Samaritan Hamam - before + after IDF destruction (photos found online)

It is impossible + negligent to discuss architecture + design without acknowledging its ongoing intentional destruction in Gaza + the West Bank. Since October 2023 we have struggled to balance solidarity, activism, and feelings of hopelessness while remaining inspired by the things around us.

No matter your opinion, one cannot ignore the total violence placed upon a people, history, architecture, education, healthcare, ecology, and life itself. The ongoing genocide has brought significant loss not only to Palestinian life + culture but to a people’s entire identity- an attempted erasure, undoubtedly by design.

Beautiful, ancient structures, that hold centuries of history + meaning are instantly turned to ruins. Spaces where people pray, eat, live, learn, and love together are obliterated. While this loss may appear to be an architectural one, the lack of life that can be expressed, now and in the future, is most devastating.

For over 76 years (since the Nakba of 1948) homes, churches, schools, hospitals, museums, airports, and other cultural icons have been stoic targets for demolition. However, never before have we seen so much destruction in such a short period. Total infrastructure has been turned to rubble. A vision of the future, demolished. And yet, as they make their way to camps in the north or south, or wherever deemed falsely safe that day, they once again rebuild a life- all while under intense firing.

We witness true resilience and true faith. Homes made in makeshift tents with so few resources. Warm + inviting spaces erected in hopes that this is temporary. Flimsy constructs built on solid foundations of hope + resilience, a spiritual knowing that a return to home is on the horizon.

All Palestinians are architects- constantly envisioning a future that is liberated. And while the loss remains unimaginable, the people remain steadfast- rebuilding structures, dreams, hopes, and…existence. In the eloquent words of Fannie Lou Hamer "Nobody’s free until everybody’s free". May we all be courageous enough to fight as hard + for as long as it takes until that day comes.

“Humanism is the only – I would go so far as saying the final- resistance we have against the inhuman practices and injustices that disfigure human history.” — Edward W. Said

Omari Mosque - before + after IDF destruction (photos found online)