACE President Luciano Lazzari commented :

The signing of the MoUs with SACAP and CIALP marks an important milestone on the road to international collaboration of our profession, bringing new impetus to our common cause of enhancing the value of architecture, for the betterment of all. It is particularly significant because it brings a new and thoughtful alliance between architects of two continents, based on a future that is both challenging and promising.

ACE joins the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction 

In April, ACE joined the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (Global ABC). Global ABC, which was launched in Paris during the COP21, is a worldwide alliance among stakeholders in the building sector with the aim of: 1) Helping buildings and the construction sector to contribute to the objective of a global warming limited to below 2 °C; 2) Aligning existing initiatives, partnerships, commitments and programmes to achieve greater scale; 3) Catalysing stronger collaboration and targeting sectoral and cross-sectoral climate actions and solutions. The Alliance is supervised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with the support of the French Ministry of Environment.

In the Common Statement, signed on behalf of ACE, ACE President Luciano Lazzari says: “ACE strongly believes that a responsible Architecture can bring solutions to challenges posed by climate change. Architects, across their different fields of intervention (building design, renovation, urban planning, etc.) and throughout the life cycle of buildings, with user involvement, can contribute to reducing energy and resource consumption in buildings as well as adapting the built environment to climate change effects. We are convinced that innovative solutions can only emerge if all stakeholders of the construction sector share knowledge and act together, through  platforms like the Global ABC”.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the International Union of Architects (UIA) are also members of the Alliance. Visit the UNEP website for more information.