Forensic Architecture
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Studies

23 studies

I.130  Airstrike in Barbour, Beirut

Date
26 Nov 2024
Summary
Hours before a ceasefire was declared in November 2024, an Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in a residential neighborhood of Beirut. The parents of Ali Cherri, a renowned Franco-Lebanese artist, were killed in their home, along with one other. In support of a war crimes complaint brought in a Paris court, we reconstructed the apartment building, and analysed the sequence of events.

I.118  Three Days at Al-Azhar University: 28-30 January 2024

Date
28 Jan 2024 – 30 Jan 2024
Summary
Since October 2023, Israeli evacuation orders have repeatedly displaced Palestinians throughout Gaza, often to areas designated as 'humanitarian' or ‘safe zones’ but that in fact were no less dangerous and critically lacking in life-sustaining provisions. Through the account of a couple from Beit Hanoun, this narrative study tells a harrowing story of endurance in the midst of persistent violence.

Israel's Destruction of the Port of Gaza

Date
October 2023 – January 2024
Summary
Gaza’s historic port was repeatedly attacked and progressively destroyed by Israeli forces between October 2023 and January 2024, along with the majority of Palestinian fishing vessels docked within it. FA was commissioned to establish a timeline of visual evidence of the port’s destruction, including the destruction of two fishing vessels belonging to the Al-Hassi family.

Panoramic Stabilisation in Blender: al-Ahli Hospital

Date
None
Summary

I.102  Airstrike in Tel al-Sultan: Israel attacks its own ‘humanitarian zones’

Date
24 May 2024 – 26 May 2024
Summary
An Israeli airstrike on a tent camp filled with displaced civilians west of Rafah prompted outrage, since the attack killed at least 45 people in an area previously declared 'safe' by Israeli social media posts and leaflets. Here, we highlight how Israel's inconsistent and contradictory guidance leaves international media confused, and Palestinian civilians exposed to mortal danger.

Attacks on Aid in Gaza: Preliminary Findings

Date
08 Oct 2023 – 25 Apr 2024
Summary
As part of an in-depth investigation into Israel’s attacks on aid in Gaza since October 2023, we are releasing a series of preliminary findings and a map of the attacks we have documented to date. Our analysis shows the systematic targeting of civilians seeking aid, aid infrastructure, aid convoys, and personnel responsible for aid distribution.

Mass Burials at al-Shifa Hospital

Date
14 Nov 2023 – 08 Apr 2024
Summary
Human remains surfaced amongst the ruins of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza after Israeli forces withdrew on 1 April 2024. Our analysis of visual evidence of the destruction of al-Shifa reveals that the bodies of those killed during the second invasion were bulldozed and that four makeshift burial grounds—including a mass grave—created after the first invasion were desecrated.

Israeli Disinformation: al-Ahli Hospital

Date
17 Oct 2023
Summary
The devastating explosion at the al-Ahli hospital came to epitomise the information war surrounding Israel’s post-7 October invasion of Gaza. Working from open source evidence, we used techniques including 3D trajectory analysis to disprove fundamental claims made by Israel about the cause of the blast.

Shireen Abu Akleh: The Extrajudicial Killing of a Journalist | Extended Report

Date
11 May 2022
Summary
This comprehensive written report supports our investigation into our joint investigation with Al-Haq's FAI Unit into the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, detailing the methodologies we employed and including a step-by-step breakdown of the visual, audio and spatial analysis we undertook to come to each of our investigation’s conclusions.

After Cloud Studies

Date
23 May 2020 – Ongoing
Summary
Our statement titled "Forensic Architecture stands with Palestine" was removed from Cloud Studies (2021) at the Whitworth Art Gallery following pressure from groups such as UKLFI. The statement was subsequently reinstated after persistent action. This archive chronicles the attempted censorship and ensuing controversy.

I.7  The Forest Under Detection

Date
1492 – Ongoing
Summary
Using spatial, image, and data analysis, we investigate the history of the Colombian states' cartographic domination of the Nukak people in the department of Guaviare.

The Case of Kuzey: Evidence

Date
19.10.2020
Summary
The case of Kuzey.

The Case of Fady: Evidence

Date
19.10.2020
Summary
The case of Fady.

I.56  Cloud Studies

Date
2008 - Ongoing
Summary
Toxic clouds colonise the air we breathe.

Detecting Tear Gas: Vision and Sound

Date
20 Feb 2020
Summary
This study documents several case studies undertaken by Forensic Architecture researchers and OSS contributors. Following on from research we released in early 2019, in the course of the year we have expanded our research in human rights and machine learning, with a particular focus on applications of synthetic data.

I.9  Shooting in Kafr Qaddum

Date
12 Jul 2019
Summary
Every Friday, residents of the Palestinian village of Kafr Qaddum gather to protest against the confiscation of their land by Israeli colonies. On one such Friday, nine-year-old Abd el-Rahman Shatawi was shot by an Israeli soldier, while outside his friend's house, near to the protest. Using videos shared with us by activists, we unpacked the events that led to the shooting.

Conflict Shorelines

Date
01 Apr 2000 – 01 Apr 2019
Summary
The relation between warfare and climate change is identifiable along two climatic thresholds – the threshold of the desert and that of the rainforest.

I.6  Using Timemap for Cartographic Platforms

Date
15.05.2019
Summary
Timemap and datasheet-server work together to interactively serve geospatial events from a Google Sheet. The sheet must be formatted appropriately for this to work. This tutorial will walk you through setting up for this example Google Sheet.

I.8  MatchKing: Warren B. Kanders and the Israeli army

Date
14 May 2019
Summary
Warren B. Kanders, formerly vice chair of the board of trustees of New York's Whitney Museum, is connected to the US-based manufacturer Sierra Bullets. Sierra's 'Matchking' bullet is used by military snipers around the world. We traced a line from a manufacturing plant in Missouri to Gaza's eastern border, connecting Kanders to violence committed there against Palestinians by the Israeli army.

I.4  Drought of Hamoun Lake

Date
1975 – 2015
Summary
Hamoun, a lake located on the border of Iran and Afghanistan has gradually disappeared within the course of 30 years. Does the rate of its disappearance correspond to the rate with which other forms of conflicts have escalated in the region?

I.3  Computer Vision in Triple Chaser

Date
30 Nov 2018
Summary
For our contribution to the 2019 Whitney Biennial at New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art, we developed a machine learning and computer vision workflow to identify tear gas grenades in digital images. We focused on a specific brand of tear gas grenade: the Triple-Chaser CS grenade in the catalogue of Defense Technology, which is a leading manufacturer of ‘less-lethal’ munitions.

I.2  Experiments in Synthetic Data

Date
06 Nov 2018
Summary
In many investigative contexts, the abundance of potentially relevant data presents a significant challenge to constructing a case. To this end, we use machine learning tools where appropriate to channel investigative resources effectively when processing footage from YouTube, Vimeo, or other media sources.

I.1  Ape Law

Date
14 Jun 2013 – Ongoing
Summary
What can we accept as a 'human being'? How does this question interact with shifting environmental thresholds, and the political limits of territory and sovereignty?