The third episode of Al Jazeera’s “Rebel Architecture” series takes us on a journey through the settlements and roads of the West Bank with London-based, Israeli architect, academic and writer, Eyal Weizman. In the 25-minute episode, Weizman shows the key role of architecture in the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and talks about his latest project, Forensic Architecture, which uses damage to buildings as evidence for war crimes.
Watch the full episode above and read on after the break for a full episode synopsis and a preview of upcoming episodes…
From Al Jazeera: "The Architecture of Violence," Directed by Ana Naomi de Sousa
On a journey across the settlements and roads of the West Bank and along the Separation Wall, Eyal Weizman demonstrates how architecture is central to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. “Architecture and the built environment is a kind of a slow violence. The occupation is an environment that was conceived to strangulate Palestinian communities, villages and towns, to create an environment that would be unliveable for the people there”, says Weizman.
Local Israelis and Palestinians explain how it feels to live in a landscape where everything, from walls and roads, terraces and sewage, to settlements and surveillance are designed to ensure the separation of the two peoples, while simultaneously maintaining control.
Eyal’s work on the architecture of occupation has led him to understand the discipline’s role in modern urban warfare. Visiting Nablus and Jenin, he explains how the Israeli army pioneered a new kind of modern urban warfare through its deep understanding of architecture.
But Weizman has found a way for architecture to resist; his latest project, Forensic Architecture, is way of turning a building’s military wounds into evidence to be used against the state for the investigation of war crimes, with the aid of innovative architectural and visual technologies. “What can we do as architects today to resist that destruction and violence that is enacted by architecture?” asks Weizman.
Rebel Architecture is a new series featuring architects who use design as a form of resistance and activism. By designing for the majority rather than the elite, the architects in “Rebel Architecture” are tackling the world’s urban, environmental and social problems. Through six, half-hour documentaries the series will highlight architects working in Vietnam, Nigeria, Spain, Pakistan, the Occupied West Bank and Brazil. Stay tuned for next week’s episode featuring Vietnamese architect Vo Trong Nghia and his mission to construct environmentally-friendly buildings. And in case you missed them, check out the other episodes, here.
