ADPSR celebrates a great step for human rights and for the profession of architecture: the American Institute of Architects has banned the design of spaces for execution and solitary confinement.

Sign our petition to demand AIA end design of execution chambers and spaces for solitary confinement

The AIA recently issued a statement denouncing the conditions at detention centers, objecting to the misuse of the buildings themselves. While we welcome AIA’s focus on human rights at the border, we need to recognize that our profession’s commitment to health, safety, and welfare is about more than the enforcement of building codes.

ADPSR’s founding history in opposition to nuclear war and our analysis of civil defense as propaganda intended to support warmongering and the military-industrial complex stands in contrast to the rosy picture painted in 99 Percent Invisible’s “Atomic Tattoos,” a podcast we otherwise very much support.

Just a few weeks ago, the American Institute of Architects changed its Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct -- a change that ADPSR has been demanding since 2013 — a victory for human rights, for ADPSR, and for our members. ADPSR will seek out those projects that egregiously undermine people’s health, safety, and welfare and demand that their designers terminate their engagement with the project, change the project to comply with human rights standards, or face discipline from their peers.