Forensic Architecture — spatial and visual investigations of state violence
A research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London, founded in 2010 by architect Eyal Weizman, producing spatial and media investigations of state violence and human rights violations, including a long-running body of work on Palestine.
Forensic Architecture is a research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London, founded in 2010 by the architect Eyal Weizman. Its interdisciplinary team of architects, filmmakers, software developers, investigative journalists, scientists, and lawyers reconstructs incidents of state and institutional violence using architectural modeling, open-source video and imagery, satellite data, and witness testimony. Its investigations are produced with and on behalf of affected communities, human rights organizations, prosecutors, and media outlets, and have been presented in courts and truth commissions as well as in major cultural institutions.
Palestine has been a sustained focus of the agency’s work. Its investigations include the 2014 “Black Friday” bombardment of Rafah (with Amnesty International), the 2022 killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin (with Al Jazeera), and A Cartography of Genocide (2024), an interactive platform and 827-page report documenting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, presented as evidence to the International Court of Justice.
Why it matters
- Develops evidentiary methods — 3D reconstruction, synchronised video, geolocation — that establish facts where official investigations are absent or obstructed.
- Its findings are designed for legal use and have entered proceedings before international courts.
- Makes complex visual evidence publicly accessible through open online investigations.
Key resources
Cited work
The summary above is written by FALASTEEN.AI. The document itself is published by Forensic Architecture and is linked here in full.