Architect's Day—A New Addition to the Professional Holiday Calendar

Russia has established an official Architect's Day. Architects themselves say the Union of Architects spent five years trying to get "their" day established. And now, architects have officially been granted the first Monday of July.

Russia has a new professional holiday—Architect's Day. According to a decree signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, it will be celebrated on the first Monday of July.

The initiators of the new holiday were the Union of Architects of Russia and the Ministry of Construction. Their proposal was supported by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Commenting on the decision, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin noted that "establishing Architect's Day is recognition of the special significance of this profession in transforming our cities and developing the country as a whole. Today we face large-scale tasks in housing construction, infrastructure, and creating a comfortable urban environment. However, the key goal is not only achieving quantitative indicators but also ensuring high quality and aesthetics. The appearance of cities plays an important role in improving people's living conditions, as well as increasing the attractiveness of populated areas for tourists and businesses."

What do architects themselves think about establishing a professional holiday? How do they explain its appearance and what hopes do they place on it?

Anna Kulikova, architect, partner at FANTALIS Architects:

"I know that for the older generation of architects, International Architect's Day and Builder's Day were considered quite significant events, celebrated collectively. But I don't have such memories, for example. It seems to me that for the younger generation of architects, this could very well become just as warm a tradition. We see how our cities are changing qualitatively today, how architects are creating spaces where we all live, work, and relax. To some extent, the psychological health and well-being of the country's residents are in the hands of architects. The prestige of our profession needs to be raised so that young people have the desire to dedicate their lives to it. Let there be such a professional holiday."

According to the expert, the new holiday will strengthen the process of community building and help support young professionals who may find it difficult to cope with the challenges of the early career stage.

Source: https://www.bfm.ru/news/569355