The Jencks Foundation and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) are pleased to announce the 2022 recipient of the RIBA Charles Jencks Award is Forensic Architecture. This annual award is given to an individual or practice who has simultaneously made a major contribution to both the theory and practice of architecture.
Led by Eyal Weizman, Forensic Architecture is a research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London, founded in 2010. Forensic architecture is the process and presentation of architectural evidence in relation to the built environment within legal and political processes. The agency partners with institutions from grassroots activists to international NGOs to investigate human rights violations on behalf of communities and individuals affected by conflict, environmental violence, and police brutality. They have presented their work in national and international courts, truth commissions, parliamentary enquiries, and in art and architectural exhibitions.
Forensic Architecture investigates state violence and surveillance across the globe using architectural tools and techniques.These methods act as a conduit for analysing photographs, videos, and testimonies of violent events in addition to using digital models to interview survivors of violence to access and explore memories of trauma.
Forensic Architecture will be presented with the award at the RIBA on 22nd February at 7pm, after which they will give a lecture and be interviewed by Thomas Aquilina from the New Architecture Writers programme. To attend the lecture, please register by clicking the link below.
RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects), The Jencks Foundation, and Forensic Architecture have announced the cancellation of the upcoming RIBA Charles Jencks Award lecture and Q+A with Thomas Aquilina on 22 February 2023.
Forensic Architecture, housed in Goldsmiths University, will be partaking in the education sector’s large-scale nationwide industrial action this month. In line with the University and College Union guidance, Forensic Architecture will be unable to attend the event. There are no current plans to reschedule the lecture and Q + A.
Director of Forensic Architecture, Eyal Weizman, said: “Despite having very much looked forward to the event, we are withdrawing from the lecture planned as part of our receipt of the 2022 RIBA Jencks Award, as it coincides with one of the eighteen days of nationwide industrial action scheduled for this month. As an organisation housed within Goldsmiths, University of London, we strongly support the strikes taking place both at our home institution and across the university sector. We hope those that have booked will understand our motivation.”
Director of Jencks Foundation, Lily Jencks, said: “We are obviously disappointed that the 2022 RIBA Charles Jencks Award lecture won’t be going ahead as planned, but we respect Forensic Architecture’s decision. It brings home the meaning and power of the strikes, as the loss that they create is their potency. We look forward to working with Forensic Architecture to find other ways to celebrate their important and vital work.”