The Jencks Foundation at The Cosmic House and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) gave the 2022 Jencks Award to 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 with the help of a European Research Council (ERC) grant. 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 communities and individuals affected by conflict, environmental violence, and police brutality.
Forensic Architecture investigates suspected human rights abuses and other illegal activity across the globe using interactive maps, architectural software and models.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.
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.”